Obama Derangement Syndrome As Domestic Policy

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley encapsulates the rank hypocrisy and pernicious naysaying that defines today's modern GOP, as Steve Benen notes Grassley was for insurance mandates before he was against them as he is currently.

So, for Chuck Grassley, an individual mandate is a deal-breaker. No matter what other concessions Democrats are willing to make in the name of compromise and in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation, the Iowa conservative believes the mandate is just too much.

At least, that's what he believes now. As recently as August, Grassley argued the way to get universal coverage is "through an individual mandate." He told Nightly Business report, "That's individual responsibility, and even Republicans believe in individual responsibility."

In June, Grassley was even clearer. He said "there isn't anything wrong with" an individual mandate, and compared it to laws requiring Americans to have car insurance. "Everybody has some health insurance costs," the conservative senator said, "and if you aren't insured, there's no free lunch."

Grassley added, in unambiguous terms, "I believe that there is a bipartisan consensus to have individual mandates."

Only now that health care reform is looking more and more likely to pass, mandates are evil unconstitutional government fascism in our lives, despite the fact that six weeks ago Chuck Grassley thought that mandates were not only a great idea, but that the rest of Congress thought it was a great idea too, both Democrats and Republicans.

But this all goes back to my first point about the GOP and health care reform: the GOP will never allow real health care reform to pass if the Democrats can take credit for it. So, Grassley now opposes mandates as government interference in the freedom of choice when two months ago he was saying it promoted individual responsibility. If a real health care bill passes, the GOP will be finished. Grassley doesn't give a damn about health care in America, he only cares about the political power game.

Any more questions as to why the people don't trust the GOP to do the right thing?