Dear editor:
As if the GOP-led House trying to do away with the independent congressional ethics board wasn't bad enough, another rule they put in place on Day 1 was to ban the Congressional Budget Office or CBO from analyzing and reporting any spikes in debt and deficit spending with regards to their repeal of the Affordable Care Act, aka ACA, aka Obamacare.
Why would they do this? Simple, the economic impact of a full repeal of the ACA will be astronomic. Republican Sen. Rand Paul stated this on the Senate floor this past week at $9.7 trillion. So keep that amount in mind as you urge your Republican "representatives" to repeal it and worry about replacing it later. The effects of such an action will be a disaster, but then that's never stood in the way of what Republicans want to do.
If it goes bad, and it will, they will just blame someone else for their actions, preferably liberals or Obama. Their grass roots supporters will deny that truth, but it's there for all to see.
If not for their masterful ability in the art of deception, no Republican would ever hold office again, which would be a good thing for this country. Stay tuned for the repeal of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which are all very high on their to do list.
Judith Zitko
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 01/16/2017