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Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) is the House Republican Conference chairwoman.
She was chosen to give the Republican response to President Obama's most recent State of the Union address.
She has been criticized by some peers in Washington DC as being "too conservative."
That's why the recent Spokesman Review article quoting McMorris-Rodgers as saying, "It's unlikely the Affordable Care Act [Obamacare] will be repealed," caught my attention.
The Spokesman Review further quoted her as saying, "We need to look at reforming the exchanges."
As I read the article, I wondered if the Republican Party has adopted a new narrative regarding Obamacare as we move into the elections.
And did she actually say that?
Personally, I was shocked when I saw the Spokesman Review headline: "McMorris Rodgers Says AFA Likely To Stay."
I was further surprised when I read the quotes: "AFA is likely to stay" and "we need to look at reforming the exchanges."
What's this?
I remembered it was only a couple of weeks ago that the press was quoting President Obama saying that "The repeal debate is and should be over."
And the media was hyper reporting that Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) had said, "[To] repeal Obamacare...isn't the answer."
However, the next part of his statement was not initially reported. What he had actually said was "[To] repeal Obamacare...isn't the answer, the answer is to repeal and replace."
Alfred Tennyson once said, "A lie that is half truth is the darkest of all lies." The press lied about Boehner.
But is McMorris Rodgers actually telling the Spokesman Review that she and perhaps the Republican Party have given up on repeal and are moving on?
Nate Hodson, McMorris Rodgers' spokesman told the Washington Examiner, "The headline is not an accurate or representative portrayal of what the Congresswoman said in the interview, what her voting record reflects, or what she believes. She will continue fighting to repeal Obamacare at every opportunity moving forward and replace it with patients-centered reforms."
So, she didn't say it?
What's going on?
The Spokesman Review has a long and significant history. It was formed by a merger of the Spokane Falls Review and the Spokesman in 1893 and was first published under its present name on June 29, 1894.
My dad sold Spokesman Review newspapers on the street corner in downtown Spokane when he was 10 years old--- and that was 1923. They'd been around almost 30 years at that time. They're not a start up operation.
The Heritage Foundation is asking the same question. What's going on?
Do conservatives still want to repeal Obamacare?
Heritage says, "It would seem the media don't want you to think so."
They published an article, "The New Narrative On Obamacare: Repeal Is So Last Year." I feel this article can be very helpful and informative to all of us as we move into the election cycle of the primaries, then the very important mid term election in November.
Heritage says, "The president's approved narrative is that Obamacare is the law of the land and therefore, we're stuck with it." But he continues to say things like, "I don't think there's been any hesitation on our part to consider ideas that would actually improve the legislation."
Robert Moffit tells Heritage there is in fact precedent for repealing a major health care law. It happened in 1989 when the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 was repealed.
Moffit also points out that Obamacare is not "settled law" because whole provisions---over 40 of them--- have been nullified, delayed or suspended.
There's much more in the Heritage article.
As we move into this election cycle there will be great effort to manipulate, manufacture and massage the thinking of voters.
Here are some things to think about in regard to deception, particularly as we move into this election time.
Principles of Deception
1. Deception always involves a little truth. Deception works off the context of truth.
2. Deception works off the perception of honesty and trust.
3. Deception always involves seduction.
Scripture has much to say about deception and seduction. Here are a couple of examples.
Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more subtle than the rest..."
Mark 13:22, "False Christs and false prophets will arise...to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."
I John 2:26, "These things have I written to you concerning them that seduce you."
I'm talking more about this on the radio this morning. Join me live at 9 AM PDT from anywhere in the world, or the rebroadcast at 7:30 PM PDT. Here's how.
Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful. Be Blessed.