This flippant attitude toward those harmed by the ACA will cost us 2014. [View all]

[last1standing]

I'm a Democrat because I grew up believing that a high tide raises all boats. I believe that when the least among us suffers, we all suffer as a society. That goes for the poor, minorities, the differently abled.... and yes, those who are harmed when the government makes mistakes.

I've read how "uninformed" people are - in fact, there's a cute little picture making fun of them on DU's homepage right now. I've read how it's only a small minority that will feel the effects of the raise. I've read how they're all wealthy young people who don't want to pay their share. I've read how those who have to pay more should STFU because so many more will do better.

Well, all that is bullshit if there is a group of people who will be forced to choose between insurance and rent. And there will be.

There is a minority, yes a small minority, of people who make just enough to lose out on the subsidies provided by the ACA who are not covered their employers. And of this group, a sizable portion will fall within the dreaded 55-62 age bracket where the insurance companies can still gouge for outrageously costly policies. These are the people who now have shitty catastrophic plans because they can't afford anything else. They certainly can't afford an increase in their bills amounting to hundreds of dollars per month.

These are the people who will lose out on what little insurance they have and be charged a fine for their loss.

A faulty website means nothing in the long run. A week after it's fixed no one will remember it was ever down. But real people will be hurt by ACA if there is not a fix for those middle-aged people just making ends meet who will lose what little safety net they had because "good" Democrats care more about looking good than helping them.

These are the people that the republicans will have on TV day in and day out to talk about how the Democrats mocked their suffering.

I know this post won't be popular, but a real Democrat doesn't mock the suffering of others, they try to help them. It looks like some Dems are figuring this out - but not nearly enough, yet.

When 2014 comes around, it will be decided on whether the people of this country believe that Democrats can solve the problems that face so many, or if we are tied to 'big government' solutions that only help bureaucrats.

Right now, there's a group of citizens afraid that Reagan was right when he said the scariest words a person can hear are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." They're not worried about a website, they're frightened of losing what little they have.

We can be the party of uncaring big government or the party of solutions. Which will we choose?