NRO Quotes Grayson on "Bluegrass Bummer"

National Review Online interviews Trey Grayson on the "Bluegrass Bummer." At first, I was afraid it was going to be about the Grayson campaign, but no, the subject is Kentucky's experience with its version of Hillarycare.

Grayson details what happened in Kentucky: insurers fled the state, premiums went up and consequently the number of insured actually increased.

More importantly for purposes of saving his campaign, Grayson maps out how to repeal Obamacare based on his experience in Kentucky in assisting in the repeal of Kentucky Hillarycare.

This is the first lesson proponents of repeal should take from Kentucky: Construct a narrative around all of the bill’s negative consequences. “So, for example, we’ve already had John Deere and Verizon and some other companies take charges for the next quarter,” Grayson says. “As we learn about businesses choosing to drop insurance or delay expansion plans or whatever they have to do to avoid this, I think we have to take those real-life consequences and tell the public.”

The second lesson, he says, “is that you don’t have to do a full repeal right off the bat. If you can start getting rid of some of the bad elements, try that.” Repealing the most unpopular parts of the bill — new taxes oninvestment, on income, on medical devices — can pave the way for repealing the spending provisions: “If those taxes have to be repealed or phased out,” Grayson says, “then you start to have a financial concern: How you are going to pay for all this stuff as the subsidies are phased in?”

Grayson has unique experience that conservatives need in Washington at this historic juncture. To be sure, Rand Paul wants to repeal health care as well, but he has not specified how he would do so. Nor can I envision Paul establishing the relationships with Senate colleagues necessary to get anything done. It's fine to rant against "career politicians" until you actually need them to vote for your legislation.