ObamaCare 2015 will be an unmitigated river of crap, says . . . CBS News?

You know, it's funny. The information showing what a train wreck ObamaCare already is - and will be to an even greater degree in 2015 - has been available for some time. CBS News could have written a story about it any time they wanted, like, say, before last week's election. Yet for some reason, surely a mystery to all, they waited until all hope was lost for the Democrats to tell us that everyone's favorite law is going to get even worse next year:

With the Affordable Care Act to start enrollment for its second year on Nov. 15, some unpleasant surprises may be in store for some. That's because a number of low-priced Obamacare plans will raise their rates in 2015, making those options less affordable. On top of that, penalties for failing to secure a health-insurance plan will rise steeply next year, which could take a big bite out of some families' pocketbooks. "The penalty is meant to incentivize people to get coverage," said senior analyst Laura Adams of InsuranceQuotes.com. "This year, I think a lot of people are going to be in for a shock."

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In 2014, Obamacare's first year, individuals are facing a penalty of $95 per person, or 1 percent of their income, depending on which is higher. If an American failed to get coverage this year, that penalty will be taken out of their tax refund in early 2015, Adams noted. While that might be painful to some uninsured Americans who are counting on their tax refunds in early 2015, the penalty for going uninsured next year is even harsher. The financial penalty for skipping out on health coverage will more than triple to $325 per person in 2015, or 2 percent of income, depending on whichever is higher. Children will be fined at half the adult rate, or $162.50 for those under 18 years old.

Now let's be honest. None of this is news. These schedules were set in place the day the law was passed. This can be characterized as just-in-case-you-hadn't-heard type of news story. But it would have to be said that this information would have been very relevant to voters still making up their minds before going to the polls last week. So do you think CBS sat on the information to try to protect the Democrats at the polls last week? My answer would be sort of. I don't think they sit around in liberal newsrooms asking, "How can we make sure the Democrats win?" In fact, I've spent enough time in them that I know they don't do that. What they do, however, is react to all information through the filter of their liberal bias - and that includes considerations of how they might be perceived when they publish a story pre-election. For the mainstream media, campaign coverage has become little more than horse race analysis, polls and "gaffes". Any information whatsoever about the substance of policy and its perceived impact on people is seen as the sort of thing the candidates should communicate through ads - even though the media then turn around and condemn the ads (while happily accepting the money they're paid to run them). So before the election, this story would have been seen as a biased intervention into the campaign. After the election, it's just information so it's OK. It's a pretty #-backwards way of looking at the job of a journalist, which ought to be to make sure you have all the information you need to decide before you go and vote. But you go to the polls with the media you have, and this particular version stopped doing its real job a long time ago. So now they tell us: ObamaCare is only going to get worse from here on in, unless the new Republican Congress effectively uses its leverage against Obama to change it. And that should be one of their top priorities. What I fear, however, is that they'll see the next two years as an opportunity to use ObamaCare as a political weapon in positioning for 2016, rather than using the leverage they have now to make it less horrendous. That would be a gamble, with the goal being to keep control of Congress and win the presidency as well so they can achieve complete repeal. I say: Why not do both? Force Obama to accept changes now, and then use the fact that you did so to argue that Republicans should be trusted with all branches of goverment in 2016. If Republicans really believe the public hates ObamaCare - and they should, because it does - then this is a winning governing and political strategy. CBS might even report it as such!