Paul Krugman: The Wonk Gap

On Saturday, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming delivered the weekly Republican address. He
ignored Syria, presumably because his party is deeply conflicted on the issue. (For the record, so
am I.) Instead, he demanded repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “The health care law,” he declared,
“has proven to be unpopular, unworkable and unaffordable,” and he predicted “sticker shock” in
the months ahead.

So, another week, another denunciation of Obamacare. Who cares? But Mr. Barrasso’s remarks
were actually interesting, although not in the way he intended. You see, all the recent news on
health costs has been good. So Mr. Barrasso is predicting sticker shock precisely when serious fears
of such a shock are fading fast. Why would he do that?