Sure. Republicans couldn’t afford to repeal the Affordable Care Act (I’m assuming you’re American, let me know if not and I’ll explain further), because it was too popular even among republicans.
One of the gears that makes it work is the individual mandate, a tax penalty for not having health insurance. This penalty was meant to incentivize young healthy people to sign up for health insurance, effectively subsidizing the insurance policies of the old and sick. The Republicans repealed this component, which should have the effect of gutting the revenue stream that makes the ACA work, driving up the cost of insurance.
Opposing the policy would look like Republicans repealing the ACA. Sabotaging it looks like keeping it in place, but repealing a tax penalty that effectively funds it, making it untenable in the long run as insurance prices spike. They can blame this on Democrats, arguing that a big government insurance program was bound to fail, while taking credit for the tax cut.
The dynamic I’m describing is meant only to illustrate the difference between political opposition and sabotage, not a serious piece of contemporary political analysis.
To define them more generally, political opposition is about making the consequences of your opposing actions clear.
Political sabotage is hiding the consequences of your opposing actions.
Sure. Republicans couldn’t afford to repeal the Affordable Care Act (I’m assuming you’re American, let me know if not and I’ll explain further), because it was too popular even among republicans.
One of the gears that makes it work is the individual mandate, a tax penalty for not having health insurance. This penalty was meant to incentivize young healthy people to sign up for health insurance, effectively subsidizing the insurance policies of the old and sick. The Republicans repealed this component, which should have the effect of gutting the revenue stream that makes the ACA work, driving up the cost of insurance.
Opposing the policy would look like Republicans repealing the ACA. Sabotaging it looks like keeping it in place, but repealing a tax penalty that effectively funds it, making it untenable in the long run as insurance prices spike. They can blame this on Democrats, arguing that a big government insurance program was bound to fail, while taking credit for the tax cut.
The dynamic I’m describing is meant only to illustrate the difference between political opposition and sabotage, not a serious piece of contemporary political analysis.
To define them more generally, political opposition is about making the consequences of your opposing actions clear.
Political sabotage is hiding the consequences of your opposing actions.