This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

[The cartoon above, I think, qualifies as an example of the journalistic sin of "false equivalency." It's still funny.]

— Obamacare markets deserve a fair shot — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial They shut down the federal government Tuesday to stop Obamacare. But Tuesday, Obamacare started.

Or, to be more precise, Tuesday was the roll-out of a key part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as the controversial statute is formally known. It was the first day that individuals could go online to search through the many different coverage options that are now available for those who previously went without health insurance, or who were paying too much for too little,

It's about time. ...

— Shutdown ignores the larger problems — Deseret News editorial

... Not the tea party, the White House, nor anyone else we know of in Washington, for that matter, is talking about the issues that pose the greatest danger to long-term solvency. ...

— Like it or not, Obamacare is here to stay — Richard Davis | For The Deseret News

The soonest Republicans could damage Obamacare would be 2017, and that is assuming the new president is a Republican.

By that point, most of the kinks in implementation will be worked out and Americans will have become accustomed to Obamacare. Parents will appreciate the fact that their young adult children, married or single, are eligible to remain on their parent's insurance until they are 26. People with pre-existing conditions will be glad they don't have to worry about being denied health care. Those who become seriously ill will be relieved to know that their insurance company can't drop them now. ...

— Time for GOP independence during shutdown — Seattle Times Editorial

Washington's get-along, go-along Republican members of Congress must start showing some independence. A good place to begin is by voting "no" on the wacky ideological diversions of their fringe colleagues. ...

— Obamacare launch shows why GOP wanted delay — Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial

... President Barack Obama and the majority in Congress would have been wise to hear Republicans who merely asked to delay the Affordable Care Act in exchange for funding government. Maybe the minority just wanted to spare constituents a program that wasn't ready for prime time. ...

— America turns the corner on health care — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial

Today is a historic day in America.

As we write this, because too many Republicans in the U.S. House have lost touch with reality, the nation is hurtling toward a government shutdown that could create an economic meltdown. That's irresponsible on an epic scale, but not historic.

Today will be remembered for generations because for the first time in the nation's grand history, health care is a right. ...

— Shutdown is a battle the GOP can't win — Denver Post Editorial

We didn't think they'd do it. We thought Republicans had absorbed the lessons of 1995-96 and that the high risk of being blamed by the public would be a spur to common sense.

If nothing else, we thought, they'd be worried about the economic repercussions of a federal shutdown.

But we were wrong. ...

— Debt default is the real threat to U.S. — San Jose Mercury News Editorial

As we once again experience the brinkmanship in our dysfunctional Congress that points to a government shutdown, the worst of it is this: It's just a practice round. ...

— Government shutdown a lousy response to flawed health law — Oregonian Editorial

— Unreasonable tea party demands drag America into turmoil — Kansas City Star Editorial

— Who wants to fix Obamacare? — Los Angeles Times Editorial

The Affordable Care Act isn't going away. The GOP should help the nation get it right.

— Put down the tea pot, Republicans, and back away — Arizona Republic Editorial