Grand Old Party=Republicans. As I recall, they chose that nickname within a decade or two of the Civil War (i.e. when they were anything but "old;" if anyone merits that title, it is Jeffersons Dems.) I MAY have referred to them as the Greedy Old Party. Once or twice.


Blue=Dem, Red=Republican, mainly because most networks happened to choose those colors for Gore and Bush, respectively, in the historic 2000 election. Prior to that it seemed to be a matter of whim (from what I could tell, Republicans tended to be represented as blue more often; I remember because it is my favorite color and it frequently annoyed me.) Sometimes "battleground" or "swing" states are referred to as "purple."


I fear the Robamacare ruling ended any chance of universal healthcare for the foreseeable future. No politician will want to revisit such a toxic issue, so until it gets REALLY bad (and without price controls, it will) there is no option for a public option: We are stuck with private insurers gouging us. Worse, since they can no longer deny coverage, everyone must buy it and there are $1 trillion in taxpayer subsidies up for grabs, they have every incentive to raise prices even faster than they already were.