In a nutshell, the Republican Party chose the low road. What would the debate have been like if they had chosen to debate the substance of the bill rather than simply repeating and embellishing the Frank Luntz talking points endlessly? Laurence O'Donnell made this point on Morning Joe this morning. What if the Republicans had spent more time talking about the financing of the bill and how it will need to be paid for? Believe it or not, there were some telling points they could have made on policy, but chose to ignore them. Social Security and Medicare still have to be paid for, just as this massive health care program will have to be paid for.
This was a huge victory for President Obama and the Democratic Party. They worked the margins, they shored up the middle, they kept their corporate ties intact, in short, they played the political game brilliantly. This is a generational event to be savored. An era will be defined as before and after health care reform.
This is a legendary example of the "base support" strategy and it's obvious failings. True, the base must be kept in the fold, but to play to the base exclusively? That's just letting your freak flag fly.... a losing strategy. The Democrats played to their base, but not exclusively so. I told a good friend early last summer as President Obama began his leadership on this issue, "Just watch. He'll be a success if he keeps everyone a little pissed off. Liberals, Conservatives and the Middle will all be ticked. THAT'S what a Centrist IS! That's LEADERSHIP!"
Brilliant!
2 comments:
"What would the debate have been like if they had chosen to debate the substance of the bill rather than simply repeating and embellishing the Frank Luntz talking points endlessly?"
Seriously? Both sides argued the same points all night. I watched LIVE the entire thing. Maybe I have no life, but I did. What I heard was this:
Democrats: HERE'S WHAT THE BILL WILL DO, AND IT'S GOING TO HELP SO MANY PEOPLE - (honestly, that's awesome, no sarcasm)
Republicans: WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. The republicans did nothing to say that what the bill would supposedly fix was a bad thing...they just stated it was the wrong way to do it, it was too expensive.
Obama isn't leadership. What do you say about him voting "Present" (instead of Yea or Nay) in 75% of his time in the Senate? Leadership my ass. He HAD a majority in the house and senate, and he couldn't pass health care - it's not leadership - IT'S MONEY. Washington is about money.
That's my point exactly, except the part about Leadership. He negotiated the political minefield pretty well. He worked with his Congressional leaders, he supported them when they needed him.
Health Care Passed. On his watch. Leadership is about determination and persistence. He led.
Now the original question. If Republicans had chosen to debate the substance of the bill, would they have won? Especially if it became the Democrats who refused to move away from their own dogma or talking points.... We can only wonder.
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