Permanent Irrelevance: Outcome for Republicans If Dems Pass Universal Health Care
"That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true, 'tis pity; and pity 'tis, 'tis true." Hamlet, II, ii.
Health care reform with universal coverage and a public plan to help control costs should be passed because it is right and necessary. It also happens to be great politics for the Democrats. But, remarkably, despite decades of historical proof, Democrats do not 'get it'.
For thousands of years death and taxes have been life's only two certainties. To this we may now add a third: frantic pleas from political parties to pony up $5-$30,000 in the next 5-60 seconds, otherwise the other side will spread its lies and innuendos without our side being able to respond, enabling them to enact their apocalyptic agenda.
But the Democrats have a much better, more sustainable, less expensive way to emasculate the Republicans and render them irrelevant for two generations or more: pass universal health care. As indicated, it also has the virtue of being the right thing to do.
The Republicans know this very well. That is why their actions to defeat health care reform are so vile and desperate. That is why they have presented no alternative except cross-state 'competition' among insurance providers and tort reform, neither of which would do anything to insure everyone or lower costs. That is why they always oppose health care reform, or any government program that benefits a large swath of the population that cuts through income and geographic boundaries.
The Republicans still oppose the New Deal, but they cannot say so without alienating voters. They still oppose Medicare. Remember Newt Gingrich as Speaker: "Medicare and social security will whither on the vine"? How were they going to accomplish this? By proposing bills to "strengthen medicare and save social security" that were actually designed to destroy them, slowly, and then lie about all of it.
The New Deal inextricably connected people to government. So did Medicare. Both gave the Democrats, the party that believes government can do some good things that free markets do not, a constituency that the Republicans have had difficulty weaning away. Government programs cost money. Money comes from tax revenues. Thus, tax cuts for the wealthy are problematic, and the only way Republicans could reward their constituency was to jettison their long-proclaimed belief in balanced budgets.
This is the pattern that emerged: when out of power, Republicans oppose programs for the common good, even for veterans they claim to champion, arguing they are too expensive and lead to deficit spending; when in power, they jettison their belief in balanced budgets, proclaiming them irrelevant, so they could provide tax cuts to the wealthy. Reagan and George W. were the Republicans' biggest tax cutters, and ran up the largest deficits in history until the mess W. handed President Obama.
Universal health care, with a strong government option, will be the nail in the political coffin of the Republican Party. Once enacted, what are the Republicans going to do? Claim that they will do a better job of running it? After the disastrous Bush Administration, the Republicans have no credibility that they can run anything.
Or, will Republicans argue to take away universal health care once passed? It is highly unlikely they would even try. Republican rhetoric has actually reinforced the 'universality' of agreement on social security, Medicaid and Medicare. By never saying directly that the programs should be dismantled, but rather trying to destroy them by pretending to "strengthen" them, the Republicans have endorsed their importance and legitimacy. [So, for all of Frank Luntz's evil-genius, he accomplished precisely the opposite of what he intended!]
Oddly, the Democrats do not seem to get this. In fact, they are actually worried that enacting universal health care with a strong public component would hurt them politically. This is a severe case of political post-traumatic stress disorder.
Karl Rove tried to destroy the Democratic Party by a) fighting a quick, casualty-free, cheap decisive war in Iraq whose glow would provide Republicans hefty majorities (and US oil companies valuable oil concessions!); b) undermining the funding base of the Democrats by destroying unions and trial lawyers; c) establishing an all-powerful executive that could issue orders, spy on opponents, make minorities fearful of voting lest they be charged with voter fraud; d) demonizing government and cultural diversity; and e) enriching their funders through tax cuts and lax enforcement of regulations.
It almost worked. The only problem Rove's strategy confronted was reality, that crept in to bite before he could lock in his hegemony.
But the Democrats have a tried and true formula. Provide a needed benefit to a large portion of the populace that the markets do not address, or address poorly, and that constituency will remain loyal. Social Security has kept the elderly from being destitute. Medicare has provided them health security. Despite similarly insane rhetoric that opposed these measures, the Democrats not only did not suffer politically, they benefited.
The Republicans have openly declared that they want to stop health care reform in order to hand a defeat to President Obama and the Democrats so that Obama's presidency will be crippled, and they will regain power in Congress. Any normal organization, when so threatened, would unite and, if for no other reason than that, pass a good bill that would make the other side wish it had never said, or even thought, about that.
But, it appears, not the Democrats. And, they wonder why, despite the popularity of their policies, the public distrusts them.
David Sirota: The Deafening Silence on Deficits
When it comes to aiding regular people who haven't bought members of Congress, every argument -- and especially deficits -- are cited as reasons to do nothing.
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This hot bed topic there are 18 posts. Tells us a story important things are just to boring to dig into.
Republicans believe staying in power is more important than the common good.
Democrats have power and refuse to use it for the common good because it could cost them this wonderful power they've been out of for thirty years. Democrats deserve the Congressional Metal of Honor for being #1 at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Republocan Party will always be the Oakland Raiders of the political scene. Just win baby and when you do lose you play the dirtiest game you can getaway with, if it was just a game fine however it's not a game to us peasants struggling just to survive. ITS clearcut they could give a hit less about us. Besides they manipulate us at will they own the bulk of it from the C.I.A. to MSM and thats just the way it is. Well isn't it?
Here's my question:
If "publicans don't believe in government
why do they run for government?
So they can keep the self-fulfulling prophecy that "the government is the problem" going. For example, W appoints Brown to head FEMA despite having zero experience in emergencies or management of large organizations. Katrina rolls in and we have the worst government response to a disaster in US history. See, bingo...."
Obama wants health care reform as much as anyone in the land. He says he will give up a second term as President if he can achieve major reform of the health iindustry in his first term. Senator Ted Kennedy is with him on this.
See Valerie Tarico's Profile
omg --Is anyone listening? After an incredible month off-grid I come back to what seems to be a complete and utter Democratic meltdown on this issue (and others.) Why are we spending our time/money
Where have you been, girl? We've missed you! August has been nasty and ugly. Did you hear about the Astroturfers funded by Rick Scott's Conservatives for Patient's Rights and Dick Armey of FreedomWor
I know that you agree, you don't want our country's policy decisions obstructed and the conversation poisoned and controlled by these people! Anyways, it's great to see you back. Good to see you weighing in. Keep up the good fight! :)
Tell me about it! I spent the whole month of Aug. at the Dem HQ to get the word out about the truth concerning health care reform and to tell Dems in the area that Senator McCaskill was doing a townhall only to hear the Right Wing spew crazy stuff at that Town Hall. The next day, this local right wing talk host said that Dems were bussed in, which is not true and that McCaskill lied about abortions not being in the reform bill because Planned Parenthood (I got me a shirt :D ) was there. This man knew nothing about Planned Parenthood, much less the efforts it makes to educate women about their bodies and teach prevention, with abortion being a last resort for whatever reason. The health care reform is about prevention (preventive medicine and alike), which saves money in the long run. The Right wingers don't get it and have this idea and I saw this sign there, that America is going to hell if Obama's Health Care Reform passes and another sign said something about what God doesn't want and yet another called Obama a Csar. It was crazy, really crazy. On top of it all, none of them, not even the right wing talk host knew that the police and firefighters are a form of socialism. Shall we get rid of that too? *rolling eyes*
The reverse is also true. If the Dems pass a neutered version of reform that requires individual mandates under penalty of fines and NO public option....
They will be causing hardship for millions of middle class families who are already struggling - who also vote.
Brace yourself for a Republican administration in 2012 if we get a bill that's worse than nothing.
You got that right.
They'd better do a good bill or they may as well hand over the keys to the city.
We lost any semblance of a functioning democratic republic a long time ago. Living in the USA is exactly like being born into a severely dysfunctional family, with abusive and crazy parents (the two party system, the dems are the weak and enabling mom/wife and the repubs are the angry and domineering father/husband), and the enabling and excuse-making older sibling (the mainstream media and the punditocracy).
What to do as a young child living amidst this madness, and with no leverage point to exert any kind of power to effect real change? Simple - leave the family behind, get as far away from them as you can, and create your own truly healthy family.
This means in real world terms, either stay here but work hard to build third (or more!) parties and use mass actions in the streets, civil disobedience, strikes, etc to keep the momentum moving forward for real change. We are talking a commitment of many years here, not overnight success.
Or - literally leave and move to another country where their government has not been completely hijacked by the Corporate Oligachs, and once there, work hard within their political system to make sure that these same Oligarchs can never take over there.
The Republicans bet their party on becoming a "permanent, one party majority".
Time for them to pay the piper. There WILL be a permanent, one party majority..
Very well said. And so true. It seems like such a no-brainer to me.
I just alluded to this same theme on another post.
Republicans are scared ... very scared ... that meaningful health care reform will be passed, and that when the dust settles - after all their angry townhall protests, all their lies about death panels, etc., - after all of this, President Obama will rise...
As his first year in office ends, our economic recovery will continue to progress, health care reform will be a reality, the troops in Iraq will be gone, GITMO will be closing ... and his poll numbers will once again be on the rise as well.
The birthers couldn't stop him, the teabaggers couldn't stop him, the gun-toting, bible-clutching townhall protesters couldn't stop him, the Gates controversy couldn't stop him ... not even the death-praying Pastor could stop him ... and all it's done is to make them more and more irrelevant to the future of our country.
Nicely put, couldn't agree more.
Of course you're right Paul, but I'm afraid that we're looking at Harry Reid being in charge in the Senate, Nancy Pelosi being in charge in the House, and the rest of the spineless Dems being to weak intellectually to even CONSIDER it!
I think they all know it. But the Blue Dogs & ConservaDems still believe (and some maybe rightfully so) that they won't be re-elected in their districts of they vote for reform or they have just simply been bought off. Mike Ross' district clearly wants reform, but he appears to have been bought out by phrma. He'll soon meet his replacement in the district. Any Dem running against him needs to be well funded. He needs to be gone - the sooner the better, right along with the rest of them.
We'll be watching these votes and taking notes and looking for replacements!
Obviously our government doesn't work. But how do we change it? The elections process has been so corrupted that it doesn't really change anything. We're stuck with a corporate tyranny masquerading as a democracy. Apparently all involved will defend their piece of the corrupt pie until the entire jerry-rigged system collapses into disfunction and anarchy. That should be interesting.
1. Public financing of election TV and Radio ads, it would be a lot cheaper than what we pay now in pork and special interest favors (deregulation of banks anyone?).
1a. Require publicly financed campaign ads only mention the person they are for, not against, this would push for more positive campaigns.
2. Revise voting rules, allowing voters to choose to vote against one candidate instead of for one candidate, or let voters vote for as many of the candidates as they want, with the candidate who receives the most votes winning. Does it really hurt anyone if I am allowed to vote for the green candidate AND the democrat, or if my libertarian buddy can vote libertarian AND republican??? At the same time, require any publicly funded primary to be an open primary. If a party wants to spend their own money to keep independant voters out (or conservitive dems/liberal repubs), they can do so, but a party shouldn't get the state to pay for a vote and then give the state rules on who can vote in that primary.
3. A national initiative system, requiring 10% of registered votes to propose a vote, and 55% majority to pass, any initiative would be added to the next secondary election.
4. A new power for the House, any 200 house members could sign a petition to remove funding from any program, remove words from any law, or reduce any tax cut (to reduce the deficit).
The Republicans always get what they want; war, tax cuts, war, big defense spending, war on drugs, sex and John Lennon, and more war.... and when Democrats finally get the office; all the liberals get are crumbs! We wait thirty years for a tiny crumb, and when it looks like we might get it ,the Republicans run around in circles and howl like their hair is on fire! After the hair fires get put out, we end up with wet crumbs (don't ask, don't tell) or no crumbs (HillaryCare).
I am sick of it! If all the liberals are going to get is crumbs from the Dems; we might as well stay home on election day and just let the republicans have it! We get the exact same crumbs with out all the tantrums!
the rest of this diatribe can be viewed at http://www
I feel that same way so much of the time. I've said many times, even when the Republicans lose, they still win.
OH NO! I live in a Red State and I'm not about to let them have full control if I can help it. I didn't exactly want to get back into the political arena again after Obama got elected, but I got dragged back into it due to this health care reform mess. The Dems seemed to have appreciated my volunteer work during the campaign that they wanted me back for this. A part of me wishes I hadn't, but if we succeed again, it will once again be well worth all the work. Living in a Red State is smothering and oppressive when you are a liberal. I just hope we do succeed in getting true reform. I really do. :(
. . . and your next campaign!
Well it does take courage to stand up to Guns, God, and the Flag-waving corporate oligarch who pays for your salary and benefits.
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