Jun
22
Democrats On The Defensive. Really?
Filed Under American Politics
The Anonymous Liberal has a post up bemoaning the struggles that Congressional Democrats are having trying to pass healthcare legislation:
I’m starting to get very pessimistic about the prospect of meaningful health care reform ever happening.
He/she then makes the point that if ever the time was right for progress on this issue for Democrats, it is now:
We have a popular Democratic President who was elected less than a year ago with a mandate to reform health care and a very clear plan for doing so. We have large Democratic majorities in both houses, including a soon-to-be 60 seat majority in the Senate. The public is massively in favor of comprehensive health care reform. And yet, the Democrats seem to lack the will to even get a meaningful bill out of committee.
Why aren’t Democrats throwing caution to the wind and exploiting these propitious circumstances to achieve their long elusive goal of universal healthcare?
Well firstly, the polling isn’t as supportive as they would like. They are probably covered on a public desire for healthcare reform. All the polls, to differing degrees, show support for reform. However, as I reported in this post, it is polling on the economy, particularly the deficit, that is alarming Democrats. 24% of Americans view the deficit as the most important economic problem facing the country compared to just 11% who view healthcare as the most important. As any meaningful healthcare reform is going to cost upwards of one trillion dollars, this difference takes 0n massive significance.
Secondly, and ironically, Democratic electoral success at the Congressional level in 2006 and 2008 may be hampering them. As Michael Goodwin points out:
Dem gains in the last two elections came primarily from conservative-leaning districts and some members already are worried about re-election. If the tide turns against Obama, they could be in trouble.
I think this speaks to the heart of the matter. The Democrats are revelling in their electoral success. They have Republicans on the ropes. But the fear of losing these conservative seats by blowing up the deficit is forcing them to play safe in an effort to prevent any initiative being handed back to Republicans. So is this risk-averse strategy nonsensical, or a winning formula? Well only 2010 will tell us that. However, political inactivity is counter-intuitive for a Democrat and should they fail to pass healthcare (or Cap & Trade and Amnesty on which they are also facing congressional troubles), they will always rue the missed opportunity that they are facing right now.
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7 Responses to “Democrats On The Defensive. Really?”
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‘They have Republicans on the ropes. But the fear of losing these conservative seats by blowing up the deficit is forcing them to play safe in an effort to prevent any initiative being handed back to Republicans.’
Question.
At what point does playing safe, in an electoral sense, actually become reflecting the wishes of your constituents?
“It’s all about change”
Except now, people have less and less change in their pockets and the threat of more spending putting even less change in their pockets is scaring the hell out of people and this fear is trickling upwards to government.
Since the government is made up of people, who are basically always out to feather their own nest and make sure they have a job; they may be just starting to listen to the electorate for the first time, instead of the Oracle.
AMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!
It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.
STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.
And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.
Progressive democrats and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and demand that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).
Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.
In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!
Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!
God Bless You
Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS
Comrade jacksmith…
Lies, Lies and more lies…
An American…’comrade jacksmith’…couldn’t have said it better myself!
O. Tony,
I’m sure he/they sent it to every blog available…boy, its scary that these people are now almost in complete power…we have a western saying…”he doesn’t have the brains of a pissant”.
C. Cabbie,
Politicans live by the polls, emails and phone calls they get from their constituents. And, they are beginning to realize that they have a very angry American public out there. Only the far-left loons are happy with the way things are going while continuing to to push the political agenda farther left.
The only way they will pass the health care plan, cap and trade and their amnesty is to lie…big time…and hope no one catches on to what has been foisted on them…After all, that is what the hurry is about…get it through before anyone knows what is really in these bills.
If these bills do pass and people finally see how they will impact them negatively with higher taxes and poorer health care…there will be a major fallout for the Democratic party.
That’s why some of the Democrats can see the writing on the wall…they’re not all stupid.
It’s hard for me to believe that Americans will go along with taxing insurance benefits for everyone with health insurance in the US except for people in the Unions…how outrageous and Communistic is that? Next the Unions will be calling themselves ‘Obama’s Workers for United Socialist States’ and marching and singing praise of ‘The One’.
Everything the Democratic Congress comes up with in these bills is to gouge the American taxpayer…one way or another. We already give over 50% of our incomes to federal and state taxes…It looks like the Democrats are aiming for us to keep 25% of our earnings. I’m to the point that I believe this will be my last year to paint to sell to the public, since I don’t want to support Obama’s socialist agenda any more than I’m forced to…and many more people will be doing the same thing. They will refuse to continue to work to be taxed even more to support a Fascist regime.