"Adventures in fantasyland"
The GOP cry of "Repeal" is unrealistic and politically dumb
"Adventures in fantasyland"
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
Having lost their grand crusade to deny Americans the same health care security that is standard practice everywhere else in the western democratic world, the Republicans and their allies can't seem to agree what to do next.
One natural impulse is to burrow even deeper into dreamworld. For instance, a vocal faction - which includes Mitt Romney, John McCain, Jim DeMint, Bill Kristol, and the tea partiers - is already hoisting the banner of Repeal, insisting that Congress rise up and wipe the new law off the books. But another faction - which includes ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - insists that any repeal effort would be a colossal waste of time.
Romney is perhaps the most vociferous repealer, arguing yesterday on a conservative blog that the health reform needs to be reversed because President Obama "has betrayed his path to the nation." (As a 2012 GOP presidential hopeful, Romney needs to be shrill on this issue, lest conservatives notice that Obama's health reforms closely resemble the Massachusetts health reforms that he himself succcessfully championed as governor.) He was joined yesterday by McCain, who, having lost another one to Obama, apparently wants to further extend his streak; on TV, he declared, "We're going to repeal this." And fellow senator Jim "Waterloo" DeMint, having failed along with his colleagues in the quest to "break" Obama, said yesterday that he intends to push for repeal legislation.
I have to believe that these people are not as dumb as they seem, that deep down they are fully aware that the so-called repeal crusade is just raw meat for the dimmest denizens of the conservative base. It's an emotional gimmick to keep the base pumped during the '10 election season, which probably explains why 35 GOP Senate candidates (including Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania) have taken the repeal pledge.
Anyone with a fundamental grasp of math would quickly realize that the talk of repeal is worthless. Until at least January 2013, and quite possibly until January 2017, the guy in the White House would veto any such bill. And for however long Obama serves as president, the Republicans would need 67 Senate votes and 290 House votes in order to override such a veto. Even if the Republicans did manage to elect a president in 2012, it strains credulity to think that the party can achieve a 60-seat Senate supermajority for repeal. No wonder the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president said yesterday of repeal, "We're not going to spend any capital on that."
Ex-Bush speechwriter and conservative blogger David Frum wrote online yesterday, "No illusions, please. This bill will not be repealed." Frum is frequently mocked by many of his brethren because of his habitual attentiveness to empirical reality, and this may be yet another instance. Frum righly scoffs at the repeal strategy ("adventures in fantasyland"), not just because the congressional math is so daunting, but because it fails even as raw-meat politics.
Frum points out that any Republican who votes for repeal would essentially be voting to again permit health insurers to deny coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. He warns that any Republican arguing for repeal is essentially arguing "to banish 25 year olds from their parents' insurance coverage." Any Republican pushing for repeal is essentially saying that we should "reopen the 'doughnut hole' and charge seniors more for prescription drugs."
For those reasons alone, Democrats should hope and pray that the GOP talks up repeal between now and November - because it's dumb politics to try to take away people's benefits. Democrats can therefore challenge their pro-repeal opponents: Why do you want to reinstate lifetime caps on health insurance coverage? Why do you want to again allow insurance companies to dump the people who get sick? Why do you want to eliminate the new tax credits for small businesses that provide coverage to their workers?
(The dimmest pro-repeal conservatives will no doubt trumpet the new CNN poll, which shows - on the surface - that 59 percent of Americans oppose the health care reform law, while only 39 percent support it. But spend two seconds on the fine print, and the figures look very different. Thirteen percent of those opposing the law happen to believe that it's not liberal enough - which puts the conservative foes in the minority. And when poll respondents were asked whom they trust most to handle health care - Obama or the Republicans in Congress - they chose Obama, 51 to 39 percent.)
Also, with respect to this repeal issue, Democrats can put the squeeze on those GOP candidates - such as Ohio Senate hopeful Rob Portman - who thus far have declined to take any stance. If the holdouts finally say yes to repeal, Democrats can challenge them with the aformentioned questions. If they say no to repeal, they risk being hammered by the talk-radio teeth-gnashers in their own camp.
Speaking of Rush Limbaugh, he issued a cri de coeur for repeal yesterday. Frum, the conservative blogger, is not surprised; in his words, the GOP's "abject and irreversible defeat" on health care is actually "a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry," which thrives on polarization and fantasy remedies.
Frum writes that, in the aftermath of the health reform defeat, the Limbaugh camp's "listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it's mission accomplished. For the (conservative) cause they purport to represent, it's Waterloo, all right: Ours."
Need I say more?
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MOCKY: It isn't just one event, but MANY that I refer to. Yeah, you doubt because you didn't see. It doesn't matter because Conse 'Pubs aren't done by any means, and you can avoid it all you want until it's outside your front door, dude. It would have to be right in your face for you to even consider it, right? Maybe?— Talvenada- Nigelthemastiff: I was able to find some video and I couldn't hear it. Watch the video and let me know if you can hear it. Just seems to me that this would be a very easy thing to pull off for the Democrats in an attempt to frame the opposition as racist. Demonstrating against runaway government spending has nothing to do with ethnicity so I don't quite understand why the left is always playing this card. Here is the video that I was able to find/////////////////////http://www.thefoxnation.com/health-care/2010/03/21/protestors-put-heat-pelosi-dems-historic-vote— Alvenada
- Outside my front door? Oh boy, I am going to get tea partiers outside my front door? They're like christmas carolers.— Alvenada
- frankfj : what about those getting advanced degrees? It's ironic that those trying to become doctors are "sponging" off of their parents. How about those that went into the military right after high school? They'd probably be in college at 26. Maybe those that actually had to work a few years to save some money. Lazy sponges, all of them.— still_independent
- Mike Welbourne - it's called hyperbole. At no point did Tom mention the time between the signing of the first bill and the second. He intentionally gave the impression that what the house passed exempted only unions. That was not the case. When union members aren't paying the tax and other are, please speak up ....— still_independent
- NIGEL: Thank you. Don't expect MOCKY to see or hear anything he doesn't want to see or hear. I don't. That would really be a surprise, because I doubt he'll see any video on Fox NEWS. If they don't report, you have nothing to decide. MOCKY: Why don't you google The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and see what's there. I didn't have to, and have no idea what you'll find. Or offer up more of your mindless drivel.— Talvenada
- NEPhilly: the best site I could find is linked below. I think some are legit and other aren't. The language seems way to modern in many of them. Anyway, ..... http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/The_democracy_will_cease_to_exist— still_independent
- MOCKY: I just got it; you went to Fox NEWS. You didn't see it means it probably didn't happen. It's not on Fox NEWS means it probably didn't happen. It's real news like Fox NEWS, or MSM State-run propaganda. Sorry, I didn't realize what you were saying. Why didn't you just say so!— Talvenada
- It is just live video from Sunday. What does it matter if it is from Fox News or MSNBC? Why don't you produce some proof for once. You know I might have a more intelligent conversation with a snail.— Alvenada
- The USA Today did a two page spread on what takes effect when on this healthcare bill. It reads like who's who of how many different ways we can tax you. In 2011 a 2.5Billion dollar fee on Pharmaceutical mfgs will be implimented.. In 2012 the fee will increase by 3 billion for the next 3 years. In 2013 the medicare tax you see on your pay stub will be increased by .9% and 3.8% will be imposed on unearned income. In 2012 and annual fee of 8 billion will be assesed on Health insurance companies. In 2015 an annual fee on health insurance companies will be inceased to 11.3 billion. In 2014 the health insurance fines will be begin on families. Essentially the government will be raising the cost of insurance while forcing you to buy insurance. And those fees on Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are not only a tax on those companies but a tax on the American people. So essentially Obama lied when he told you that you would not be taxed one more dime if you made under $ 250,000- The tax on the insurance companies is a tax on you. How deceitfull- dare I say a questionable act?
- MOCKY: The prove-it defense from a guy who proves nothing, because he has more important things to do. ..........Lewis said he was leaving the Cannon office building across from the Capitol when protesters shouted “Kill the bill, kill the bill,” Lewis said. “I said ‘I’m for the bill, I support the bill, I’m voting for the bill’,” Lewis said. A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying “Kill the bill, then the n-word.” ............. I know, the source doesn't meet your standards, or there's a sentence, phrase or word that makes you, as usual, right. ............. John Lewis hit with the 'n-word' by tea party demonstrators ... 03/21/2010 Mar 21, 2010 ... This was posted by McClatchy Newspapers last night: Demonstrators outside the US Capitol , angry over the proposed health care bill, ... http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/03/21/john-lewis-hit-wi...— Talvenada
- MOCKY: Thnx, for the intelligence insult, BTW.— Talvenada
- Tal: If there is video proof of this happening I sure cannot find it. I found this link. But the Video certainly does not show any evidence that the title of the article implies. If you've got 7 minutes the video is hysterical Ihttp://article.wn.com/view/2010/03/20/Tea_party_protesters_hurl_racial_insults_at_Georgia_Rep_John/— Alvenada
- Please play the "repeal care," please!— jack5225
- The propaganda will fade, and people will realize the catastrophe that some talked about isn't coming - no government officials getting between you and your doctor, no socialism, no death panels, no "end of America as we know it". People are going to realize how ridiculous all that talk was.— p-diddy
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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