What If Obama Walked Away From Health Care?
Now that we’ve seen Obama’s approval start to dip, what would be the political repercussions for him to simply say, “Okay, I’ll kick this can down the road.”
I’m just wondering, because the debate has now been filled with so much misinformation on what health care reform and having a public option means that it might just be worth it for Obama to throw up his hands and focus on the economy for the next three years (even though the cost of health care is a HUGE issue for the economy).
Then maybe he can pick it back up if he wins a second term. But that’s a big maybe.
Sure, individual health care costs will continue to skyrocket and more people will become uninsured and the insurance companies will continue to practice their free market version of rationing. But hey, at least we won’t have a government run program…like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, our entire infrastructure, the world’s most powerful military…
Yeah, I’m frustrated. Because I think the opposition to health care reform is so disingenuous right now it baffles me why a) they’re winning, b) the media is repeating their nonsense and c) people are buying it.
So here are some more maybes to explain what’s going on…
Maybe it has to do with how fearful we are as a society.
Maybe it’s because Americans have been conditioned to think the government can’t do anything right, even though there are numerous examples to prove the exact opposite of that (see above).
Maybe too many of us want something for nothing and don’t realize how bad the situation is until it affects our personal bottom line. After all, we’ve been taught to always focus on the short term and our own personal gains instead of thinking about the broader implications and greater good. Perhaps this will change, but for the time being it really doesn’t seem like it will.
Here’s the question: Should Obama save his political capital for pushing through his other initiatives, like energy reform, and focus on getting re-elected in 3 years?
(Photo: Getty via Daylife)
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“Here’s the question: Should Obama save his political capital for pushing through his other initiatives, like energy reform, and focus on getting re-elected in 3 years?”
I would be tempted to say YES if any of his other initiatives (like energy reform) were really bold, making them worth the healthcare delay. However, my guess is that all his initiatives will be defeated in the same way as healthcare reform, and for the same reason. When your starting point in the discussion/negotiation is in the middle of the road – there’s nowhere to go but toward the other side. He’s even worse at this than I thought he’d be.
The pattern is clear. With every initiative Obama introduces the result is: the same old status quo with a progressive cherry on top. No one forced him to pick business as usual insiders like Larry Summers and Rahm Emmanuel. He doled out his share of the money unquestionaly to the feckless banks. And he won’t get health care done nor any of his other policies without them ending up a mangled, corporate-friendly mess. The lobbyists smell weakness and they’re pouring in the money ammunition to the usual corrupt chuckleheads. Obama’s got no “LBJ” in him. He’s unable to kick heads to get what he wants. He’s taken compromise to the high art of unconditional surrender.