Comments on: It’s Smart Politics For Republicans To Compromise On Health Care Reform

By: The Realities Of Passing Health Care & The Risks Of Not - Justin Gardner - Political Pulse - True/Slant

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:50:46 +0000

[...] the health care bill was more important than being involved in the process. I thought that was foolish, and still do. Sure, they’ll pick up some seats next year, but they weren’t involved in [...]

By: Wouldn’t It Have Been Better For Republicans If They Cooperated With Health Care Reform? - Justin Gardner - Political Pulse - True/Slant

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:05:11 +0000

[...] I noted some months back that it was smart politics for Republicans to compromise on health care. Yes, they’re the minority party, but if they had worked with Dems the size and scope would have been more to their liking. And they could have easily peeled off 2 or 3 moderate Dems so Reid and company couldn’t get to 60 votes. [...]

By: Zaid Jilani

Zaid Jilani — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:44:51 +0000

“Most hardcore liberals, especially the blogosphere variety, are completely against the Baucus bill. What this means is that the legislation will probably appeal to most independents, moderate Dems and moderate Repubs. Who decides elections? Every pollster alive will tell you it’s the swing voters. What do swing voters look for? Politicians who compromise. It’s not a difficult electoral calculation.”

I take issue with both your premise and your conclusion here.

First, who is to say that swing voters necessarily approve of the Baucus bill because progressives don’t like it? Baucus has taken fire from just about everyone for his bill, not just progressives.

Second of all, one key element of the various bills being thrown around — the public option — is quite popular amongst all segments of the public (I believe polling generally shows nearly 50% of self-identified Republicans believe in it), so again I ask, what makes Baucus’s bill supposedly popular among independents/swing voters/people who aren’t ultra-partisan? Simply being opposed by bloggers does not a moderate health care bill make.

By: cybercorrespondent

cybercorrespondent — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:34:42 +0000

Do you have an antidote for the Obama elixir as prescribed by George Soros and the far left? As shown in this video, I wish we had more congressmen like John Hue Pubic who read what he was asked to sign. Watch -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6p5QPVhPI, but don’t swallow the elixir. After you finish watching the video, ask yourselves these questions.
Why are the public officials we elleted allowing Obama to shred our Constitution? Do you think Obama should remake the health care system with new federal regulations, mandates and big-government? Do you think that taking money from the productive sector of our society and distributing it to the nonproductive will solve all of our problems? Why is congress and other politicians dooing nothing about the Obama czars and other communist- fashist appointees he chose to assist him in shreding our constitution? If the thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6p5QPVhPI I posted doesn’t turn live, copy and past it onto Google.
Cybercorrespondent
http://cybercorrespondent.blogspot.com

By: libtree09

libtree09 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:07:08 +0000

Wow. Liberals are against the Baccus bill out of ideological purity? Where in the world did you get that? Here I though liberals were against the bill because it was written by the insurance companies to benefit the insurance companies and raises middle class costs and does nothing to contain costs and gives government money to companies that have caused the problem in the first place.

Now the Republicans are in the process of inserting poison pills into the bill to make it unpalatable to everyone.

It is the republicans who are ideologically opposed to the bill feeling the only way to avoid socialism is to create a middleman between the government and the doctors and hospitals who actually deliver health care. Like the mafia these companies skim money from all of us for protection.

By: Why Won’t The GOP Offer A Competitive Health Care Plan? | (The) COMMON PEOPLES SOURCE for NEWS

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:06:41 +0000

[...] Gardner wrote an article for True-Slant about the Republicans position on the health care bill: It’s Smart Politics For Republicans To Compromise On Health Care Reform. In it Gardner says “[Republicans] had the opportunity FOR DECADES to do something about health [...]

By: davidlosangeles

davidlosangeles — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:24:01 +0000

Mr. Gardner,

You are looking too short term, you lack vision. First, by compromising on health care reform, the Republicans would give the Democrats in general and Mr. Obama in particular a huge victory that will give them momentum going into the 2010 election. Second, if health care reform is successful, it would seriously undercut one of the last remaining solid Republican base, the rural white vote – the very people turning red in the face opposing health care reform. Republican strategists fear, rightly, that successful health care reform would will win an entire generation of voters as life-lone Democrats just FDR’s reforms did in the 1930’s. While individual Republican candidates may benefit by supporting health care reform, the party as a whole will lose, in a big way for a long time. This is why William Kristol argued that the Republican Party should oppose “Hillary-care” in the early ’90’s and why the party is opposing “Obama-care” now, it is long-term strategic threat to the Republican hold on the the less affluent white vote in general but in the south in particular.

By: hidflect

hidflect — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:07:31 +0000

It’s Smart Politics For Republicans To Compromise On Health Care Reform…?

Keep dreamin’ baby…

By: fleetlee

fleetlee — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:39:57 +0000

You answered your own question. NO, if it is smart politically the GOP will not do it, because they are in a death spiral as a party. The only agenda they have is to say NO to everything Obama proposes, period, end of story. The GOP thinking is, Obama is going to be unpopular in 2010 and if he has not passed any legislation with their help they can blame the unhappiness of the voter on Obama and take back seats. No concern for the Country, all politically motivated. The GOP really think the American voters are that stupid; it will end up bankrupting their party for a couple more election cycles.