The Republican (yes Republican) Health Care Blunder

[kstewart33]

The Republican Health Care Blunder
Jonathan Chait
The New Republic
December 19, 2009

The United States is on the doorstep of comprehensive health care reform. It's a staggering achievement, about which I'll have more to say later. but the under-appreciated thing that strikes me at the moment is that it never would have happened if the Republican Party had played its cards right.

At the outset of this debate, moderate Democrats were desperate for a bipartisan bill. They were willing to do almost anything to get it, including negotiate fruitlessly for months on end. We can't know for sure, but Democrats appeared willing to make enormous substantive concessions to win the assent of even a few Republicans. A few GOP defectors could have lured a chunk of Democrats to sign something far more limited than what President Obama is going to sign. And remember, it would have taken only one Democrat to agree to partial reform in order to kill comprehensive reform. I can easily imagine a scenario where Ben Nelson refused to vote for anything larger than, say, a $400 billion bill that Chuck Grassley and a couple other Republicans were offering.

But Republicans wouldn't make that deal. The GOP leadership put immense pressure on all its members to withhold consent from any health care bill. The strategy had some logic to it: If all 40 Republicans voted no, then Democrats would need 60 votes to succeed, a monumentally difficult task. And if they did succeed, the bill would be seen as partisan and therefore too liberal, too big government. The spasm of anti-government activism over the summer helped lock the GOP into this strategy -- no Republican could afford to risk the wrath of Tea Partiers convinced that any reform signed by Obama equaled socialism and death panels.

More at: http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/the-republican-health-care-blunder

[MadMaddie]

1. The Repuglicans never have any foresite!!

ONce Health care moves forward, what will be their next battle?

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I think he's nuts.

TNR gave up any progressive patina it might ever have had hears ago. The current Senate bill is more of a comprehensive giveaway to he industry than a comprehensive reform.

[FrenchieCat]

4. The current Senate Bill is not as bad as some want it to be.......

and you will one day realize that....
but it will be after the fact,
which means that you will have willfully missed
playing part in history, beyond doing what is equivalent to
what the Republicans have done; being a naysayer too busy saying no,
to really understand what we have done until it is done.

Reminds me of how so many only started liking the Motown sound
after its demise.

[MineralMan]

6. +1

Ted Kennedy would be voting for this bill. Of that I am certain. He might have been able to reduce the number of compromises by sheer dint of will, but he would be voting for it in any case.

It's amazing that people here don't realize that. Would they be calling him a DINO, I wonder?

[Jackpine Radical]

11. I certainly don't want it to be bad. I want it to be good. I want it to help people.

Sadly, it does not.

I know we both want the same thing. We are both decent and caring people. I wish this bill gave us what we need. I don't think it does, and I am very sad. I hope I'm wrong and you are right, Mme. Chat, but I fear that is not the case.

[clear eye]

8. Worse than that. It always uses left buzzwords in its titles to

articles selling neo-liberal positions. It is designed as a bait & switch rag to misdirect liberals & progressives. It's been up to this repulsive mission since ~1970.

[Laelth]

3. Vomit.

In essence, Chait argues that if Republicans had played their cards right, we would have only be giving 400 billion to the health insurance industry instead of 800 billion.

If that's true, I wish the Republicans had played their cards better.

Kill the bill.

Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the answer to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness.

:dem:

-Laelth

[MineralMan]

7. Well, I suppose you could join them and help out.

Feh!

[Laelth]

9. Who needs Republicans when we have the current crop of Democrats?

I am simply stunned by what Obama has chosen to do.

Kill the bill.

Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the answer to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness.

:dem:

-Laelth

[opihimoimoi]

5. The Pubs fucked themselves by having Rush, Hannity, Palin, Hucky, Beck as Heros

Credibility is limited to the core base which hovers around 14.3 percent..

With that in kind, the Pubs have a daunting task to reach the top of the HILL...

Their philosophy of selfinterest and greed is pervasive and ingrained.

The Bully Mode they have is disgusting...who wants a NAG yanking on our ears...nagging and nitting about every moot thing you can find>>>?

Rush, Beck et al...has doomed gloomed the Pubs..their only hope is dirty tricks and sniping with BS tactics...they are negative and it shows.

[Renew Deal]

10. I actually agree with this.

I think the republicans would have had clout if they were willing to play ball. You saw it in committee with Olympia snow. And you saw it during the stimulus.