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No thanks, Brent — neither side is a winner these days
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08/21/09 11:53 AM ET
Note: This post is a reply to the preceding post. —Ed.
Sorry, Brent, no wager this time.
I am not placing any bets on the Democrats or Republicans at this juncture, seeing the dismal job both parties have done finding remotely sensible, pragmatic, reasonable or constructive ways to fix our broken healthcare system.
This is a good opportunity to remind Brent — and all our readers — that I am in fact a neutral, non-partisan analyst at The Hill newspaper and am not taking any sides. I don't debate policy but I do debate political strategy, and right now the Democrats are losing — as Dick Cheney would say — big time.
What irks Brent is that I have been critical of President Obama's tactics, strategy and agenda at times throughout these last eight months and never more so than in the last few weeks. I have received loads of mail from People-Who-Agree-With-Brent and they are so mad at me you would think I single-handedly killed the public option for healthcare. I have merely argued, for months now, that it was not politically viable.
Moving on to the Republicans, and something for me to agree on with Brent, the GOP should shudder at two back-to-back polls showing the public has changed its opinion NOT ONE IOTA about the GOP — 21 percent approval and not budging. The Republican Party has not shown any interest in governing throughout the healthcare debate and I have written here that they not only 1) know we can't keep our obligations to federal healthcare spending, that Medicare has to be cut and they shouldn't be defenders of entitlement spending; but also that 2) at the rate healthcare costs are rising, in something like five to 10 years small businesses they champion won't be able to offer their employees any coverage. Period.
The only Republican I have seen making the case that healthcare needs reforming and that "this is a debate worth having" was former Rep. J.C. Watts (Okla.). But House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) decision to scold the CEO of the pharmaceutical lobby (see my earlier post on this here) for cooperating and seeking consensus with Democrats and the White House tells us all we need to know.
These are very troubling times and all eyes are on the Democrats because they are in charge of our entire government. I do give them credit for trying to tackle healthcare, but right now, Democrats are not leading, Brent; they are flailing around. But don't mistake my criticism of their handling of healthcare with praise for the GOP's ducking a critical issue.
Sorry, Brent, no wager this time.
I am not placing any bets on the Democrats or Republicans at this juncture, seeing the dismal job both parties have done finding remotely sensible, pragmatic, reasonable or constructive ways to fix our broken healthcare system.
This is a good opportunity to remind Brent — and all our readers — that I am in fact a neutral, non-partisan analyst at The Hill newspaper and am not taking any sides. I don't debate policy but I do debate political strategy, and right now the Democrats are losing — as Dick Cheney would say — big time.
What irks Brent is that I have been critical of President Obama's tactics, strategy and agenda at times throughout these last eight months and never more so than in the last few weeks. I have received loads of mail from People-Who-Agree-With-Brent and they are so mad at me you would think I single-handedly killed the public option for healthcare. I have merely argued, for months now, that it was not politically viable.
Moving on to the Republicans, and something for me to agree on with Brent, the GOP should shudder at two back-to-back polls showing the public has changed its opinion NOT ONE IOTA about the GOP — 21 percent approval and not budging. The Republican Party has not shown any interest in governing throughout the healthcare debate and I have written here that they not only 1) know we can't keep our obligations to federal healthcare spending, that Medicare has to be cut and they shouldn't be defenders of entitlement spending; but also that 2) at the rate healthcare costs are rising, in something like five to 10 years small businesses they champion won't be able to offer their employees any coverage. Period.
The only Republican I have seen making the case that healthcare needs reforming and that "this is a debate worth having" was former Rep. J.C. Watts (Okla.). But House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) decision to scold the CEO of the pharmaceutical lobby (see my earlier post on this here) for cooperating and seeking consensus with Democrats and the White House tells us all we need to know.
These are very troubling times and all eyes are on the Democrats because they are in charge of our entire government. I do give them credit for trying to tackle healthcare, but right now, Democrats are not leading, Brent; they are flailing around. But don't mistake my criticism of their handling of healthcare with praise for the GOP's ducking a critical issue.
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