Obama: I Hope My Obvious Attempt At Political Theater Will Not Be Labeled "Political Theater"
What does President Obama hope to accomplish with his planned bipartisan health care summit? He says that it will give Republicans an opportunity to share their ideas, and perhaps facilitate a more inclusive, bipartisan approach to reform. But given that the White House has displayed little interest in doing anything other than making small tweaks to the current proposal, it looks an awful lot like a calculated opportunity for Obama to attempt to remind the American people about all the wonderful reforms that he has in mind for the country while Republicans sit across from him with their arms crossed, shaking their heads in stingy, angry opposition. In other words, as far as I can tell, what he is proposing is political theater rather than substantive discussion.
As if to confirm this understanding, Obama said today that he intends for the summit to be substantive discussion and not political theater.
Now, as political theater goes, it's a half clever plan. On one hand, polls indicate many Americans would have preferred to see Obama work with Republicans on health care reform, and this gives Obama an opportunity to seem earnestly post-partisan.
On the other hand, there's some interesting political science work that argues—fairly convincingly, I think—that what the public is most interested in is not bipartisan discussion, but bipartisan agreement. When it comes to major legislation, the public wants to feel safe in the knowledge that Republicans and Democrats both think it's a good idea. But the problem for reform supporters is that Republicans are unified against the plan and Democrats have spent the past year squabbling about how to proceed. The result, as pollster Mark Blumenthal put it, is the view that "Republicans all hate it, and the Democrats cannot agree what to do, so how good can this proposal be?"
Now, Obama would probably take some GOP dissenters if he could get them. But at this point, that's not going to happen, and he knows it. So the point of this bipartisan summit is actually to play up the two parties' disagreement. Given that disagreement over the bill is likely a large part of what caused public opinion on the bill to dip so low, I'm skeptical that a summit that highlights that disagreement is likely to help Obama's cause all that much.
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Yes, I suspect that the point is so they can talk about “all the good things in the bill”, while demanding that Republicans explain why insurance companies shouldn’t be forced to take people with pre-existing conditions.
It’s intended to be a showcase for proposals already in the bill that as David Axelrod claimed, people don’t know about.
Any time a Republican says anything Obama will slap it down saying it’s stupid and wrong and all the experts agree it wouldn’t work.
In other words, no serious discussion. Just dismissals and “what else you got?” “Look at all the goodies I have”.
And? Nobody can claim the GOP has a real healthcare reform plan. They obviously don’t care about the issue, or they would have mentioned it during one of their long stretches of control of the government in the last 40 years.
It’s clear to everyone paying attention that they have one goal: destroy Obama’s top domestic agenda for political reasons.
Would be nice for these simple facts to be given some space in between all the disinformation the GOP has been putting out in its attempt to kill the legislation.
I hate Republican’s but if they can destroy this pig that would unconstitutionally require me to purchase insurance from a giant insurance carrier (why are you for this again Tony?), then I am all for it. I don’t care if they are doing if for political reasons. End result works for me.
My ideal bill would create medicare for all, but I’m for piecemeal reform if it leads in the right direction. Anything called reform of course requires a mandate, though I’d prefer people’s health not be considered a commodity at all.
There’s a limited supply of guns. Do you believe I have a right to own one or not? There’s a limited supply of land. Do I not have a right to own property? Food is also limited, and I believe people have a right to enough food to survive on. Besides, healthcare really isn’t a limited resource. Subsidies can fund doctors’ training and hospitals and whatever you please.
It is too important to be left to the market, yes. The market doesn’t determine what a society values (though it may indicate it). I believe universal access to basic needs such as healthcare is more important than satisfying the free market gods, and that government exists for the very reason that certain things society demands are not provided for magically from market interactions. The market would never give us freedom of speech. It would most likely end up stifling it. And it’s never gonna give us universal healthcare, because improving the bottom line of health insurance providers and treating the most people in the best way are not the same thing. We need healthcare that abides by the values of doctors, not shareholders.
I agree with everything you said except I don’t really understand what you mean by this:
“I tend to agree that the market might not provide me with freedom of speech; that’s why I support a right to freedom of speech, protected by a government that actually respects my rights.”
The right to free speech implies that you have the right to use any means available to you to communicate your message, not that the means has to be provided to you by someone else. You can say what you want, but no one has to listen to you or let you use their website, newspaper, publish your book, stand on someone else’s property with a bullhorn, etc. That would make it a positive right or entitlement, just like Tony’s right to “own guns or land” that someone else is forced to give to him.
Unless the free lunch is a shit sandwich.
You missed the key feature of markets. Price signals direct resources towards medical services that are most in demand by consumers. As expressed by consumers “voting with their wallets”. The market is a much more accurate expression of popular will than the political process, since it isn’t mediated by grandstanding moralizing hypocrities with guns. Computatinally speaking, comparing a democratic voting process with the market is like comparing an abbacus to a mammalian nervous system.
…whereas the Democrats who support the legislation are motivated only by the altruistic desire to make sure everyone has health care. Which is why it’s paid for by taxing the health care plans of everyone who ISN’T onionized.
Which begs the question, if getting the government involved in healthcare is such a panacea why aren’t the Unions for it? DNC sock puppet Tony doesn’t have an answer for that. Give him some time he can prob scrabble some nonsense together from over at Huffpo and be right back.
Hey Tony. Here’s why we don’t want this shit:
Rasmussen: 75% Angry at Gov’t Corruption
http://www.rasmussenreports.co…..t_policies
Alos this:
Rasmussen: Americans Reject Keynesian Economics
http://www.rasmussenreports.co….._economics
Republicans did mention health care and introduce several bills durning their times in control.
Btw, from 1955-1980 Democrats were the majority in both houses of Congress and had the Presidency quite a few times. 1987-1994 they again had both houses of Congress, with the Presidency for one term. In fact, Democrats have had control much more often the Republicans.
Republicans give lip service to all sorts of things. Then they get in power and serve as little more than money launderers for their corporate puppeteers. They don’t care about healthcare reform, and they have never indicated that they have. And the modern incarnation of the party is so zealously antigovernment that they describe any attempt at reform as a socialist plot.
damn. I hate it when I agree with Tony.
Any health reform supported by republicans would probably just be more statist (and possibly socialist) bullshit, no matter how antigovernment they claim to be.
(That doesn’t make democrat health reform proposals any less socialist.)
As someone recently pointed out, Obama is willing to talk with the Iranian regime about nuclear weapons and terrorism without preconditions, but he won’t talk with Republicans about healthcare on the same terms….
Not to mention the moderate Taliban.
huh ? I thought Obama wasn’t going to negotiate with the Republicans. Oh ? you mean THOSE moderate Taliban.
Sorry
Continue
LOL
The Republicans can go into this “discussion” and agree to every one of the Democrats’ healthcare reform proposals but add the requirement of tort reform, and be assured no bipartisan legislation will see the light of day.
true. republicans will still vote against it.
Possibly. But it wouldn’t even get far enough for them to have to.
Perhaps, though they might get Grassley or Snowe or others to vote for it. However, they would lose more Democratic Senators than they could possibly gain Republicans if they tried to restrict the trial lawyers.
Scum like John Edwards have a lot of pull in the party.
“Whe the fuck you think you’re fistin’ here, bitch?!”
“You see this, Mr. President Obama? This is you. You’re my cute little sock puppet byotch. Oh, you don’t like that do you? Oh yeah? Well, you’re gonna like it! You better learn to enjoy it, bitch!”
I mentioned this in another thread, but this administration is transparent in an entirely different way than advertised during the campaign.
Of course the photographer framed the photo so that we wouldn’t Dick Chenny with his hand up George’s ass.
When it comes to major legislation, the public wants to feel safe in the knowledge that Republicans and Democrats both think it’s a good idea.
Hey, I’m trying to eat my lunch here!
Sock puppets underused? Psshaw! What exactly is Rahm Emanuel?
Rahming speed!
Retards are not puppets. Using them that way is cruel.
We prefer to be called “hand-advantaged.”
Well played!
It will be political theater if Republicans can’t be bothered to show up with 2 cents in their pocket. They’ve been uniformed in opposition regardless of the substance of any proposals, which is why the only idea they have is “tort reform.”
Quick, somebody draft a Republican health plan!
That is the Democrat talking point, yes, but it’s a lie. There are several Republican proposals out there, covering more than tort reform.
As in the Paul Ryan proposals.
Which was immediatly denounced and dismised by the democrats.
I thought teabaggers were against Medicare cuts.
Who are the “teabaggers”?
Friends of yours?
In any event, Ryan’s proposal doesn’t cut Medicare for anybody who is currently on it or anyone 55 and older. They are all grandfathered into the old system and the changes would apply to all the younger people.
Well then they’ll have the opportunity to present them to the public. Win/win.
The administration hasn’t really shown itself to assume good faith or to be willing to consider the possibility that they’re wrong.
The administration couldn’t care less about whether their actions or ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It seems more likely that assuming as much control of the economy as possible is the end, regardless of the effects. Those who disagree with that are just in the way, principled or not, and were easier to ignore before the supermajority was lost.
bwahahahahaha!
socialism! argh
Right. That’s why Obama would be willing to go on, say, the O’Reilly Factor with no knowledge or control of what questions will be asked or followed up on.
No, win/lose, or possibly win/win/lose.
Republicans will present a few poll-tested popular ideas like tort reform, Obama will do his typical “oh, I understand you” and make it at least sound like he agrees with the ideas, and then those ideas will never, never, never be incorporated by the Congressional Democrats.
President Obama may do well by the Clintonian triangulation, but he’s setting up his party for a fall.
I’ll draft one. Let’s see…ah yes, here: Free (not as in me statist, me hand out other people’s stuff for free to my political constituencies) markets.
My plan:
1. Get rid of the tax deduction for employer provided health plans.
2. Repeal McCarran-Fergeson
3. Require insurance companies to keep covering patients for existing conditions if they got them while covered by employer-based insurance and subsequently lost their jobs.
4. DON’T require insurance companys to cover people with known prexisting conditions. But DO require the insurance company to show in civil court that a claimant intentionally concealed a pre-existing condition before a claim is to be denied.
5. Loosen medical licensing and medical school entry requirements from numerical limits controlled by the AMA, to standardized tests. Anyone who passes the tests should be allowed to become a doctor.
6. Deregulate many prescription drugs and home tests, so that individuals can treat themselves for simple illnesses.
7. Loosen regulations to allow corporations such as pharmacies to open in-store clinics run by nurse practitioners.
“Given that disagreement over the bill is likely a large part of what caused public opinion on the bill to dip so low, I’m skeptical that a summit that highlights that disagreement is likely to help Obama’s cause all that much.”
But Barry – I’m-not-an-ideologue Obama actually will try anything other than changing the substance of what he’s trying to do.
Becuase he actually IS an ideologue.
Promising a free lunch always wins over no lunch or make your own.
Unless the free lunch is a shit sandwich.
Given that disagreement over the bill is likely a large part of what caused public opinion on the bill to dip so low, I’m skeptical that a summit that highlights that disagreement is likely to help Obama’s cause all that much.
I think you misunderstand what Obama’s cause is here. He knows the health care bill is doomed — at this point he’s just trying to make the GOP look bad in preparation for the November elections.
While I wouldn’t call this a “brilliant political move” as one of my colleagues did earlier — since the media’s willingness to distort and lie for Obama makes him the equivalent of a guy with a machine gun battling a guy with a paring knife — it does present problems for the GOP.
The GOP has had the easy life of the opposition politician – no need to put forth comprehensive proposals, which inevitably piss somebody off.
Obama is kind of calling their bluff, here. Although it wouldn’t be too hard for the GOP to come up with a set of principles to guide health reform, and make that the topic of the meeting. This meeting isn’t going to go into any depth anyway.
Adopt Cato’s plan.
Obama really screwed himself over by not taking charge early on and following through on all his blustery campaign pledges for transparency.
By allowing Pelosi and Reid to run the entire show in the smoke-filled back rooms with no republicans there, he wrecked any pretense of serious bipartisanship.
The clip of him making the broken C-Span promise eight times is devastating, and the dog and pony show won’t fool many people.
What comes around .. goes around …
Tony,
Rahm Emanuel was talking about you a just a few days ago. Did you catch the story?
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Republicans showing up to this Obama circus is every bit as stupid as the arguments above urging them to.
Hasn’t buying insurance across state lines been proposed by several? Guess what, it does not meet the Obamateria of promoting his nationalization of health care and putting insurance companies out of business proposal.
His whole fucking premise is ‘lets meet and tell me how we can pass what I want, no matter how much you and your constituants don’t want it.’
Don’t give us this shit that the Republicans haven’t proposed anything, they have. It just isn’t what B. Hussein Obama wants.
Don’t give us this shit that this is going to be any sort of fair hearing. This is a bigger ambush than the Kennedy/Nixon debate and it doesn’t look like the Republicans are falling for it, for once.
There is still time.
hungerforurbrand There is still time.
Obama would probably take some GOP dissenters if he could get them?
Obama would probably take some GOP dissenters if he could get them?
hungerforurbrand