Republicans Created the Rhetoric of Healthcare

Democrats have a major problem in running campaigns this fall. First, there is an incredible amount of energy against them. Second, many of the good things they've done in Congress haven't had physical, concrete results in the minds of most people. Third, and probably most important, the rhetoric around the legislation that they've had successes with has been set against them. It's easy for people in the economic recession we have right now to be swayed against whatever party is in power. Although we had a slowing economy and the threat of a recession during 2007 and early 2008, the Obama campaign was about change and hope from the bleak political situation most people felt we were in. The economic crash then happened in the months after the election of Obama and from then until now we've suffered the most debilitating effects of the mortgage and credit crisis and the loss of jobs.

The first major piece of legislative action that came from the new administration was the Economic Stimulus. Bailouts were a necessity. After the Bush Bailout made $700 billion disappear into the banks, it was difficult for opponents of the Obama administration to reject the stimulus bill out of hand because so many manufacturing industries, principally the auto industry, were in jeopardy. A tremendous amount of negative energy came out of the base of those political opponents. They then spent the political capitol gained from their base on the health care bill.

Now, here's the crux of things: No matter how much the Democrats were in front of television to explain to the American public what the legislation was, the Republicans and the Tea Party were infinitely more successful. From the moment of the Tea Party protests onward the Republican Party has controlled the rhetoric surrounding healthcare. Even the fact that some people call the health care legislation Obamacare, is indicative of the control that Obama's opponents have over the rhetoric.

With a little more than a month to go before the elections, many Democratic candidates are avoiding directly discussing the particulars of the health care bill because Republicans have been so successful at playing on people's fears and misconception about the legislation to turn it into irradiated political nuclear waste.

Despite the rhetoric that Republicans have created over 'Obamacare', in their new policy statement, Republicans are advocating repealing the entire bill and instead implementing many things that have already been put into place by the health care bill. Many things that President Obama is now trying to barrage the press with, such as removing lifetime caps, getting rid of the restrictions against people with pre-existing conditions, and children with pre-existing conditions being allowed to get insurance, all of those things are nearly universally popular.

The public in general, I think, has this perception that there is massive amounts of pieces to the legislation that will kill health care in this country, or that it is some totalitarian-ish take over of their right to control their own care. That's an interesting line of thinking, but it doesn't in any way mitigate the fact that the Republicans won't do any better.

With their outright commitment to privatizing Social Security, Medicare, and the VA hospitals and veteran's health care, it is curious to think that some people believe their interest is in terms of healthcare in general would be on the side of consumer protection and offering affordable options to the uninsured.

Democrats are afraid of the negative associations with their health care bill and that if they run on the merits of that bill that they'd suffer for it. Because they didn't respond to the Tea Party protests by getting their own activists out into the public forum and didn't make a more concerted effort to publicize those merits, it is probably true, they probably can't run on health care.