Posted on 11/13/2009 4:05:35 AM PST by Kaslin
Former President Bill Clinton visited Capitol Hill recently to deliver a pep talk to Senate Democrats. "It's not important to be perfect here. It's important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling," he reportedly told senators. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sounded a similar theme in an interview with the New York Times. "I'm sure there are a lot of people sitting in the shade at the Aspen Institute ... who will tell you what the ideal plan is. Great, fascinating. You have the art of the possible measured against the ideal."
So the strategy on crafting sweeping legislation that will profoundly alter one-sixth of the U.S. economy in the midst of the worst recession in 20 years is: Don't stress about the fine print. Just pass something!
This is the momentum theory of government. Governing is like campaigning: Keep the bandwagon rolling along and the voters will follow in the slipstream. Fail to do this, Bill Clinton warned, and Democrats may suffer the same fate in the 2010 elections that they did in 1994, after HillaryCare went down to defeat.
The former president is an acclaimed tactician and he may be right. But so many of his assumptions -- and those of the Obama administration for whom he was speaking -- are dubious.
In the first place, it isn't at all clear that Democrats lost in 1994 because they failed to pass health reform. A better explanation of the 1994 result was that voters were spooked by the attempted federalization of health care and expressed their displeasure by voting Republican. Certainly the subsequent retooling by the Clinton administration -- agreeing that the "era of big government (was) over" and focusing on small matters like curfews and school uniforms -- suggests that Clinton himself believed the health care reform was an overreach.
The Democrats also seem confident that -- no matter how sloppy or unseemly the process of getting to passage may be -- voters will be pleased with health care reform after it becomes law.
This, too, is a leap of faith. It requires a stubborn indifference to the steadily accumulating polling data showing that voters -- particularly the all-important independents -- are souring on health reform and are worried about overspending in Washington. An Ipsos/McClatchey poll in early November found that 49 percent of respondents oppose the health care reforms being considered in Congress while only 39 percent approve. In October, the numbers were 42 disapprove, 40 approve. Among independents, the number disapproving of health reform jumped from 38 percent to 53 percent. An October CNN poll found the approve/disapprove at 49/49. In November, disapproval took the lead with 53/45.
In the immediate afterglow of President Obama's inauguration, a bare majority (51 percent) of Americans believed that "government should do more to solve problems and help meet the needs of people." That seems to have been the high water mark. By late October, only 46 percent agreed. More ominously for Democrats, the liberal Brookings Institution published a survey showing that 53 percent of Americans worry that if government gets more involved in health care delivery, it will make matters worse. A Bloomberg poll found that fully 62 percent would be willing to risk lengthening the recession rather than to further increase the national deficit.
As for whether the voters will thank the Democrats if they succeed in ramming through a bill (Harry Reid is reportedly considering the reconciliation strategy in the Senate that would require only 51 votes), recent history should give them pause.
In 1988, with the support of the AARP, the House passed the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act by a vote of 328 to 72. A year later, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had to literally flee an angry crowd of unhappy constituents wielding placards bearing slogans like "Don't Tax the Seniors." The law was repealed 16 months after passage by a vote of 360 to 66.
The House-approved bill contains, among other things, $170 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage; $56.7 billion in cuts to home health care aids; $42.3 billion in cuts to the prescription drug program; and $5.3 billion in cuts to rehabilitation facilities. If these remain in the final bill, only two outcomes are possible. Either the cuts will not materialize, in which case Democrats will have to explain why they irresponsibly deepened an already punishing debt; or the cuts will bite, in which case the anger of older voters will make Rostenkowski's experience seem like a ticker tape parade.
Agreed.
Thing is the elected liars don't seem to understand a huge number of Americans, D's too, are sick-to-death of the grifting weasel and his battle ax SOS "wife". Bringing in the Bent 1 is the finest indicator of their desperation, so far to date.
Bill's a proven liar. A filthy philanderer and we only know publicly about ONE harlot. While the flip-side? Well she's her baggage & I'm not talking 'bout the saggy ones on her pins, either. LOL
The potentials there & confidence high for this blowing up in their collectivist faces. ;^)
Liberals do not do anything without trial ballooning and polling the American people as to which 'words' used give them their highest numbers. They data mine the American public for the most acceptable wording to present an issue they want to legislate. Now old Bill always had and maintained high polling numbers, whether he was outright lying or lying by omission.
But the history of Bill Clinton and campaigning for fellow liberals did not spread out his high popularity numbers. Which why I think they are sending out Bill to 'help' encourage these liberals because they know the majority have forgotten how helpful Bill was (NOT) in reelection campaigns across this nation.
I'm surprised Al Gore's not in there push "green" health care and raking off a little of that slush fund for himself...
Yes, absolutely.
Our Liberal-Socialist Democrat Party's easily the Focus Group Master of the Universe, hands-down. LOL
"Now old Bill always had and maintained high polling numbers, whether he was outright lying or lying by omission."
True, however that was then.
Consider:
1) His protege' was beaten by u-know-who.
2) His bride carrying the C name failed in her bid for POTUS. Remember their telling us during Clintigula's first term how happy we the public should feel for we got a "twofer" when we elected Bill?
Now while an ignorant overly ambitious carpetbagging shrew apparently was just fine for New Yorkers as their senator? The nation felt otherwise. She loses to a smooth talking street hustler with a whopping *17* months experience in ILLINOIS government. ~eh?
"But the history of Bill Clinton and campaigning for fellow liberals did not spread out his high popularity numbers. Which why I think they are sending out Bill to 'help' encourage these liberals because they know the majority have forgotten how helpful Bill was (NOT) in reelection campaigns across this nation."
Agreed, again.
I suspect we're saying the same or similar thing from differing perspectives.
Can't speak for you; but, [it's] the story of my life.
But is was fun, and, my pleasure anyway. LOL ;^)
I wonder how the term “slush fund” polls?
When we can finally follow the money on Pelosi/0b0z0/Emanuel health care fraud, there may not be enough tar/feathers and rope to handle the abusers.
You mean as that Detroit woman called it 'Obama's 'stash', she was in line to collect?
Liberalism is the master of the art of deception and they have the polling data to prove it. And if 'slush fund' polls negatively they will send out the talking points to their Jon Stewart media mouth pieces to make sure every time the words get used some Republican's face is attached to the phrase.
Yes we do agree... Now if you and I can 'see' it what is wrong with the GOP 'golden TARPers', that causes them to be blinded by the deception of liberalism.
Oh, well.
As outspoken as I'm wont to being? LOL
I'm an (was) EE, not a psychiatrist -- O4 muzzie kind or otherwise. LOL
The answer to your question requires something Divine & well above my pay-grade, JMTs.
All I can say with any certainty's what you already know, yourself: the situation's nuts. :^)
It looks familiar, why I ask, my middle child is in an EE PhD program. And he has the patience of Job in discussing with me his area of research.
Yes.
I'm retired from engineering & have been since age 44. About 13 years.
"It looks familiar, why I ask, my middle child is in an EE PhD program. And he has the patience of Job in discussing with me his area of research."
PhD level EE?
You must be VERY proud, not an easy achievement regardless the school. A genuinely intelligent child, that one. ;^)
Oh, and your child's really above my pay-grade. LOL!!
BTW OT, my friend buuuuut Drudge just posted a story zerO may be dropping C&T.
Yes my friend, the zerO gets it.
Stay tuned, and IF you see [it] posted here?
Could I impose of you to please *ping* me??
Gotta go outa for a few hours and I sure would be grateful for your help. :^)
Congratulations.
PhD level EE? You must be VERY proud, not an easy achievement regardless the school. A genuinely intelligent child, that one. ;^) Oh, and your child's really above my pay-grade. LOL!!
If I were to pick one word to describe, it would be blessed. Not so much about his intelligence and/or achievements, but to see and live first hand the handiwork of our Heavenly Father, discovering the reality of the concept of individuality. I sure did not figure this out on my own but through recognizing the individuality of each of my three children.
More than anything else I am thankful that all my children have the ability to understand the concept of individuality. And they each are willing to accept that responsibility to search out and find what are their own personal God given gifts and abilities.
Liberalism is so very tempting, especially if one spends much time on a college campus. And while I could not understand at the time why Animal Farm was required reading in one of my high school speech classes, it has served me well in recognizing the liberal mind that some animals will always be above the rest. And how liberals pervert everything they touch in order to make sure they are the 'above the rest' animal.
BTW OT, my friend buuuuut Drudge just posted a story zerO may be dropping C&T. Yes my friend, the zerO gets it. Stay tuned, and IF you see [it] posted here? Could I impose of you to please *ping* me?? Gotta go outa for a few hours and I sure would be grateful for your help. :^)
I have not yet seen anything on C&T. I have had limited time to spend in front of the computer.
IF I find anything I will *ping* you.
Worth repeating again and again.
I'm of the Animal Farm generation, myself. :^)
Thanks for the link, my friend.
Drudge had the article up for about 3 days, gone now.
The headline was of course misleading to say the least, as his usually are. Lame attempts at sensationalism his claim to fame while not realizing he is, at best, very late to the party. LOL
Was certainly misleading in the context of the information contained within that which you posted, anyway.
Drudge's headline sounded as though zerO made this decision, when in fact it was a consensus of econutz meeting to discuss the faux issue *&* all our futures.
Typical. LOL
Still, am really flummoxed.
Why hasn't this 'news' garnered more interest?
Perhaps an indicator of how burned out people really are?
Strange.
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