Post-healthcare Reform Lessons For Both Sides Of The Aisle: Democrats
Enough patting yourselves on the back. It's time for some tough love VH1-style.At some point, the whole healthcare debate yanked the power cable from my mind's socket. I enjoyed writing about the back and forth nature of the debate, the triumphs, the missteps, and the silly moments sprinkled in. After the President's healthcare summit, I completely checked out of the debate. I realized that people didn't care what was said. Constituents had dug themselves so deep within their trenches that no one even considered the merits of the other side. For example, when the contents of the bill changed, the talking points remained the same. Those who followed the evolution of the healthcare measures in both houses know how much the bill's contents shifted -- most significantly when Democrats dropped the public option. But despite the change, people kept talking about a "government takeover of healthcare" and "socialism." More importantly, politicians didn't care what they, themselves, said. The healthcare summit was less a discussion and more blindly lobbing rhetorical grenades from one trench to the other. So, yes, I checked out. Nothing new had been said for months and the impasse continued. Finally, the Democrats achieved their victory last Sunday, Facebook exploded, and now it's time to reflect on what we learned from this long, grueling experience. I don't want to be a stick in the mud regarding the Democrats' victory, but a little tough love never hurt anyone. I'll start with my own party.
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