The most important asset that President Obama has in his effort to transform health-care policy is the consensus inside Washington that he will succeed. As long as the major interest groups believe that a liberal health-care bill is going to pass, they will work with its sponsors rather than incur their wrath. As long as Republicans believe a bill will pass, they will offer modest amendments instead of going all-out in opposition.
This consensus has not been conjured out of thin air. The Democrats have a large and mostly liberal congressional majority and a popular president. But the type of health-care policies they have in mind have serious political vulnerabilities. If opponents can exploit them to reduce public support for the Democrats' plan, then wavering Republicans, moderate Democrats, and the interest groups will start to abandon it.
The public, for its part, wants reforms that address its concerns about health care but is not tied to any particular set of policies. Most people are satisfied with their own insurance arrangements and standard of care — more so, indeed, than they were in 1993, the last time Washington Democrats took up this issue. They are against rationing and against individual mandates. They are unwilling to see broad-based tax increases and worry about large increases in our already-huge deficits.
Here, then, is the basis in public opinion for a politically successful opposition to the Democrats' health-care plans. Any liberal plan will either raise most people's taxes or raise the deficit, and possibly both. Any liberal plan will either impose rationing right away or set the stage for rationing in a few years. And almost any liberal plan will disrupt the existing health-care arrangements of millions of Americans and replace them with something that could well be worse. It could, for example, throw many millions of Americans out of their private insurance and into a public plan, where they might find that their doctors don't want to see them any more. (Some Democrats promise "Medicare for All," but "Medicaid for All" is at least as likely.)
The selling point for health reform is supposed to be that it will make people more secure. Republicans must directly rebut that claim, and then argue that there are ways to make health insurance more secure, affordable, and accessible. Offering tax credits to individuals for whom employer-provided insurance is not available is a way to offer immediate relief to people locked out of the current system, and to move slowly toward a better one.
It's worth noting, too, that more vulnerabilities are likely to emerge as the debate continues. As it becomes clear that the administration intends to expand abortion coverage through its reforms, for example, support will drop. The only question is by how much.
The campaign against Obamacare should be populist. It should say: So what if the health industry and politicians in D.C. are on the same page? Taxpayers and patients aren't being consulted, and they'll be hurt. Opponents should also contrast any bill to Obama's campaign promises. He said he would not push for socialized medicine, and he savaged Republicans for proposing health reforms that would allegedly raise middle-class taxes and throw people off the insurance rolls.
We are willing to concede that the political line-up in Washington is daunting. A conservative reformation of health policy is out of the question. But preventing a federal takeover of health care is very possible. So is laying the groundwork for political change and a future health-care reform worthy of the label. But none of it will happen if Republicans play dead.
Obama, the Democrat party, and the media (sorry for the redundancy) are doing everything they can to make the case for the inevitability of this, and they're working hard to portray the fix for 'fairness' and 'crisis' in their plan. What we absolutely must realize is that their plan is the same thing that has killed health care in literally every other nation that has tried it. It will increase costs, decrease quality, stifle innovation, and eventually lead to the rationing of life-saving and life-improving procedures and medications. In short, it will literally put the federal government in control of your health.
Under no circumstances should we accept this!
Do not think that the clanging cymbals and megaphones of the Left represent the prevailing attitudes of the nation, because they do not. While a great many will be fooled by the cutesy slogans and lofty pontifications from the Obamessiah, most people will see this for what it is: more government control, and over a critical piece of their life. If we are informed on the details, stand boldly, and speak the truth, this can and will be defeated.
Remember when Hillary Clinton was the 'inevitable' next President of the United States? Well, guess what? Nationalized health care is 'inevitable', too. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...!
But we've got to start working on it RIGHT NOW. Get busy.
There's my two cents.
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