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Kudos to banjomike for being Johnny on the spot with the link to the rational political analysis from former Reagan speechwriter David Frum who accurately criticizes Republicans for their all or nothing campaign on health care reform. And like Napoleon after Waterloo, they now have nothing because they put politics over policy, threatening to turn our country into a cynical wasteland just so they can try and be in charge again. I especially appreciated his acknowledgment of how the teabagger juggernaut does nothing to move America forward/Sisyphus, 43rd State Blues. David Frum column and rest of comment here.
Question: If the historic health care reform bill was a waterloo for one party or the other, which party will ultimately suffer the most from it?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Sisyphus on March 22 at 12:22 p.m.
Actually I think Frum was riffing off of a comment made last summer, during a conference call with conservative activists, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said that if the Republican Party was able to defeat Democratic efforts to pass a comprehensive health care bill, it would “break” President Obama and be “his Waterloo.”
If Democrats had failed to pass it, DeMint may have been correct. But the battle was finished yesterday and Napoleon lost. And the positive effects of the legislation kick in before November. I’m interested to see the next move by Republicans. They’re now endeavoring to hamstring financial reform by sponsoring a bunch of worthless amendments designed to create procedural barriers. Defending banksters will be a tough sell.
spokelooneh on March 22 at 12:24 p.m.
Yes, that’s exactly what Frum was addressing, DeMint’s refererence of the GOP defeating health care reform as being Obama’s waterloo.
bpoole on March 22 at 12:28 p.m.
“They’re now endeavoring to hamstring financial reform by sponsoring a bunch of worthless amendments designed to create procedural barriers. Defending banksters will be a tough sell. ”
Two of those members are Vitter and Bunning:
http://www.politico.com/static/PPM145_mikelink.html
hmoffsuite on March 22 at 12:58 p.m.
If the economic effect of the health reform bill proves to be a negative, it may very well prove to be a waterloo event for the Obama administration, imo. When everything is said and done, the health of the ecomony and unemployment stats will be a determining factor when elections roll around. It could be the impact of the health reform bill will not sufficiently effect jobs or economic growth and things might improve significantly. If they don’t, however, the administration will be held accountable by the voters. Like Clinton said, “its the economy, stupid”.
TheContrarian on March 22 at 1:09 p.m.
I have a question, how will Mitt Romney be able to campaign in 2012 against Democrats and Obama considering the health care plan just passed, which was universally panned by almost every Republican politician, is very similar to the plan Romney passed while he was Governor in Massachusetts.
bpoole on March 22 at 1:20 p.m.
He will look like a fool!
Sisyphus on March 22 at 1:25 p.m.
I agree hmoff. I’m pretty sure he does to.
hhuseland on March 22 at 1:52 p.m.
Unfortunately, both partys have polarized to a point of bizzare. Of course, the left wouldn’t see that about themselves, would they?
JamesBond on March 22 at 2:03 p.m.
I am very skeptical that Republicans will be hurt at all by opposition to the health care bills. The polls are just terrible for Democrats right now. There is still time left for things to change, but there’s also tons and tons of pain ahead, such as tax increases, if these bills are to become a law that is implemented. Plus, with the way it was passed, the Democrats now completely own the entire health care system, i.e., any problems are their problems.
Charlie on March 22 at 2:31 p.m.
I think David Frum was a speech writer for Pres. G.W.Bush, not Reagan.
Sisyphus on March 22 at 2:51 p.m.
You might be right Charlie. I got that tidbit from at least three other sites but I see nothing about Reagan on his wiki page. Indeed he graduated from law school in ‘87.
bpoole on March 22 at 3:09 p.m.
He was a speech writer for Bush.
bcnqrgd on March 22 at 4:09 p.m.
R.I.P. GOP
Arch_Druid on March 23 at 7:49 a.m.
I saw pure hatred by Michael Steele toward Nancy Pelosi this morning on “The Early Show.” Indeed, Mr. Steele wants to literally own the “TEA Party” as a basically minority radical movement as “the people” whom the Dems in their “arrogance” preferred to ignore. Uh, if you are going to be part of a “movement” that shouts racial and homophobic slurs, I’m sure I’d ignore you too.
It’s not going to get ignored in any case by people whom this legislation could benefit.