Post Brown victory, some Dems still just don't get it :: Political News and commentaries

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January 20, 2010

Post Brown victory, some Dems still just don't get it

Topics: Political News and commentaries

Listening to Fox News this morning I heard Ed Rendell, Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, say in an interview that given the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, "it is clear" that the Democrats must immediately ram-through the Senate version of Obamacare by persuading House Democrats to accept the bill the Senate passed last month - and thereby force the Republicans to filibuster their plan and say why they (the Republicans) oppose the bill. He then said Republicans should say why they're against such things as tort reform and giving people the right to buy insurance across state lines - which are, of course, two of the reforms the Republicans have been pushing for and the Democrats have rejected.

What Rendell notably failed to mention is that contrary to just saying no, and despite having been totally shut out of the process by the Democrats, the Republicans have tried to propose common sense reforms and have made proposals of their own - it was the Democrats who did all the rejecting. What the Republicans have been saying no to is not health care reform of any kind, but health care with genuine market solutions that don't involve the government running it.

Then there's far-left, WaPo opinion columnist Harold Meyerson saying essentially the same thing:

It was clear even before the polls closed in Massachusetts Tuesday night that the options before Obama and congressional Democrats must become radically more focused. Unless they no longer believe they have a raison d'etre as a party, congressional Democrats must pass health-care reform -- the Senate version -- while at the same time enacting through the budget reconciliation process (which requires a simple majority in the Senate, not the 60 votes required to protect the bill from filibuster) the House-Senate compromises on how to fund the project.

In other words, the Republicans should accept the liberal-progressive - big government takeover - socialist agenda of the Democrats and sit down and shut up. Unfortunately, this reflects the mindset of most, but not all, liberal Democrats - and the list who don't especially includes the White House.

However, in his speech on Sunday, Scott Brown disclosed the secret of his successful campaign which is the real message that the Dems should be getting out of his momentous victory:

[...] The political experts are still wondering how this little campaign of ours grew so fast and gathered so much strength and momentum. The reason is simple.

We do not want a senator whose only question on health care is to ask Harry Reid, "How do you want me to vote?" Massachusetts wants real reform, and not this trillion-dollar Obama health care bill being forced on the American people.

This bill would raise taxes. It would cut Medicare by half a trillion dollars. It would be unfair to our veterans. It would destroy jobs, and run our nation deeper into debt. It is not in the interest of our state or country - and as your senator, I will insist we start over.

[...] raising taxes, taking over our health care, and giving new rights to terrorists is the agenda of a new establishment in Washington. And they think you're on board with all of it. They think they own your vote. They're sure they can't lose. But on Election Day, the Bay State will set them straight.

So what is clear, Mr. Rendell, and others of similar mindset, the American people do not want the far-left's liberal progressive/socialist agenda, they want no part of a European-style nanny state, and the last thing they want is the current versions of Obamacare.

As Jennifer Rubin suggests this morning, Scott Brown has given the GOP its message, a message that took him to victory in a state the GOP lost by 25 points just a year ago: lower taxes (don't raise them), create market solutions for health care (don't allow the government to run it), and prosecute the war against Islamic fundamentalists robustly (don't give the lefty lawyers at the Justice Department the final say). Both the GOP and the Democrats should be paying attention.

Posted by Richard at January 20, 2010 9:09 AM

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