The Tragic Miscalculation: Where Democrats Went Wrong on Health Care
Last August, as health care town hall protests broke out across the country, the Democratic National Committee issued a statement which included these words:
The Republicans and their allied groups – desperate after losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on Capitol Hill – are inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid right wing extremists funded by K Street Lobbyists to disrupt thoughtful discussions about the future of health care in America taking place in Congressional Districts across the country.
However, much like we saw at the McCain-Palin rallies last year where crowds were baited with cries of ‘socialist,’ ‘communist,’ and where the birthers movement was born – these mobs of extremists are not interested in having a thoughtful discussion about the issues – but like some Republican leaders have said – they are interested in ‘breaking’ the President and destroying his Presidency.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. As it turns out, that group of “right wing extremists” just won a senate seat in blue Massachusetts. Tragically, the Democrats underestimated the public discontent with health insurance reform from the beginning. Instead of downplaying and marginalizing the opposition, they should have taken it as a signal to moderate. Instead, they dug in even more, and that is tragic, not only for Democrats but also for the American people. Although I don’t support health insurance reform in its current form, I do want something productive done. Unfortunately, thanks to the Democrats’ fumble, we might have squandered our opportunity.
