Democrats are going full steam at bashing Republicans as "The Party of No"reports Nolan Finley (thanks to Vincent).
But what's the downside to obstructing an agenda a majority of the American people oppose?The GOP should wear the "Party of No" as a badge of honor. They should market it.
Because what Republicans are saying "no" to are the same things the American people are saying "no" to. They're saying no to a massive expansion of government, no to outrageous deficit spending, no to the inevitable tax increases, no to job-killing mandates and no to policy-making from the extreme left.Who wouldn't say yes to politicians who say no to all that?
…Obama this week made the grandstanding gesture of inviting Republicans to a bipartisan, half-day, televised health care summit and warned them to come prepared to compromise. At the same time, both he and congressional leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the legislation Democrats passed without including one Republican priority. The question isn't whether Republicans will stop saying no, but whether Democrats will say yes to moving to the middle.They continue to push a proposal the public isn't buying. Despite an intensive PR effort by the president and his surrogates, despite an advertising campaign financed by big pharmaceutical and health care companies, despite a barrage of scare stories ginned up by the media to create a demand for government-controlled health care -- the fact remains that Democrats haven't been able to move Americans behind their plan.
….Republicans are offering a menu of market-driven reforms. Not one is in the final package because Democrats gambled they could leverage their super majority to force through a one-party bill that fulfills a left-wing wish list. They couldn't, and now they're blaming the GOP.
What the Republicans would do with health care is less sweeping than what Obama envisions and less costly. That places it more in line with the comfort level of a public that is increasingly anxious about the exploding federal government.
The GOP has asked for tight limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, expansion of tax-sheltered health savings accounts to encourage patient involvement in controlling costs, increased competition in the insurance market and measures to help the hard-to-insure get coverage. That's what they're saying yes to, and it could form the basis for reasonable health reforms -- if the Democrats stopped saying no.
Obstructing unpopular measures carries little political risk.
Republicans can read the mood of the nation; they aren't going to say "yes" to joining Democrats in their refusal to accept political reality.
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