One of the more interesting developments surrounding the “health care” debate is the incredible inability of the left to read, understand and consider the mood of the general electorate. The town hall meetings being held across the country embody the nation’s mood more than anything that’s happened in years, perhaps decades. The general population’s mood is sour, concerned, fed-up.
President Obama is hell-bent on getting his health care initiative, or any initiative for that matter, passed. If anyone disagrees with this, they are branded as part of the problem, and are told to get out of the way. Speaker of the House Pelosi has suggested that the concerned center-right, that is, the vast majority of the country, is a swastika-carrying band of neanderthals looking to lynch the first liberal Democrat Congressperson they can find.
Peggy Noonan has described the President and Democratic Congressional Leadership (a potential oxymoron), as being tone deaf, and to a certain extent, she’s correct. It’s really much bigger than that. President Obama is convinced that he has to provide leadership (we’ll address style in another post) on this because he sees the system as broken. He also sees everything that happened during the Bush Adminstration as a “failed policy”. I used to think that this was his rhetoric, but the President says it with such frequency and conviction that it’s clear that this is his world view.
The real issue is this: The President, the Democratic Party, and their supporters are out of touch with the vast majority of Americans. What enabled the President to get elected in the first place, hope and change, is scaring America to death. The moderates who voted for him on the basis of his empty rhetoric are now experiencing buyer’s remorse. The Administration and Congressional Democrats can employ the politics of intimidation, but that is only scaring the moderates more.
Memo to the Democrats, including the President, Mrs. Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: You’re wrong on this one. If you continue to pursue a socialized health care initiative, if you pass and sign any bill while intimidating the folks who just might disagree on this, well, you can enjoy your last term. It will give Conservatives an opportunity to exploit your arrogance. This time the people may not forget. Enjoy your last term.
