The Democrats: Bringing America Together… Against Them

Back when President Obama was merely candidate Obama, we were told how his presidency would bring America together.  As Glenn Reynolds keeps telling us, “they were right”.

Arguably, the most significant change that the President and his party in the House and Senate have attempted thus far is a government takeover of the Healthcare system in this country, under the guise of “health care reform”.  Whatever else might be said about Obamacare, it has certainly managed to bring the country together in a way that few people have managed to do over the course of our country’s history.  Of course, the results are not quite what the Democrats expected.

According to recent Rasmussen polling, 53 percent of Americans oppose President Obama’s health care vision, with 42 percent supporting it.  Not only is this diametrically opposed to the Democrats’ intended result, it is enough of a shift of numbers from the figures back on election night, to suggest that there is a large group of people who voted for Obama who are strongly opposed to his actual policies. One can only conclude that those voters who have shifted their positions subsequent to Election Day, were not paying attention during the election season, since the Democrats gave us every indication they were going to do precisely what they’re trying to do now.  This Healthcare takeover attempt was not a surprise.  Perhaps they thought he wouldn’t really do it, I don’t know.

In any event, because of this support fall-off,  the President has returned to campaign mode.  It’s something the Democrats have a history of doing when they find themselves in a situation of lack of popular support.  For example, Bill Clinton never quite made it out of campaign mode. The very reason the JFK was in Dallas that morning he was killed was because he, too, was in campaign mode, trying to drum up support.

But as usual, there seems some truth stretching going on.  As an example in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at a town hall conducted in front of a tightly controlled …(and therefore,  friendly)… crowd Mr. Obama told us that the AARP supports his health reform plans.  Trouble is, it’s not true… a point that AARP itself was quick to point out in a press release even before the President had left the building. Forgive me the observation, but it doesn’t strike me as being overly trustworthy, when you resort to flat out lies to support your position.

It gets better. At that same gathering, one of the people asking the president questions about his health care plan, and what we’re supposed to think about it, came from eleven year old girl. It was certainly a photogenic moment, and one that reinforced how much the president “cares about the children”.  With her question, she gave him a beautiful point to leap off from into the land of campaign rhetoric, in support of his proposed government takeover of health care.

But, of course, there was a problem with this too. It seems that the girl in question is the daughter of Kathleen Manning Hall, who among her many other activities, was running “Massachusetts Women for Obama” during the original campaign. After calling anyone not supporting his government health care takeover, as being disingenuous, Astroturf, and so on, what it not make sense for the White House to avoid using planted questions and questioners?  Is there anyone who does not understand that the President is being disingenuous in these preplanned affairs?

There are some who will say that the White House is badly mishandling these affairs. But frankly, I wonder if given the circumstances it could possibly be handled any better than they have been doing. They didn’t get themselves elected because they mishandle campaigns. They’re smart enough campaigners to use the best tools possible for any given task.  I suspect these campaigners are using these planted questions, and flat out lies, because they are simply the best tools in their kit bag, right now.

That, perhaps, is the most damning argument against government health care of all.

There is talk these days, that the Democrats will try to ram this monstrosity through and into law in a non- bipartisan fashion.  This is to say, without the cover of a paltry few leftist Republicans supporting their position, so they can call it a ‘bipartisan plan’.  Certainly, that’s always been an option given the supermajority that they have in both houses.  At the end of the day, it comes down to which they want more; their own power retained, or socialist medicine in place.  Given the way the polling data is lining up, just now, I tend to think they will not.  2010 and 2012 are looming on the horizon, ever larger and the Democrats know very well that they’re in trouble, here.