Is Obama Setting A Political Trap For Rep’s Bipartisan Healthcare Summit?
By Richard West on February 15, 2010, 8:46 amGive a man enough rope and he’ll hang himself. At least that is what the old adage says. One of the key Republican opposition talking points to Obama’s health care proposal has been that Republicans have largely been shut out of the legislative process. With the bipartisan health care summit, Obama is attempting to remove that critical plank from the Republican arguments.
Here’s Your Stage, Don’t Fall Down
In an interesting twist, Obama now feels comfortable giving Republicans a chance to air their views. But in the political sense, it provides the administration with two wins. It gives the appearance of bipartisanship which an increasingly anti-incumbent electorate so clearly desires after the debacle of the last few months. And it also allows the administration the chance to paint Republicans as being out of touch with what the nation wants and needs.
Giving The Dog A Bone
And then there’s the idea that Democrats may give the Republicans some concessions in the process. Democrats could then pass the legislation with some Republican support and claim victory. The key for Democrats is to give as little as possible while gaining the most Republican votes in return. If Republicans are looking for tort reform or other major concessions, they will probably be sorely disappointed.
Probably what the Democrats don’t want is to leave the summit with absolutely no Republican proposals in hand at all. That would not look good in public opinion and force the Democrats to pass the legislation in the reconciliation process, forcing up or down votes on amendments that Republicans would surely lose. Obama would then be painted by Republicans as just another partisan politician who will say and do anything to get his policies enacted. In the 1990′s the term “Slick Willie” was bantered around in conservative circles. If Obama ramrods health care through Congress without considering Republican ideas, how long will it be before he gets his nickname?
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The “bipartisan” health care summit is just another trick from Obama and his comrades to force us to swallow the Obamacare scam. Obama will use the summit to further lie, manipulate, intimidate, coerce, and BRIBE (at our expense) additional organizations and people to force us to swallow the scam.
As we can see, his ACORN operatives in the media and the state-controlled media are ready to help him use the trick to force the scam on us.