l****z 发帖数: 29846 | 1 By DICK MORRIS
Published on TheHill.com
on January 18, 2011
Printer-Friendly Version
Now for the counteroffensive. The House Republicans are pushing to repeal
ObamaCare. While they will doubtless succeed in the House and either fail in
the Senate or face an Obama veto, their decision to raise and debate the
issue is a crucial one. As happened when it passed last year, ObamaCare will
ignite a national controversy.
But are conservatives prepared to win the debate? When ObamaCare was being
pushed through Congress by the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Obama and Emanuel, the
right was galvanized. Rallies, demonstrations, town-hall forums, television
ads, letters to the editor, television commentary -- all bombarded the
nation, emphasizing the faults of the bill. But now these voices are stilled
, complacent, perhaps exhausted. Or are they intimidated by the liberal spin
on the Gabrielle Giffords shooting that we all must lower our voices?
Already, liberal groups and unions are running ads calling on House
Republicans not to repeal ObamaCare. One such spot, paid for by Americans
United for Change, says:
"Members of Congress know that their health insurance plan can't deny
coverage for their kids. Congressmen can rest assured that their insurance
plan won't drop their families if they get sick. The Affordable Care Act
gave your family the same protections that members of Congress get. But
Republicans want to take that protection away from your family. They want to
put insurance companies back in charge. Call Congress. Tell them you
deserve the same health insurance protection they get. Tell them: Don't
repeal the Affordable Care Act. You deserve the same health insurance
protections as Congress."
Where is the conservative reply? Where are the conservative voices? Could
the opportunity to repeal ObamaCare give the left a chance to make its case
without an answer?
Voters still oppose ObamaCare. The Rasmussen Poll has them backing repeal by
55-40. But if opponents of the program remain complacent, those numbers
could change quickly.
Republicans need to remind America that the huge increases they are now
paying in their health insurance are concrete evidence of the impact of the
mandates in ObamaCare. They need to point out that the $500 billion of
Medicare cuts are coming and that, already, reductions in physician fees are
driving thousands of doctors to close their doors to Medicare patients. The
Republicans need to explain how ObamaCare creates an entirely new
entitlement and will swell the deficit.
Voters don't buy the argument that ObamaCare will cut the deficit. According
to Rasmussen, 45 percent say that repealing the program is more likely to
cut the deficit, while 33 percent say leaving it on the books will be a
better way to reduce it. Republicans need to underscore this linkage.
The larger point is that the new Republican House gives conservatives a
chance to re-litigate the battles they lost in Congress in 2009 and 2010. At
each turn, they need to re-fight the battle for public opinion and carry it
each time. A president usually sets the agenda. But conservatives can keep
the focus on the unpopular spending and legislation Obama jammed through a
Democratic Congress by pushing for de-funding and repeal.
Republicans won't get repeal. But they will be able to de-fund the program.
They can block the IRS from enforcing the individual and employer mandates
and can stop the Department of Health and Human Services from slicing $500
billion from Medicare and implementing healthcare rationing. But it will be
a long fight. Republicans will have to demand these concessions as a
prerequisite for approving the budget and perhaps even a debt-limit increase
. They will need to stand their ground in the face of the hue and cry that
they are being irresponsible and holding the nation hostage.
And they'll need public opinion on their side!
They will need the Tea Party to get loud and conservative groups to start
advertising. It's the second round. A round the opponents of ObamaCare can
win. But they mustn't go to sleep. They need to wake up! |
|