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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI keep sounding the warning, and all that I've predicted is coming to pass. Wake Up Democrats.
I am constantly accused of being a plant, a trickster, or of lying when I say I want Democrats to win. From not being one of "US" by which I mean Liberal Democrats, to secretly cheering the failures.
I have an affinity for using analogy to get my point across. Let me use one now. Each election is like a football game. The game is not over until the election results come in. Like a football game, each election is divided into time, plays, and scores. The final score is sometimes a surprise, but there is always a result. After the shutdown, many of us cheered that the Republicans were destroyed, and by us I mean those on DU, and the Democratic Party at large. I didn't think so, I know the Republicans are not nearly as dumb as we would hope, and I knew that there was a lot of game between the shutdown, and the election. Yes, we scored an unopposed touchdown, and yes we had the lead, but that lead is all evaporated, and we're behind. All I am doing is trying to wake you here at DU up, and those in the DNC. I honestly think that the DNC reads this, because from time to time we know that Representative Grayson does. http://www.democraticunderground.com/~Alan%20Grayson
I have been warning that the ACA is a potential balloon, a phrase I've used, lifting us, and a potential millstone, drowning us depending on how we manage the problems. We can bemoan the Republicans, or we can work the populace around them. My goal is simple, I want to win the House in 2014. I believe we need to hold the Senate, and I think both of those outcomes are in doubt.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57613067/poll-obamacare-support-obama-approval-sink-to-new-lows/
Thirty-seven percent now approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, down from 46 percent in October -- a nine point drop in just a month. Mr. Obama's disapproval rating is 57 percent -- the highest level for this president in CBS News Polls.
You can believe I am cheering it secretly, or you can believe what I am saying when I say again that we need to manage this better. Because the next phase of the problems is less than two months away, and we are not doing anything proactive, we are barely doing anything reactive.
What we must do now. President Obama doesn't need to run out and blame the Republicans, he needs to take a leadership role, and that means proposing fixes, and improvements, even if, especially if Congress doesn't act. First IMO would be Federal assistance for those looking at medical school in exchange for the future doctors becoming General Practitioners. Second, the women's health issues that we think will take much of the sting of the screwed up rollout away will only work if the women can get those procedures done. In other words, all the medical screening coverage in the world doesn't matter if they can't get in to see a doctor to perform those procedures. Now, we can blame the Republicans, we can blame the medical industry for not having enough OB/GYN's, or we can propose fixes. We pay for college for people who want to join the Military. Why not offer to pay for college to provide a desperately needed service to their fellow people? Yes, I know it will be years before this program gets even one Doctor into the field to help us, but it is a program we can point to as a long term solution to a problem that isn't going to go away overnight.
Many here have given up on fixing the ACA and argue that now is the time to lay out the case for Single Payer. Ask yourselves this my friends. If your mechanic forgot to put the drain plug back tight into your oil pan, and all the oil leaked out, and your engine seized, would you go to the same mechanic to rebuild the engine? Nobody would, unless it was a relative who would work for free and pay for the parts to do it. Otherwise, no you wouldn't. You would go elsewhere, furious with the mechanic who screwed your engine up.
That is where we are. We can be the mechanic who screwed it up, or we can be perceived as the mechanic who is trying to salvage it and fix the problem. Speeches blaming the Republicans at this point, don't get us anywhere. Real people are looking for real answers and they don't want platitudes and finger pointing. They want answers, and they want solutions.
Even if the Republicans don't pass the Doctor training plan, then you can say that you are anxious to hear how the Republicans plan on helping the people get healthcare since there is a critical shortage of doctors. If the Republican plan is to repeal the ACA, then they are left out in the cold, while WE move forward with solutions. Then we can win in 2014, and make the changes, and set ourselves up to win again in 2016. Or we can point the fingers, and let the poll numbers continue to fall to the point that only 58% of Democrats polled approve of the ACA, and if that falls much more, the calls for repeal will be so loud that too many vulnerable Democrats in the Senate will go along to save their re-election efforts.
Best case scenario if we continue as we are, telling people that eventually they'll love the ACA, is not even rolling the dice. We need to fight for the people, because that puts us in a position to ask them to help us fight to make the improvements needed. Otherwise, we're going to be in the minority, and lucky to hold onto the White House in 2016.
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tridim
(45,358 posts)You're pretty late to the party actually, but your FUD skills are not in question. Heckuva job mann-y.
Sid
Loudly
(2,436 posts)"We're opening up Medicare enrollment to everyone, regardless of age."
Let the for-profit medical insurance industry compete with the premium, deductible and uniformity of THAT!
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)and would be better suited for the demographics ... 
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)You're also accused of being a Libertarian.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)If I was Libertarian wouldn't I be in favor of smaller Government?
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)Again, Obamacare is succeeding, slowly, but it is. Nothing major like this moves smoothly, i.e. SSI and Medicare. Even back then you had the GOP party sabotaging the heck out of them but not not at the rate and extent of the sabotaging that is currently held at this point in time with ACA.
Polls, yeah right. These were the same polls that predicted that RMoney would be out next president. They can be adjusted to continue the constant propaganda of the Corporation Machine in this case. Some polls do tell the reality but most do not.
As to single payer, I foresee it happening in the near future but by state.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)It didn't end well for Cassandra.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Everybody is arguing over how to best get Americans better health care. I'm OK with it.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)heated but, it is good for the soul of this nation.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)some listening going on ... I see small signs of that. I am hopeful. I just hope it is not too late. Action is needed and soon.
The economy and ecology worry me, still.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)But change is always resisted, it can drag on for a long time.
However, for the reasons you state (economy, ecology) I don't think that will be the case. It already has dragged on for a long time, the issues were clear fifty years ago and longer. We don't have a long time, the consequences are with us now.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)I said the House and Senate. Look at the details of the poll. http://www.scribd.com/embeds/185695292/content?start_page=1
Republicans in Congress have a 21% approval rating. Good, they're pretty low. Not as low as they were, but still low. But Democrats have an approval rating of 26%, which is much lower than it was six weeks ago, and falling. Republicans are up three percent, and we're down four.
A vast majority of those Democrats are running for office again. Several vulnerable Senators are up for re-election. Several House members are vulnerable too.
If we want to take the House, and we want to keep the Senate, we need to get ahead of this, and we need to turn it around before the Republicans are more trusted than we are. Because we can't just sit around and hope that the Republicans fuck up again. They might, but I don't think our best chance at electoral victory is counting on the other guy to shoot himself in the foot.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)I doubt that random Democratic Congress-persons are going to lose their seats because of temporary problems on a government website. There are many more crises to go before next November.
zeemike
(18,998 posts)And not vote or vote for the other guy just because they are pissed.
But you will see that will not apply to the GOPers....they will stand in solidarity with the GOP, and Dems will lose because of it.
And the problem is not problems with a government web site, the problem is with the media who will play it for all it is worth day and night...thus making people more pissed off and disillusioned.
We never seem to catch on to that game...and just keep sticking our head in the sand and pretending it will be OK if we just believe.
The OP is correct...and we need bold leadership from the Dems, not flaccid excuses.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)zeemike
(18,998 posts)How sad for you.
There is an ignore button for that here if hearing things you don't like troubles you.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)It is one that can get discussion going in our favor. That way we are proactive, instead of barely reactive. It lets the people know we are committed to helping them. It lets those people know that we recognize some problems with our nation, and we hope to fix those problems. One of those problems is a shortage of doctors. That problem is going to become more apparent in about two months, and the news stories will follow that exacerbation of the problem we're in now. By proposing it NOW, we get ahead of the news story, and we put the Republicans on defense, and the momentum shifts back to us.
Perception is a big part of politics. It's not just what you do, it's what it looks like you're doing. Right now, it looks like we're doing nothing, and that is never a good position to be in.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)And the ACA includes funding for community health centers that will bring actual care to people who currently don't have access.
What you are proposing, while interesting, does nothing to "help" with the ACA's current issues.
The ACA's current problems are (a) web glitches, and (b) a fabricated outrage about crappy plans getting cancelled. So anything one would propose would have to respond to these issues directly.
malaise
(269,157 posts)The same groups doing the polling thought the 2012 Presidential election was too close to call.
They are always wrong.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)I know the numbers versus the predictions too.
We assumed we'd pick up the House, and we didn't.
Pretzel_Warrior
(8,361 posts)Polls said house would stay GOP. Way to use revisionist history.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)
-Laelth
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)We are seen as having ideas to fix the problems, instead of just sitting and waiting until some more favorable moment. By arguing in favor of fixes, we are arguing to help the people. If the Republicans don't act on it, you can keep bringing it up every week on the talking heads shows. Then the news cycle turns to our favor, and we have the momentum going into 2014. We might even get the House in addition to keeping the Senate.
We propose it as a long term fix to a serious problem, and we do so knowing the People are smart enough to understand that there are no quick fixes. Just because it isn't a quick win doesn't mean we shouldn't propose it.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)And, politically, it is wise to do so, even though we know nothing will come of it because the House Republicans will obstruct. In the meantime, we need to remember Truman.
No apologizing for the ACA!
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
-Laelth
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)I certainly argued against it in 2009.
Forcing people to buy insurance is not a good idea.
But there's no use crying over spilled milk. We passed it, and now we have to own it. As such, I refer to Truman:
No apologizing for the ACA!
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
At this point, I think circling the wagons is our only choice.
-Laelth
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Health Insurers Profit Protection Act.
gulliver
(13,193 posts)It's a long, hard road. We need to get the ACA basically chugging along in the next couple of months. Then we can build up a backlog of pressure against the Republicans for continuing their sabotage by obstructing fixes. Dems can run on a successful program that would be more successful if the Republicans would stop obstructing, shutting down the government, etc.
The perception of failure won't grow from it's current panic level, IMO. Even if the failure gets worse, the perception will still drop. People get used to their car making a clicking sound when it starts and so forth.
If the ACA fails, the negative critics among us on the left (the ones hoping ACA will fail, for example) will be pariahs, not unlike Nader voters.
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)"make this right"? You mean the law he made "wrong" in the first place and now needs to be "fixed" so that it is "right"?
This is the same president that I was supposed to trust to come back for more stimulus if his first one wasn't big enough. He came back with a tax cut that including extending the cuts for the rich.
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Is he going to actually move for the public option?
ProSense
(116,464 posts)in another thread, let me know when approval of the law drops to 23 percent.
Affordable Care Act continues to outpoll Bush's Medicare Rx launch
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/19/1256789/-Affordable-Care-Act-continues-to-outpoll-Bush-s-Medicare-Rx-launch
I'm sure the media will ensure it reaches that level in the polls.
Still, you have to ask: Why the disparity?
WaPo/ABC and CBS show huge drops, but Reuters and National Journal don't.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024058205
Are they going to talk about the improvements?
Reports: Obamacare Enrollment On The Rise
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024057644
Obamacare enrollments surging, HealthCare.gov working better
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/19/1256749/-Obamacare-enrollments-surging-HealthCare-gov-working-better
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)were problems but which the Republicans and 'Moderates' in Congress thought were brilliant methods to impose 'self reliance' such as the Doughnut Hole of Death, that gap in coverage for the elderly that kicks in just when they need coverage the most. The Congress that made the Doughnut Hole also made the Madate Without Option ACA. So later, they will have another 'reform' to 'fix' the ACA's problems, the green grass grows all around, the people never get what is needed but the political class gets what it needs, fuel to continue the pillage.
MythosMaster
(445 posts)nuff said.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)to your constant hair on fire warnings is very unbecomming.
CrispyQ
(36,509 posts)A lot of people don't know or care who holds power in the Senate & the House. They are focused only on the President & since the president is a dem, by their way of thinking, the dems are in power. So, if things aren't all rosy come 2014 & 16, it will be the dems fault & people will vote repub.
Americans are woefully uninformed & have terribly short memories when it comes to politics. They are also easily swayed by commercials. They will not remember that it was the Bush years that pushed us so far into debt; they will not consider that it is an obstructionist repub House that is impeding current progress; they will only remember that for the last six years, a dem has been the president & they are not any better off, so it's time to give the other guys a shot.
I hate to say it, but I believe many voters think this way.
librechik
(30,676 posts)they are doing NOTHING about their truth problem.
Look, ACA is a big capitalist fuckup due to its mandate of some profit for the Insurance companies.
The solution is Medicare for All. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT.
It's inevitable and time is getting short for the criminals in suits who run what used to be the people's government. A sneeze could ignite the mob rage they fear.
Yet they can't stop feeding and feeding on their victims (all the rest of us billions). Unlike the zombie apocalypse, these parasites are few. They know we could overrun them if we manage to break out of the propaganda haze they have us living in.
The Republicans in Congress (the sane ones) know this. They are just cravenly disgustingly desperate to NOT have Obama's name on any successful program. That is their election strategy. They have no platform. All they have is negative politics for the elections.
WowSeriously
(343 posts)You haven't learned to stop letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
You haven't learned to play the hand you're dealt.
If you stop trying to hold their feet to the fire, you won't get burned by the labels "plant" and "troll".
boomersense
(147 posts)I am not that upset about the web site fiasco. I'm a CNE and I have seen plenty of web site fiascoes. The main thing I am disturbed about is the apparent untruth about people getting to keep their insurance and doctors. Yes, one can call the plans wanting to be retained junk as some here say, but this "junk" is what the people were happy with and allowed them to keep continue seeing their own doctor--extremely important. From the people I talk to, this is what they are most disturbed about. Did the Republicans exaggerate this problem way out of proportion? Sure. But it is still a problem. Throughout history, the most difficult situations to overcome by a president is a perceived lie to the people. As far as moving to single payer now...no, perhaps next Democratic administration if such administration follows this one. With the current situation, the CBS outlier poll notwithstanding, there are a lot of avenues for problems coming up next year: TPP, Immigration, Entitlements. What I am worried about now is how the implementation of ACA however perceived will affect the budget negotiations in December. Will the administration offer some kind of ameliorative deal to diminish the problems it had with ACA? I have a suspicion this Christmas may not be a very merry one. I hope Bernie Sanders can do some good on the budget; if he does, it makes him even more viable for a 2016 presidential candidate.
Pretzel_Warrior
(8,361 posts)
Delusions of grandeur
Lifelong Dem
(344 posts)"What we are seeing is incredible momentum," said Peter Lee, director of Covered California, the nation's largest state insurance marketplace, which accounted for a third of all enrollments nationally in October. California—which enrolled about 31,000 people in health plans last month—nearly doubled that in the first two weeks of this month.
Several other states, including Connecticut and Kentucky, are outpacing their enrollment estimates, even as states that depend on the federal website lag far behind. In Minnesota, enrollment in the second half of October ran at triple the rate of the first half, officials said. Washington state is also on track to easily exceed its October enrollment figure, officials said.
Enrollments are moving at a faster clip than during October in these, despite the fact that some people are confused by the problems the federal site has had, not sure if the sites in their own states are working. Covered California's director said that the state has had to change its marketing to remind people that the state site wasn't the same as the federal site, and was working just fine.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/19/1256749/-Obamacare-enrollments-surging-HealthCare-gov-working-better