Some Republicans have been saying things that amount to a declaration of war on a sitting US President. They want to defeat him at all costs. They could care less about the constructive role of making the US a better place for the American people. Senator Jim DeMint said that "if the Republicans can stop Obama on health care, it will be his Waterloo, it will break him." Yeah, we must defeat the US President when he is trying to make the US a better place for most non-billionaires. The language of warfare and battle is replacing the language of civil discussion. Talk about defeating Obama, breaking Obama, driving a stake through the heart of Obama's health care - this is the most vitriolic and uncivil use of metaphors in US history. It's suggestive of killing Obama.
In fact Bill Kristol has used precisely that word: "kill."
With Obamacare on the ropes, there will be a temptation for opponents to let up on their criticism, and to try to appear constructive, or at least responsible. There will be a tendency to want to let the Democrats' plans sink of their own weight, to emphasize that the critics have been pushing sound reform ideas all along and suggest it's not too late for a bipartisan compromise over the next couple of weeks or months.
My advice, for what it's worth: Resist the temptation. This is no time to pull punches. Go for the kill.
The Obama White House and the Democratic congressional leadership shouldn't be underestimated. They're tough. They'll cut deals and twist arms to try to keep their priority legislation alive. They'll certainly attack their opponents, whether their opponents' tone is conciliatory or confrontational.
So this is not the time to let them off the ropes. This is the week to highlight every problem, every terrible provision, in the Democratic bills: from taxes and spending to government control and rationing to federal funding for abortion and government-required death-with-dignity counseling sessions for the elderly. Throw the kitchen sink at the legislation now on the table, drive a stake through its heart (I apologize for the mixed metaphors), and kill it.
Drive a stake through "its" heart. "Kill it." Nothing about constructive criticism. Only the language of warfare. It's all about defeating, even killing, Obama; nothing about making the US a better place for its citizens. OK, it's about making the US a better place for billionaires and corporations although they won't come out and actually say that. Talk about not discussing the merits of the health care bill. It wouldn't matter what health care bill Congress came up with. It could be the best thing that ever happened to America. The Republicans would still want to "kill it." Why? Because they want to defeat Obama at all costs.Why? Because they lust after political power. That's all they're concerned about. Make the US a better place for the average American? They could care less.
If the Democrats openly declared war on a sitting US President, the Republicans would be yelling "treason." Treason is in the eyes of the beholder. To paraphrase Nixon, when the Republicans do it, it's OK. When the Democrats do it, it's not. The Democrats should be under no illusions about Republican motives. If they think the Republians are interested in anything other than taking political power by any means necessary, they're crazy. I hope Obama is under no illusions either. I hope his talk of bipartisanship is meant to burnish his image as a nice guy rather than as a realistic approach to passing any legislation. The Republicans will seek to defeat anything Obama attempts to do, and the Democrats hopefully know that and will proceed accordingly. They have the votes and the power. They should use them and it to get the job done with repect to health care or anything else.
NO PUSSYFOOTING!
