Here’s the perfect example on why Republican leadership is lost and cannot lead the party back. To win at any argument you need facts and you need to frame the argument for those facts. With the Affordable Care Act the Republican Leadership took a winning argument and framed the facts exactly the opposite they should have. Let me explain.
They made every argument about the website and the number of signups the administration promised. Are they really that inept? That out of touch? That clueless?
First of all, they knew that companies and people would be losing coverage because of the act. Well here’s a message for you. People like me are responsible citizens who are concerned about their future. If we lose coverage we are going to find it somewhere else. When you made the argument that seven million wouldn’t sign up what were you thinking? Didn’t you realize working citizens take responsibility? Lucky for you the President cancelled the corporate mandate or even more would have signed up.
Then you walked around talking about the mismanaged website as if in this age of technology it wouldn’t be fixed. What were you thinking? Do you even know what companies do today?
So you focused on the web and signups, the two areas the administration could deliver on. What should you have been talking about? You should have been 100% focused on:
– The ACA was created to insure the 40 Million people who had no coverage. Where are we with the 40 million? You should (and have been) talking 40 million in every conversation and every time the main stream media said 7 million, you say “wait this was designed to insure 40 million not 7″.
– Next ask where the average families $2,500.00 savings are. That was a major promise. Look into the camera ask people “where is your $2,500 savings, have you seen it”? They lied, make them pay.
– Pelosi and her leadership said “you have to pass it to know what’s in it”. Now that they passed it America are you satisfied? They certainly aren’t having made 38 changes on their own without any approval. Ask the people do you think that “maybe next time we should read and understand it”?
– They also said you can keep your doctor, your plan and save. Point that out so they look like the fools they make you look like. “So we were going to insure 40 million more people, most at no charge and save each family $2,500.00″. How did they propose to do this? it can’t be done, they lied.
Yet Republican leadership is so failing they choose to focus not on the 40 million they promised to insure, or the family savings of $2,500, and disruption in doctor, hospitals or services: but instead on a web site and the administration number of 7 million. Simply makes no sense.
Obama, Reid, Pelosi and team claim victory today because 7.1 million signed up. The fact that 4 million of them probably lost their insurance because of the ACA and were responsible citizens is lost. The fact that almost no one is saving $2,500 is ignored. The fact they won’t tell us how many signed up for free coverage is not noted. The fact that 40 million may still be uninsured is not talked about is all because opposition leadership has no clue how to frame a winning argument. Ask yourself after all this what progress was made for the uninsured which was what this about?
Next? National Health Insurance is here to stay. Like Social Security and Medicare it will become part of the fabric and in the future any talk of changing it will lead to instant defeat. Will Republican Leadership have the sense to seize the moment and gain credit for fixing it? No, what they’ll do is continue talking about repeal until they get voted out again.
Dumb, just plain dumb.