The recent election results in Virginia and New Jersey, where Republican candidates for governor triumphed over their Democrat opponents, say more about the public’s rejection of Obama’s big government solutions and less about Republicans articulating a message to help Middle America.  If Republicans think the public is embracing the party again, they are simply whistling past the graveyard and completely out of touch with the needs of Middle America.

Not that Democrats are offering any worthwhile solutions to address the most pressing needs of Middle America—job creation—but at least Democrats are intellectually honest about their desire for big government, universal healthcare, taxpayer-funded abortions, labor union power, and a litigious society for plaintiff lawyers to fleece the public.  There is something, dare I say “refreshing and frank” about knowing where Democrats are on issues that impact Middle America, whereas Republicans pretend to be something they are not.

It is time for the Republican party to stop blindly whoring for the business community and begin addressing the issues that impact Middle America—job creation, affordable healthcare for all, and quality public education for our children.  Republicans are a one-trick-pony, where “tax cuts” are their solution for all of Middle America’s problems.  It’s because the party cannot articulate rational policy solutions to the real problems we face.

Take healthcare for instance; the Republican solution has been health savings accounts (HSAs).  Are you kidding me?  We can’t get people to save money in IRAs, never mind HSAs.  That’s the best Republicans have got?  Why don’t Republicans push to allow consumers to shop for healthcare across state lines, require everyone to have healthcare, and deny insurers from rejecting consumers with pre-existing conditions?

If Democrats have any hope of maintaining power, they too need to put viable solutions on the table for Middle America, where people care a hell of a lot more about jobs and the economy than government-run healthcare, union card check, the protection of gays from hate crimes, and cap and trade.  Both parties have failed miserably to address the needs of Middle America, which I suppose is why I feel so disillusioned with both parties.

A. Muser

http://americanmuser.wordpress.com

Government is not a bad thing.  For those who think differently, view government as a necessary evil, whose purpose is to serve the people, not vice versa.  As we were reminded by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address in 1863, “. . . this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. . .”  Like it or not, government belongs to the people and it is here to stay.

The speed with which politicians are moving to rush a 2074 page healthcare bill through Congress with little debate leads Middle America to ask the obvious question, “What’s the hurry on an issue of such great importance?”

Well, the hurry is that this week Middle America picked up the scent of the rationing of healthcare with confusion over when and what women should get mammograms and pap smears.  As time drags on, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about how healthcare might be rationed, which has Democrats are as nervous as long-tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs.

If ever there was an issue that touched every American personally, healthcare is it.  Clearly, something has to give—there has to be some sort of healthcare reform, like the ability to shop for healthcare across state lines, a prohibition on rejecting pre-existing conditions, a requirement that every American have health insurance, etc.  However, the need to get healthcare reform right greatly exceeds the political demands to just get “something” done and declare victory.

Middle America has been betrayed in a way, since every word of every page of the 2074 page bill isn’t being discussed and publicly debated in great detail by this administration, which campaigned on “transparency.”  Sound public policy requires a lucid and thorough examination of this legislation, but it appears that once again, sound public policy is being traded for political expediency.

Obama’s advisors and Democratic consultants know that time is their enemy—the longer Congress takes to pass healthcare legislation, the less political capital they have to pass anything at all, and the more likely Middle America will thoughtfully consider how it might impact its own mammograms, pap smears, and healthcare needs.

The honeymoon period typically extended to new presidents is now coming to an end, if it hasn’t already come and gone.  Unfortunately for President Obama and Democrats, they campaigned on delivering “healthcare reform” and staked their political future on it.

Middle America is not naïve, and will not allow itself to be played like a Stradivarius violin.  Making healthcare reform their lynchpin issue was a very calculated decision by Democrats, not done hastily, but after much polling and many focus groups.  Democrats have made healthcare a political football and Middle America is increasingly concerned about it.

Understandably, Democrats exploited the issue of healthcare reform for maximum political value during the campaign, but now the campaign is over and the wolf is almost at the door.  Democrats know they have to deliver something, and this “something” really needs to be thought through with great deliberation and debate.  If given a choice, Middle America would be better served with nothing, rather than “something” hastily rammed through Congress.

A. Muser

http://americanmuser.wordpress.com