The GOP strategy for dealing with health care reform became abundantly clear yesterday when an internal RNC memo made its way to the Huffington Post. It claims the Republican Party will “engage in every activity we can to slow down this mad rush.” They also make the absurdly ridiculous claim that the “reckless speed” with which Democrats are trying to pass a health care bill “is a grave threat to America’s health care, and America’s health.”
That’s hard to believe when 76% of the public support comprehensive health care reform. A June New York Times survey found by 72 to 20 percent, Americans favor the creation of a public plan. They also think that the government would do a better job than private insurers of holding down costs and providing coverage, according to the Washington Post.
If, as the RNC memo claims, they will promote sensible alternatives to the health care reform being discussed, where is the Republican health care plan? What is their strategy, besides being as uncooperative and destructive to quality, affordable health care for the entire country?
The answer is: they don’t have one. Their only objective right now is to derail the health care reform America wants and desperately needs. The whole mission of the RNC is to force health care reform to come to a screeching halt in order to make the President look bad. Republican Senator Jim DeMint summed up this effort: “If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
Republican opposition to health care reform has nothing to do with their concern for saving money for American families or ensuring that rising premiums do not kill our economy, but about making the Obama administration look bad. They are putting all their time and energy into scare tactics phrases such as "bureaucrat boogeymen" and "socialized medicine," but the American people are not fooled. We know that health care reform cannot wait. When you sign the Americans United petition and forward the Republican Health Care Horror Show video (the image is a screen capture from it) to your members of Congress, you can show them that you wholeheartedly support comprehensive health care reform and they should, too.
Photo Credit: YouTube
