This new article written by Stu Rotherberg regrading health care should scare many of us. http://www.rollcall.com/...
He writes about how Republicans are seeking to "alter" the reform debate by finding ways to "derail" any Democratic plan. He mentions that Republicans are going to again attack the plan as "risky" and an "experiment" and will seek to reassure Americans that they have their own plan by using vague, feel good language like "protecting doctors from expensive lawsuits", "cutting Washington bureaucracy to create "big" healthcare savings". If Democrats let Republicans use this as their plan for healthcare, they should be sued for political malpractice. This purposely vague language is yet again a coverup for what Republicans really want to do, and that is keep the current system the way it is.
A key reason why we must move very fast on this is this one:
Republicans think that time is on their side, which is why the Castallanos memo insists it is crucial for Republicans to slow down what it calls "the Obama experiment with our health
"Even voters who support a 'public plan' think Obama and Congress are moving too fast, with reckless speed, risking a huge part of our economy and our health care, when they don't know what reform would really bring" the memo says. "If we slow this sausage-making process down, we can defeat it.
We HAVE to pass this and pass it quickly. Forget the Republicans even exist because they dont want Democrats to have any success on healthcare. If Democrats pass healthcare with a public option, they will lock in a majority for a generation. If not, liberals and Democrats will be the laughing stock of everyone and will lose their majorities in 2010 due to low turn out from liberals because of the dissapointment in the failure of healthcare reform, just like in 1994.
Rothenberg finally adds this:
If Republicans can successfully convince Americans that they have a significant health care form agenda that addresses exploding costs and protects both the quality of care and patient reights, yet doesn't add to the deficit, require higher taxes or turn over control to government bureaucrats, they will only add to Democrats' problems in producing a bill that can pass both chambers of Congress
If Democrats miss what is likely their last chance to get universal healthcare, they dont deserve to ever win a majority again.