According to Politico, Democrats are beginning to show some worry over their abandonment by independent voters. But they don't seem to understand the reason behind their plummeting popularity. Here's an example.
Pat Waak, the chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party, said the party had so far failed to convince independent voters of the steps it had taken to improve the economy.
“I think the economy is at the base of the tension,” she said. “Quite frankly, we’ve got to do a better job of messaging. There’s a lot of work to be done to get independents more comfortable with what we’re doing.”
Here's the thought that hasn't managed to penetrate progressive skulls. Independents know what Democrats are doing, and they don't like it. Instead of taking steps that would actually help the economy, like cutting taxes on both businesses and individuals, Democrats have used stimulus money for political payoffs, like transferring ownership of GM and Chrysler to the United Auto Workers union.
And while the economy continues tanking Democrats decide to push a health care reform bill that will run up the deficit, will not improve care or make it any more affordable, and that a majority of Americans don't want. It is nothing more than a naked grab for power. It's hard to believe how Democrat/progressive leaders can be so incredibly avaricious and stupid, but they are -- just plain stupid. They'll be sure to work on their messaging, though.
Afterthought: If Democrats are smart enough to figure out their policies, not their message, is the reason they're losing independent voters in droves, they have a simple remedy. They'll lie about their policies.
So let's be realistic. Progressives, as leftists like to call themselves, know all this about the single payer systems. They just won't admit it. Why is that? One of the single payer shining stars in the video above is Yale Political Science Professor Jacob Hacker. He is very candid about the underlying rationale for promoting a public option for health insurance. It inevitably leads to a single payer system.
'Someone once said to me that this is a Trojan Horse for a single payer. Well, it's not a Trojan Horse, right? It's just right there.'
[...]
'One of the virtues of it is that you can at least make the claim that there's a competitive system between the public and private sectors.'
Another who makes her appearance in the video is Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat from Illinois. A strong proponent of the single payer model, she is even more open about there being another agenda. To the cheers of her single payer audience she says,
'This is not a principled fight. This is a fight about strategy for getting there, and I believe we will.'
Ah, but where is "there?" Just as the public option can be seen as a Trojan Horse for getting to a single payer plan, health care reform itself is a strategy. Barack Obama is pragmatic about getting and keeping power. The goal is an enduring progressive majority in congress, and the progressive strategy for achieving it has always been to encourage more people to rely on government. When people depend upon government they will vote for those who favor more of it. Health care reform is vote buying on a massive scale. And the beauty of it is that Democratic votes are bought with federal tax dollars.
Think about it for a moment. When health care reform finally passes and we all depend on Uncle Sam to cure our ills, what will be the more beneficial to progressive politicians? A health care system that works? Or one that requires constant attention from our progressive champions in Washington?
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