FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)I judge the effectiveness of a speech, any speech, by how quickly my mind wanders. And I understand I have a short attention span. My past is full of being caught tuning out by my parents, teachers, friends and even a few bosses. (Hey Joe – next time you leave you have to take your body.) It took 45 minutes Wednesday night before I checked the clock and realized I had been sitting glued to my television watching President Obama’s Health Care speech. (This was a good 30 minutes better than South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. The camera caught him instinctively beginning to clap – at a Democrat applause moment – about 10 minutes in. Self consciously he took a quick glance around the chamber and then began rubbing his hands together as if he was in front a camp-fire.)
Personally I thought Obama’s speech was one for the ages but then again I am a sucker for complete sentences, coherence and rational thought. Even if the cadence, tone, delivery and the appeal to our better angels didn’t budge your cynicism, some of the nuts and bolts content had to catch your attention. Just the idea of outlawing pre-existing conditions or making it illegal for your insurance company dropping you as soon as you get sick had to raise your pulse rate.
I don’t think insurance companies or the people who work for them are inherently evil – although I did envision insurance company execs over the Labor Day weekend, cigars and brandy in hand, congratulating themselves on a hell of a summer in holding up reform – no, the insurance companies are just Wall St. oriented. Which means to be successful they need to take in as much money as they can while spending as little as possible. This strategy works really well with widgets, not so much with human beings. But I digress.
The less important but at times much more entertaining yardstick I use to judge a speech is other people’s reactions to what I know I heard. Let’s start with the “spontaneous” applause and standing ovations from the Democrats. Being a team-player is all fine and good but where were these folks over the last several months when they were front and center carrying the Health Care Reform baton? Hiding behind the President’s rhetoric is no way to lead. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the Democrats wake up one day and realize they’re in the majority.
Across the proverbial aisle the Republican response can parsed into three categories. The first being what we saw while the President was speaking. Slumped in their chairs, with bored scowls and the occasional eye-roll, all the while texting their buddies, the Republican members gave the best imitation I’ve seen of petulant, know-it-all pre-adolescent children - by adults - I’ve ever witnessed.
This was all capped off by South Carolina Congressman “Brainless” Joe Wilson, who somehow mistook the proceedings for a professional wrestling match and heckled the President. Now there’s a class act. Unfortunately, it appears that the reaction to his little outburst has flown by “Brainless” at light speed which is probably the status quo for him.
The second Republican response was that the President didn’t provide enough “details”. Sorry to burst your do-nothing bubble Congress-people – but that’s your job.
The last Republican response - which seems to be the post-speech party line - is the one articulated after the President’s speech by Louisiana Congressman and Doctor Charles Boustany - Who was yet another lamb led to the slaughter. It makes one wonder about the spines of the Republican leadership when they themselves won’t stand up to the President but instead with a pat on the back, a wink and a script, send in yet another clueless unknown proxy in an ill-fitting suit to respond. Thankfully Boustany’s response was brief and in a nutshell came down to “We need to start over”. That was the Grand Old Party’s brand new idea.
On Thursday when Boustany was still enjoying his 15 minutes of fame on cable news he spouted in one breath the existing health care bill needed to be scrapped and in the next breath claimed there was at least 80% of common ground between the two parties with respect to the existing bill. When asked what that “common ground” is, the Congressman turned into Ralph Kramden – “Hummada, Hummada”. It was unclear what he had read before appearing on national TV – what was clear was that he hadn’t perused the Healthcare Bill.
I don’t agree with the entire reform bill – hell, I don’t even understand all of it. To be honest I don’t follow exactly how it will be paid for nor do I fully comprehend what an Insurance Exchange is. On the other hand an “exchange” system is what Congress uses and if the amount of plastic surgery among our elected officials is any indication, the exchange concept appears to be a very patient friendly system.
This is exactly the time and the issue where responsible opposition is needed. But it’s becoming abundantly clear that this is beyond the Republican Party’s current capabilities. And that’s a shame.
All the rhetoric, finger-pointing, flat out falsehoods and Chicken Little scare tactics can’t mask the fact that there are no Republican solutions, no ideas, just blind opposition. It doesn’t matter what the President says - or does for that matter. The Republican response is simply negative and scary. Terms like patriotism, socialism and bipartisanship become meaningless when there’s no substance behind them. Targeting our resentments without addressing them only goes so far. When total unmitigated disaster for the country you supposedly love is your desired outcome - When in fact ruin is something you’re gleefully hoping for, it’s time to change your plan. Or at the very least change your perspective beyond the tip of your nose. Republicans will only stop these apocalyptic tactics when we make them, i.e. when we hold them accountable. It’s not a whole lot to ask – just make them do their jobs. Right now civic duty is too lofty of a goal.
