Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Timidity costs votes. So does pussyfooting around issues. John Walsh is doing both, which to me explains in part why he’s running in place in the polls.
Here’s how he dealt with the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) in his debate with Steve Daines and Roger Root, reports Charles Johnson of the Lee State Bureau:
Walsh said the United States must move to a system under which “all of our citizens can receive quality, affordable health care.”
“The president promised we would see health care costs come down,” Walsh said. “He promised that if you like your insurance company, you could keep it. He promised if you like your doctor, you could keep him. I’m hearing from Montanans that that’s not the case. So until I see the costs of health care come down in Montana, the jury is still out from my perspective.”
In other words, “Hey, don’t blame me for Obamacare’s problems. I wasn’t there when it was passed.”
You’re running as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. The ACA is a Democratic program — not a single Republican voted for it — and like it or not, you have an obligation to defend it. And defending it vigorously will help your campaign.
First, forget the complaints your office receives. Some, perhaps a lot, may be generated by Republican operatives trying to spook you. Don’t be spooked by polls that ask people whether they like Obamacare. Pay attention to how much people like the ACA’s specifics, such as an end to blackballing Americans who have pre-existing conditions. People like the specifics.
Second, for all its travails, the ACA is doing good things. People are finally getting insurance they can trust, premiums are reasonable, and more insurance companies are signing up with the program.
Third, voters support elected officials who have the courage of their convictions, even when those voters might not be that enthusiastic about the policies derived from those convictions. But they scorn politicians who pander, pirouette, prevaricate, and pussyfoot.
Here are just two examples:
Last Tuesday, Sen. Lindsay Graham, a steadfast champion of immigration reform, won his primary election in a state infested with voters who think all immigrants, legal and illegal, should be shipped back to the nations from which they came. But Eric Cantor, who didn’t lack for other flaws, flipped and flopped, circled and spun, pussyfooted and pranced, took every position ever proposed on immigration, and imagined others. He registered in negative territory on the sincerity meter, and lost his primary.
So stop tippy-toeing around the ACA. It’s not a land mine. It’s good medicine for the nation. Defend it — with enthusiasm and conviction — and promise to improve it.
How? If I were writing copy for a web video on the issue, I’d say something like this:
Do you remember health care in 2008? George Bush was President. The economy was falling apart. Life savings were disappearing. And pre-existing conditions disqualified us for affordable health insurance.
Loophole riddled, low priced insurance defrauded honest, hard-working Americans. Yes, they could afford it — but when they became ill and submitted claims, they found it was worthless, and that they faced a medical bankruptcy.
That’s behind us now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act — and thanks to the Democrats in Congress and the White House who stood up for honest, hard-working Americans and made the ACA the law of the land.
Junk insurance is finally illegal. Good health insurance for hard working men and women and their families is finally affordable. Getting sick no longer means losing our health insurance, our homes, our retirement nest eggs, and our good financial names.
Pre-existing conditions? We can have them and still get affordable health insurance. And we know our claims will be paid.
That’s progress, real progress — major progress that improves our lives, and the lives of the people we love.
And that’s why I support the Affordable Care Act.
Sure, the ACA's not perfect. It needs some fine tuning. What new law doesn’t? But overall, it’s doing a world of good for Americans. Let’s be smart about this.
Let’s keep the Affordable Care Act and work together to make it better. Staying healthy depends on our doing so.
I’m John Walsh, and I approved this message.