Health Care Win Explains Why Republicans Keep Getting Clowned by Obama

Republicans, health care bill

In the days ahead, conservative talk radio will see a boon in listenership, where pundit after pundit will accuse President Barack Obama of forcing a government-run health care gulag down the throats of American taxpayers. They will have conspiracy theorists blathering about everything from how the president's mom sneaked him in to the states from Kenya during the '60s in a plot to take the White House to how Biblical prophecy about the Antichrist has come to fruition.

Based on that, rest assured, one thing it will not have is new material.

Even still, that won't stop the right wing from trying the goofy stunts they've been trying for the past two years. So far, it's resulted in the GOP losing Congress, a black president and now a monumental change in how health care is administered in this country. If the GOP keeps this up, the Democrats will barely need to run for office. They'll just let the Republicans embarrass themselves in to oblivion.

Look, it's not that I despise Republicans the way they hate Obama. On the contrary: conservative perspectives belong in and are necessary for the national dialogue. There should always be at least two ways of looking at anything. Besides that, Democrats are historically really lousy at reining in government spending on a social level and are even worse at bringing people together under one accord.

But I've gotta separate Republicans from conservatism, really. Conservatism only means in theory, if not in practice, careful fiscal spending, not letting taxes get too heavy on people's backs, limiting how far government can really go in to the lives of individuals and not fixing what ain't broke.

On the other hand, modern Republicans talk that talk, but won't walk that walk. Since the Reagan era, they've repeatedly busted the budget with frivolous spending - taxes on the middle class were typically heavier than under Democrats - and forced dozens of intrusive laws passed (particularly affecting minorities), with Homeland Security being one of many examples of the government creating unnecessary policy.

So now as former President George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum says, Republicans could be looking at their own Waterloo. I don't agree with that. The GOP doesn't have to die just because they got kicked in the gnads on this one. But if it does, it's because they tried to create a Waterloo for Obama. If you'll remember Sen. Jim DeMint vocally said so.

Let's not get it twisted. There's plenty wrong with this legislation not the least of which is that there is no public option, which to me diminishes its value. Universal health care means enabling anyone who gets sick the ability to be administered medical assistance, either proactively or reactively. This bill falls short of it.

Getting 30-million people access to insurance that wouldn't have had it otherwise, though, plus getting rid of preexisting condition rules that actually kill more people than the diseases they have do, is no small feat. Congratulations to those who had the courage to recognize that, even with the political risk involved.

Now, the GOP's problem is that their agenda was never about making things better for American citizens. It was always about hurting Obama. It didn't have to be, but somehow they let Tea Party fruitcakes take over their message. They let conservative talk blowhards become their PR reps. They tried to counter a brilliant black Democratic party leader with a black GOP dud who isn't half as smart. They kept listening to Sarah Palin for Christ sake!

Even as the teabaggers shouted racial and homophobic epithets at the Democrats, the Republicans came out to egg them on as if they were giving them some type of sordid momentum.

This comes after years of Republicans refusing to see things the way the rest of the country sees them. For at least my lifetime, their mantra has been: if it's good for white males, then that's as far as we need to take it. Which is ironic because in my grandparents day, Republicans had been seen as centrist, even liberal, at times.

Their refusal to find common ground, and instead be emboldened by outdated political thinking, has cost them bitterly -- again. They've got the teabaggers to thank for that.

If Democrats are smart, what they will do is pick up this momentum and sweep through with reforms on domestic issues like financial regulation, immigration policy and the environment to name a few. They tend to slip when they get a big win, so I hope they realize the wind is now at their backs.

The only winners on the neo-conservative side will be the Limbaughs, Becks, and Malkins of the world who make their money off of pissed off right wingers who really never could depend on the GOP for answers and can only go to conservative talking heads who just tell them what they want to hear.

That's how pimps get their hookers started too.