It's mourning again in America for the Democrats. This time, they are grieving two losses in Republican congressional districts in Georgia and South Carolina that were potentially winnable.
Once again, the famous talking heads of what has become the We're-Not-Trump Party find themselves sipping for solace at political wakes and solemnly sitting southern-fried Shiva. Democrats have shifted into auto-grieve, rolling through their rituals of ducking the blame, passing the buck and ignoring the reality that is increasingly obvious. In Georgia, especially, the Democrats had plenty of money to spend but no compelling idea that could make their cause a crusade.
America's once-dominant working people's party seems stuck with a fleet of bandwagons with jammed people-gears. So today we're focusing on what Democrats must do to win back the people who were theirs-starting with the party's finest asset, its loyal, true-believing supporters.
Faithful Democrats will never forget the pride and thrill they felt when President Barack Obama passionately presented his plan for fixing what we all now know isn't working in his Affordable Care Act. Regrettably, the reason faithful Democrats (and millions of others) will never be able to forget that epic moment of Obama leadership is that, unfortunately, it never happened.
And that's too bad, because the Democratic faithful-and also millions of blue collar working men and women who voted for Donald Trump-would have appreciated Obama's determination to actually fix Obamacare. It could have inspired them to want to stand, fight and win again.
Of course, Team Obama's grads will want you to know that such an effort would have been used against them by Republicans to try to repeal Obamacare. That's true. But then again, House Republicans voted to repeal Obamacare more than 50 times as it was.
Sometimes, political fights cannot be ducked and dodged; sometimes, they must be fought and won.
For most of Obama's two terms-and especially during the 2016 presidential campaign-Republicans needed to be exposed for fighting to replace something that has brought health insurance to millions with nothing. Instead, the GOP won bigtime in 2016 because Democrats couldn't convince voters they would be worse off with any alternative Republicans were talking about.
Finally, this year, Republicans, now controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, had to produce alternatives-and so far that has helped the Democrats in ways Democrats couldn't do for themselves. The House Republicans' replacement for Obamacare turned out to be a political disaster. Analyses showed it would hurt Trump's voter base (blue collar working families) most of all. It would deprive millions of insurance they got under Obamacare and could make insurance unaffordable or unattainable for those with previous health problems.
Here are two polar-opposite political assessments of the original House GOP bill:
- On May 4, buses rolled up the White House driveway bringing House Republicans to a Rose Garden ceremony, where President Donald Trump gushed that "it's a great plan."
- On May 13, Trump threw all of those same House Republicans under their buses by telling Republican senators at a White House luncheon that the House GOP bill was actually "mean."
This week, Trump reportedly told tech industry execs the Senate version will have "more heart." And meanwhile, the Senate's GOP leaders, working so secretly that even their GOP Senate colleagues were shut out as if they were lowly journalists, finally planned to roll out their attempt at a kinder, gentler plan. And the debate will become Republicans vs. Republicans.
But that debate will lack the people-driven heart and soul that was long the Democrats' specialty.
So Citizen Obama, please consider a brief return to the front lines. Not as a fighter but as Inspirer-in-Chief.
Just by lending your expertise and gravitas, you may be able to imaginatively (and substantively) inspire your leader-lite party to fight for working people who are about to be shafted by the GOP plan. You are needed to inspire a special bipartisan crusade: Motivate Democrats to openly battle to protect Trump voters from their new Trump GOP that is about to take their health insurance away from them!
Perhaps you can inspire the sort of truly bipartisan compromise that can finally fix the flaws you know exist in Obamacare. Perhaps you may be able to make the difference that can assure your legacy-and are our life-saving health insurance!-will endure.