Politicians and pundits often suffer from the same vision problem; they find it difficult to see beyond the most recent polls. The ability to see past what people think, to what they will think when it begins to matter, is a rare talent indeed. Most simply parrot the talking points that they have heard from others; such is the case with the recent government shut-down.
Many have been openly critical of the Republicans’ strategy regarding the attempt to defund or at least mitigate the damage of the Democratic Affordable Care Act by tying it to the continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government, which seems to be the way we do budgets nowadays. This was from the beginning an idea that could not stand, and many felt it had nothing but down side for Republicans. Echoes of Clinton and Gingrich were to many Republicans what a rolled up newspaper is to a dog, government shutdowns hurt! Media momentum is hard to turn, and there is little chance that this will soon be painted as anything but disastrous for the GOP. Criticism has erupted in the trenches over why this is the hill Republicans have chosen to die on, and what the end game is of this seeming exercise in futility. What these two dimensional thinkers fail to see is that sometimes causes require martyrs, and that the end game is at least a year ahead.
If the elections were held tomorrow, it is possible that the Republicans would not fare well, but as far as I know, there are no elections scheduled for tomorrow. Set aside the tedious arrogance of the President and Harry Reid whose collective faux pas are like a ticking time bomb; the longer the crisis the more the peril that the blame will shift. Consider instead the scenario of when the bill so staunchly defended by the Democrats proves, in fact, to be the disaster it has been projected to be. Will the public remember who stood to the end against this train wreck, even at great political risk? They will now.
And the train wreck has begun. So far as your health care is concerned, “glitch” is one of the last words you want to hear. Yet, that has been the buzzword to describe the recent fiasco of the insurance exchange rollout. To describe a system that was basically unusable for the first few days it was in place, as “having a few glitches” shows how far we have come in accepting utter incompetence as inevitable. Apparently the developers did not suppose that sites addressing what is arguably the chief concern of millions of people, would receive millions of hits. If you thought that government run health care was going to hum like a well oiled machine, I’m sorry for the rude awakening… welcome to the new normal.
IMHO: President Obama recently compared the insurance exchange rollout crash and burn to “glitches” in the new Apple operating system and the IPhone 5. Of course, there is no law that makes you buy an IPhone. It’s popularity rests solely on the fact that people want it, even with a glitch or two, because they trust Apple… I guess I don’t get the analogy. The disappointing rollout could have been more accurately compared to another tech gadget rollout from from a few years back. At the time this mysterious device was touted nationally as something that was going to transform the world. Whole cities would be developed around this innovation. It was on a level of the harnessing of electricity, or the development of the atomic bomb. The buzz over this invention elevated the expectations of what it might be to the level of dreams and science fiction. People awaited the unveiling of anti-gravity technology or speed of light transportation. Maybe it would be a way to produce cheap, clean energy, or a computer you could hold in your hand. And then the day of the rollout came… The Segway. Yes, that two wheeled gyroscope balanced chariot used pretty much exclusively by mall cops. It was the anti-climax of the century… until Obamacare. The similarities are plain; here was an unbelievably complicated piece of machinery heralded as the salvation of the universe; extremely expensive and ultimately impractical for all but a few. The Segway was not useless, just that the value didn’t justify the cost, and people didn’t buy it. In an ironic twist, the owner of the Segway company tragically died when he went off the edge of a cliff astride his modified Segway. If my analogy were complete, the government would have mandated the purchase of a Segway by all citizens, and then like lemmings we would follow our leader over that cliff.
It’s so hard to beat a lie. Obama and his cohorts tell it and the willing accomplices in the press swear by it so the Republicans are the only ones to blame for this mess. But the real question here is “Do you really want these “glitch” people running your health care?”
@ aj: I think I was being kind when I used the Segway analogy… at least the Segway works. The “glitches” are being revealed to be a systemic example of incompetence. It is disturbing to come to the realization that the people who have taken over our healthcare system and a major portion of our economy have apparently bitten off more than they can chew!
For someone who works at a Christian station (WNGN) I would expect no less. This is the typical hypocritical rubbish that scared people trapped in an ideology spew. Shameful that a site like Albany.com would even allow you to visit it, let alone write for them.
@ Jamesvich: Thanks for your input (I think!). If I could correct one inaccuracy: I do not work for a Christian station, though I do serve on a board of directors as a part time volunteer. I have also served on boards for non-profits for autistic children, and one for a youth after-school program, just in case your disdain for charitable organizations extends beyond Christianity. As far as I am aware, Albany.com allows pretty much anyone to visit their site… they’re kind of open minded like that. Bloggers on the site represent a broad range of areas and opinions. Commenters are published at the discretion of the blogger, and I pass pretty much everything through as long as it is reasonably in good taste, and relevant. It’s always good to have comments, and feel free to actually address the issues covered in the blogs. I often try to reply to relevant comments, but give me something to work with!