Not much. It was a useful opportunity for Republicans to air their ideas and contrast them to Democrat proposals, but hardly a discussion. President Obama used his position as “moderator” to respond to Republican criticisms and characterize and frame the debate. When John McCain pushed back against President Obama’s criticism of Medicare Advantage wondering why the President saw fit to extend a special carveout for Florida seniors when the President had just finished characterizing the program as a subsidy for insurance companies, the President responded that people were uninterested in discussing “process” and told Senator McCain that the election was over and he should stop campaigning. The comment seemed a little rich given the source but it was emblematic of the President’s prickly and defensive tone throughout the day. The President made sure to push back against any and all Republican criticism speaking for longer than the combined time of either the Democrats or the Republicans. When prodded by Senator McConnell, President Obama seemed incredulous that HIS time should be counted with the other Democrats.
Regardless, the Democrat mantra was to repeat how much they and Republicans agree in an effort co-opt Republican support for a Democrat health reform bill. Other than a mutual desire to enact some reform, the amount of agreement was not apparent. Democrats seek to put their thumb on the system mandating what you must buy and how much you must pay for it. That is President Obama’s not so secret “bolshevik plot!” as he termed it. Republicans want to enact market reforms to allow competition to lower cost.
President Obama wielded the cudgel of reconciliation over Republican heads as a catalyst to co-opt them to supporting his plan. Given the results of the last several elections and the public’s general disdain for ObamaCare, especially in Massachusetts, the only state to live under a version of ObamaCare for the past two years, that seems doubtful. President Obama seems determined to persevere nonetheless and let the chips fall where they may. As he said, “that is what elections are for.”
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great post , really good view on the subject and very well written, this certainly has put a spin on my day, many thanks from the USA and sustain up the good work