Post by m52nickerson on Mar 27, 2010 12:21:07 GMT -5
Well with health care reform passed I started to think about who wins and loses politically from this.
WINNERS
1. President Barrack Obama - Even with reform being less then popular now the President is clearly the biggest winner politically. He has fulfilled one of his major platform promises and done something that many other president tried to do but could not. He also should that he is a fighter and does not give up. Ronald Regan was famous for staying the course and was respected for it. Obama will ultimately reap the same benefits.
2. Nancy Pelosi - After the passage of HCR there is no doubt that the first female Speaker of the House will be remembered as one of the best. Pelosi has shown that she knows when to negotiate and when to just power through. She was able to convince the House to pass a bill that they did not like while having to trust the Senate to fix it after. The Speaker has cemented her legacy and has the GOP scared that they may have to continue to say "Madam Speaker".
3. Bart Stupak - Stupak must be a fan of professional wrestling. He played the part of the villain (to the left) by looking like he may kill the reform bill. He held out while getting support, and most likely donations, from the right until that last moment. He then switched sides and came off looking like the hero of health care reform. As soon as he announced he was going to support the bill people knew it would pass. The GOP also played right into his hands by shouting baby kill at him. This and the other threats he has gotten have only caused his district to close around him in support. Brilliant.
4. The Democrats - While the reform is unpopular now the passing of the bill does one major thing, it shows the Democrats if they pull together they can defeat the GOP. The Dems will not be afraid of using reconciliation or other parliamentary procedure to out muscle or out flank the GOP and get things done. People like it when things get done.
5. The GOP - How does the GOP win you may ask? They win in one way. They now have a single issue to run against. Every member of the GOP knows the script now. This will help to unite them. However it may also serve as their downfall.
LOSERS
1. The GOP - As I said they win in only one way, any other way they lose. The GOP and their talking heads fought as hard as they could. They vilified reform and the people trying to pass it. They sold their soul to the teabaggers. Despite all of that they lost. They could no stop reform. Now they can't move back and work with the Democrats who they made out to be evil incarnate because they will suffer the wrath of the tea parties and the talking heads. Nor can they stay married to those groups because the longer they do the more independents and other will grow tired of the rhetoric. Did someone say something about Waterloo.
2. Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln and other Blue Dog Senators - These are the people who held out until they got special deals put in the Senate Bill. Only then did they agree to vote for the bill and break the GOP filibusters. Things change. For all their blathering and fighting and greedy thinking they watched powerlessly as the Senate voted for the Reconciliation bill that stripped out their special deals from final reform. They got used, hard. Now they have no choice but cast their lots with the GOP. The only problem is they all voted for the Senate Bill. They should call Burt Stupak for some tips on how to play politics.
3. The Tea Parties - With reform passed and the teabaggers ratcheting up the speech the public is sure to get sick of them soon. In fact the emergence of the Coffee Party is a sign this is coming. As the economy continues to recover and more people see that HCR is not some evil thing the moderate (read sane) people who got caught up in this movement will drop off. This will lead only the true nut jobs to scene by all.
WINNERS
1. President Barrack Obama - Even with reform being less then popular now the President is clearly the biggest winner politically. He has fulfilled one of his major platform promises and done something that many other president tried to do but could not. He also should that he is a fighter and does not give up. Ronald Regan was famous for staying the course and was respected for it. Obama will ultimately reap the same benefits.
2. Nancy Pelosi - After the passage of HCR there is no doubt that the first female Speaker of the House will be remembered as one of the best. Pelosi has shown that she knows when to negotiate and when to just power through. She was able to convince the House to pass a bill that they did not like while having to trust the Senate to fix it after. The Speaker has cemented her legacy and has the GOP scared that they may have to continue to say "Madam Speaker".
3. Bart Stupak - Stupak must be a fan of professional wrestling. He played the part of the villain (to the left) by looking like he may kill the reform bill. He held out while getting support, and most likely donations, from the right until that last moment. He then switched sides and came off looking like the hero of health care reform. As soon as he announced he was going to support the bill people knew it would pass. The GOP also played right into his hands by shouting baby kill at him. This and the other threats he has gotten have only caused his district to close around him in support. Brilliant.
4. The Democrats - While the reform is unpopular now the passing of the bill does one major thing, it shows the Democrats if they pull together they can defeat the GOP. The Dems will not be afraid of using reconciliation or other parliamentary procedure to out muscle or out flank the GOP and get things done. People like it when things get done.
5. The GOP - How does the GOP win you may ask? They win in one way. They now have a single issue to run against. Every member of the GOP knows the script now. This will help to unite them. However it may also serve as their downfall.
LOSERS
1. The GOP - As I said they win in only one way, any other way they lose. The GOP and their talking heads fought as hard as they could. They vilified reform and the people trying to pass it. They sold their soul to the teabaggers. Despite all of that they lost. They could no stop reform. Now they can't move back and work with the Democrats who they made out to be evil incarnate because they will suffer the wrath of the tea parties and the talking heads. Nor can they stay married to those groups because the longer they do the more independents and other will grow tired of the rhetoric. Did someone say something about Waterloo.
2. Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln and other Blue Dog Senators - These are the people who held out until they got special deals put in the Senate Bill. Only then did they agree to vote for the bill and break the GOP filibusters. Things change. For all their blathering and fighting and greedy thinking they watched powerlessly as the Senate voted for the Reconciliation bill that stripped out their special deals from final reform. They got used, hard. Now they have no choice but cast their lots with the GOP. The only problem is they all voted for the Senate Bill. They should call Burt Stupak for some tips on how to play politics.
3. The Tea Parties - With reform passed and the teabaggers ratcheting up the speech the public is sure to get sick of them soon. In fact the emergence of the Coffee Party is a sign this is coming. As the economy continues to recover and more people see that HCR is not some evil thing the moderate (read sane) people who got caught up in this movement will drop off. This will lead only the true nut jobs to scene by all.
