Diagnosing What Ails Blunt's Health Care Agenda
Hi, everybody! Like many doctors, I've been following the national health care debate, and I have to tell you, I'm completely stumped by the symptoms presented by Roy Blunt and his health care task force.
HEARING LOSS
American families and businesses are crying out for real health care reform that reduces burdensome costs and expands access to affordable care. Yet Blunt and his House GOP colleagues aren't hearing those demands. For five months now, Blunt's team has been promising "real solutions," but haven't given the slightest indication that they're taking the problem seriously. So far, they've produced just four pages of talking points.
- A recent Diego/Hotline poll shows an overwhelming 62% of voters support President Obama "enacting a major overhaul of the U.S. health care system," with 38% of voters strongly supporting a major overhaul."
- A Lake Research Partners poll shows 73% of voters want a choice between public and private health insurance plans. But Roy Blunt has steadfastly refused to consider a public option.
BLURRY VISION
Expanding access to affordable health care and reducing the strain on businesses and families requires a clear vision for moving things forward. But Blunt's health care working group have shown nothing of the sort.
You don't have to take my word for it -- just listen to what Blunt's Republican colleagues and fellow right-wing ideologues have said about his leadership:
- When Republicans "look into their own camp" for an alternative, "they get nervous," wrote the Politico in April.
- "The void on the right has been...vast," wrote the Politico in April.
- Members are "very concerned" about the lack of a House alternative, said a GOP aide in early June.
- "We have to have an alternative. ... I will tell you, I don't think there is a Republican alternative," said GOP Senate candidate Rob Portman (Ohio), last month.
- “They [House GOP leaders] are virtually useless," said Heartland Institute health expert Greg Scandlen. In fact, Scandlen claimed that while House leaders "are often criticized for being too ideological, they have displayed no ideology on health care, and not even much real interest."
MEMORY LOSS
Mr. Blunt would probably like us to forget, but he was running the House of Representatives with Tom Delay and Dennis Hastert just a very short while ago. Blunt, Delay and Hastert rammed through the misguided George W. Bush agenda for years, but real health care reform never made it onto their to-do list.
In fact, Blunt has acknowledged last month that "no more than two dozen” Republican House members were seriously working on health care reform before Obama took office.
INABILITY TO CONCENTRATE
Roy Blunt's health care solutions "working group" is struggling to actually get work done. In February, Minority Leader John Boehner and Blunt promised to "craft Republican solutions," refusing to be the "Party of 'No.'" But they've been unable to concentrate and follow through on that promise. Moderate Republicans broke off from Blunt's team, leaving just Blunt and the far-right to work alone. But even without the moderate voices to slow them down, Blunt has repeatedly pushed back deadlines and pushed back deadlines. And still -- all we have are four pages of no-detail bullet points.
ELECTYLE DYSFUNCTION
It's no accident that Republicans have continued to lose seats with Roy Blunt at the helm. Accordingly, Blunt was removed from his Minority Whip post in November in an attempt to right the ship. But Blunt's still there, presenting the same face, the same ideology and the same failed agenda.
All in all, the prognosis is still hazy for Mr. Blunt's health care reform efforts. We have four pages of potential ideas, but don't know yet how much it will cost, how many people it will cover or how he's planning to pay for the changes.
It's not looking good.
