Revisiting the Tinkerbell strategy

by digby

There seems to be an unusual amount of handwringing and introspection as we await the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare. Suddenly, everyone is second guessing the legal and political strategy in light of what is now acknowledged to be an extremely aggressive, partisan opposition (which, btw, includes the Supreme Court.)

I try not to do this too much because it’s annoying, but in this case I just have to give a big “welcome to the club, folks” to all of those who insisted that any criticism at the time was simple minded naysaying and insisting that we all shut our traps and clap louder for the single greatest achievement since the enactment of social security. I certainly got a snootfull of it and it still stings.

I was ultimately in favor of the bill, but I certainly knew that it would be a miracle if it survived the inevitable legal and political onslaught, particularly the mandate, which always struck me as something of which people and the courts would inherently be suspicious. And I remember thinking that this was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard Bill Clinton say:

“The minute the president signs the health care reform bill, approval will go up, because Americans are inherently optimistic.”

One would have thought that he, of all people, would have understood that Republicans don’t give a shit about “the public.” After all, only five Republican Senators (the usual suspects) voted to acquit him on absurd, trumped up impeachment (which the public was adamantly opposed to.)

What burns about all this is that the permanent political establishment which pursued a puerile witchhunt in 1998 (and weakened our system immeasurably by lowering the bar for impeachment) told us all to “get over” Bush vs Gore and then dismissed us as shrill in 2003 is only now waking up to the fact that the Republicans have become a radical party that no longer operates within democratic norms. (Seriously, Bush vs Gore! What more do you need?)

Considering that this isn’t exactly news, it really is too bad the Democrats inexplicably responded to this democratic devolution by adopting much of the GOP’s policy agenda and then pouting when they weren’t rewarded with bipartisan hugs and kisses. It wasted a whole lot of time and didn’t do much good.

Anyway, enough of this ungracious rehashing of the past. For all we know SCOTUS will uphold the whole ACA and the Democrats will take yet another ecstatic victory lap while the Republicans regroup and get ready for the next round. After all, they’re still trying to get rid of Social Security and it’s been 75 years so they aren’t likely to throw up their hands in defeat just because the Supreme Court says the reforms are constitutional. They’ll get right to work defunding, degrading, repealing — whatever it takes. Perhaps this late awakening will at least result in liberals not bullshitting themselves about that. Cheerleading and groupthink certainly isn’t getting us anywhere.