Honestly is the best policy
by digby
Democrats can continue to stand behind the law’s general goals — expanding coverage to the uninsured; protecting consumers; reining in insurance industry abuse — while signaling a willingness to fix the law as we go along. Indeed, the expert in House races told me Dems must signal this flexibility or put themselves at risk. But he also notes that the GOP position — pushing for full repeal without proposing a meaningful alternative — is also risky, because it could make Republicans look unwilling to solve people’s problems, a potentially toxic position among less partisan voters.
Drew Altman, the president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has done sophisticated polling on Obamacare for years, agrees. Dems, he told me, “can stand on the benefits of the law, which are popular, and talk about improving the law. That’s a position which will be popular with the public.”
I think this is right. And if the administration takes this tack it will be more successful than it was during the worst of the recession when it insisted on prematurely declaring victory. Much better to be honest and say that these big programs are not perfect, that they will need to be fixed when something doesn’t work right. It gives you room to make improvements instead of backing you into a corner as it was with the stimulus. I think people understand that.