The Song Remains The Shame

by digby

You know those reunion tours where paunchy, middle aged one hit wonders of a couple of decades ago hit the summer fair circuit? This is a lot like that:

Kristol: Kill It, and Start Over

With Obamacare on the ropes, there will be a temptation for opponents to let up on their criticism, and to try to appear constructive, or at least responsible. There will be a tendency to want to let the Democrats’ plans sink of their own weight, to emphasize that the critics have been pushing sound reform ideas all along and suggest it’s not too late for a bipartisan compromise over the next couple of weeks or months.

My advice, for what it’s worth: Resist the temptation. This is no time to pull punches. Go for the kill.

This time he embellishes his tired arrangement with the argument that they can come back to the drawing board (the original version admitted that health care would empower the Democrats for a generation) but it’s the same old song. Jim DeMint is also on the bill singing a bizarre country version of ABBA’s “Waterloo” and he’s joined by Newtie and the Blowhards all singing the Frank Luntz repertoire.

Obstructionism always has power. Lot’s of people are afraid of change, and right now there may even be more than usual. Despite the election mantra, insecurity often makes people retreat into the familiar. These songs would be far more appealing, however, if these guys hadn’t been so incredibly over-exposed for so many decades. There are some songs that no matter how much you may have liked it when it first came out, put your teeth on edge even decades later when they come on the radio. “Kill Health Reform” was a big hit back in the 90s. Nobody but the die hard fans want to hear it again.

Update: Here’s a new song just hitting the charts today by that old fashioned Republican folk artist Olympia Snowe, called “I Support The Public Plan”:

“I believe that the reforms we are creating will result in more
competitive, affordable and innovative options for Mainers, yet we can
all agree that we must not leave universal access to chance. That is
why I also support a public plan which must be available from day
one.”

It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.

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