Democratic political adviser David Plouffe is encouraging his party to move ahead on healthcare reform. Right now, doing so seems like the last thing any political strategist would recommend. Why would a man largely responsible for getting President Barack Obama elected suggest doing so, especially after the bruising loss in staunchly blue Massachusetts?
According to Plouffe, recent polls show that the majority of Americans still agree with the overall objective of the Obama administration: to expand medical insurance coverage while simultaneously lowering costs. While the public is very skeptical of the Democrats’ specific proposals, scaling back or abandoning the legislation may not help that. After all, the party and its members are already associated with the issue. Even Congressional Democrats turn against it, Plouffe believes that Republicans will continue to attack them for having the audacity to put forth such comprehensive reforms in the first place. If the legislation is actually passed, he thinks that the public will have the opportunity to eventually measure its positive aspects; whereas failure would not stop the attacks.
Do you believe that the heat would come off of Democrats if they let their comprehensive health insurance bill die, or would it just humiliate them further?
(Image: David Ortez under CC 2.0)
Tags: david plouffe, democrats, Massachusetts election, obama, republicans, senate
