Bush Strategist: GOP Playing With Fire On Health Care

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/09/matthew-dowd-gop-playing_n_254938.html

Sam Stein
Matthew Dowd: GOP Playing With Fire On Health Care
First Posted: 08- 9-09 10:56 AM | Updated: 08- 9-09 01:03 PM


Former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd, who was something of a reliable GOP heretic during the 2008 campaign, offered another off-message moment on Sunday when he warned that the Republican Party was playing with fire on health care.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Dowd cautioned conservatives to not go too far in pushing back against Obama's agenda, lest they be blamed for actually preventing people from getting better health care coverage.

"I think the Republicans soon have to be careful of something," Dowd said. "I know Republicans are all patting themselves on the back and saying, "We've got the Democrats on the run, Obama on the run.' I don't think it's necessarily a good political place to be in by November if you've defeated any health care reform."

Dowd's remarks get at a looming reality in the current health care debate. There is a thin line between being credited for stopping the president and being blamed for defeating reform. While a vast majority of Americans like their current coverage, public polls show that similar or even greater percentages of the public believe the system is broken and in need of fixing.

The Republican Party certainly knows this. In an internal RNC poll, which the Huffington Post obtained and reported, 54 percent of respondents said that America had "the best health care in the world," but 70 percent said the system was "badly in need of reform."

[opihimoimoi]

1. They persist despite the polls and math telling them otherwise...now..that is SO GOP..FKN STUPID

[Barack_America]

2. When Dems can ram this through on their own...

How can Republicans be to blame?

The American people have given Dems the power to get this done, if Dems don't use it, blame deserves to be laid at their feet.

Dems have the numbers, just no control over their caucus.

[timeforpeace]

5. It is very odd to blame a group of 39 Repub Senators when you have 60 or 61and only need 50!

[salin]

3. Former W Speech writer Frum wrote a similar piece.

Meanwhile their base is getting more and more unhinged and the Sen. McConnell seems absolutely giddy about it. That is the second way this is going to backfire on the GOP. Even if something violent/awful doesn't happen in one of these mobbed townhalls, the images are far more prevalent and disturbing than those near rioting around Teri Schaivo's hospice - images that imo began too peel off more moderate republicans who after Katrina stopped falling for the GOP rhetoric and moved towards independents. Thing is, the rhetoric now is even more nutty/extreme/implausable than it was back in 2005. Say goodbye to the GOP as having any sort of revelance for quite some time.

[roseBudd]

4. November is open enrollment, it's when we find out the increase in healthcare that eats our raises

I bring it up constantly on the MSM site I post on everyday for the past 13 months, I've written over 250 pages of comments.

PM me to join me, it's Ohio so it's really worthwhile

[stubtoe]

6. Excellent point, and I'll bet we see the tenor of the discussion change then.

nt

[C_U_L8R]

7. Good thing the GOP doesn't listen to common sense...

they're too busy making a mess of things... with every spotlight upon them and their dastardly ways.

[unpossibles]

8. the disconnect is scary...

We're the best but we need massive reforms....

um...

ok.