republicans played poker on health care reform. they went all in on "NO". they refused to even participate. they lost:
David Frum, former speechwriter to President George W. Bush:
Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.
Itâs hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. Conservatives may cheer themselves that theyâll compensate for todayâs expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections. [...]
No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the âdoughnut holeâ and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parentsâ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there â would President Obama sign such a repeal?
We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat. [...]
So todayâs defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, itâs mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, itâs Waterloo all right: ours.
David Frum, former speechwriter to President George W. Bush:
Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.
Itâs hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. Conservatives may cheer themselves that theyâll compensate for todayâs expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections. [...]
No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the âdoughnut holeâ and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parentsâ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there â would President Obama sign such a repeal?
We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat. [...]
So todayâs defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, itâs mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, itâs Waterloo all right: ours.