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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Jules Witcover
All through the last months of the fight over heath-care reform, President Obama was bombarded with one particular Republican complaint -- that he was wasting
Because he was insisting on pursuing his own prime legislative objective, the
Yet now that the health-care reform bill has been signed by the president, what are the Republican leaders and loudest of their tea party cheerleaders committing themselves to? A long campaign to keep that very same debate going on through the November congressional elections and beyond.
On at least three fronts -- in the courts, in
At the same time, Republican attorneys general in a dozen other states have joined another suit filed by Florida's chief law enforcement officer Bill McCollum, arguing that states can't be required to implement the new law without reimbursement. Still other groups are contending the whole reform law is unconstitutional.
In
Meanwhile, in the streets and on conservative cable and radio talk shows, demands are being heard to "fire Nancy Pelosi," which also would require Republican recapture of the House in November. The personal ire being voiced against the Democratic speaker is a measure of her effectiveness in rallying her House troops, rescuing the bill from what earlier had seemed certain oblivion.
All this activity serves to underscore the negative image of the party of Ronald Reagan now decried by its Democratic critics as the Party of No. By keeping the health-care debate going as their chief argument for restoring their majority status on
Obama's chief political strategist, David Axelrod, has said he welcomes the
The president's decision to hit the road barely after the ink has dried on his celebratory signing of the bill, broadcasting those benefits to voters in Iowa and across the country, can be the most effective counter to McConnell's "repeal and replace" call to roll back a history-making event.
Much will depend, to be sure, on evaluations of the success or failure of the new health-care provisions as time passes. Few concrete results will be clear on which to make that judgment by the time the country votes in November on the composition of the next
House and Senate Democrats whose constituents supported John McCain in 2008, and who themselves have just voted for the Obama bill, can expect to be particular targets of the Republican campaign to capture more seats. But they can also expect to see the president in their districts and states this fall, rewarding them for their support in the tough fight just won.
Obama no doubt will now throw himself aggressively into the task of job creation. But at the same time, with renewed confidence, he will be continuing to sell his health-care reforms against the determined
Available at Amazon.com:
Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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GOP Tactical Contradiction | Jules Witcover - Politics Today
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