Sunday, September 5, 2010

Death Panels for Democrats … The DNC’s new tactic to hold the House

The story that has the political establishment all abuzz today is the plan for Democrats to concentrate party resources on those with the best chances of winning so Nancy Pelosi can still wield the gavel. The sacrificial lambs and potential survivors will be chosen by party leaders in the next week or so. Not a great consolation for those from highly contested districts who were told they were better off voting for Obamacare than not.

From today’s NY Times:

[Democratic] party leaders are preparing a brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a slim grip on the majority. In the next two weeks, Democratic leaders will review new polls and other data that show whether vulnerable incumbents have a path to victory. If not, the party is poised to redirect money to concentrate on trying to protect up to two dozen lawmakers who appear to be in the strongest position to fend off their challengers.

This is a disaster of their own making. Instead of governing from the center and including Republicans in the writing of highly controversial legislation, they sought to use their supermajority in the Senate and 40 odd majority in the House to cram through bill after bill drafted in secret and not made known until the last moment. The tone deafness of Democrats reached a peak this summer when many refused to even appear at townhalls after experiencing voter outrage during earlier recesses. While many freshmen House Democrats expressed their uneasiness, they were reassured by Speaker Pelosi the mood of the country would change once voters knew the content of the bills. This despite polling data for Democrats in general and Obama in particular showed impending disaster.

Those who went along with Pelosi’s charade are now being given the ultimate insult. They are being rewarded with the proverbial pain killer, or more likely Kool-Aid for their loyalty, especially on Obamacare. It is fitting medicine for a bill that will do the same thing to patients who in the view of bureaucrats are not worth saving.

When the dust settles after the November elections, the finger pointing will begin. Ultimately the responsibility for the impending disaster must point to the White House, where a truly clueless President has risked the political health of his party for a highly unpopular medical bill. At least Bill Clinton knew the health of the party was important.

This President does not.