Michael Braun's Blog

I’m slow in writing about President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress, in which he laid out his plans for healthcare overhaul. That’s mostly because I’ve been busy, but also because it’s important to take some time to see what the impact of the speech will be. A couple days is hardly long enough; we won’t truly know what effect the speech had until healthcare reform has passed, and by then, who cares if the speech worked or not? But what we can judge right now is whether the speech helped change the debate.

In these past couple of days, I would say that Obama’s gambit worked. The debate has once again swung back in favor of the possibility of health care reform. Whereas just a week ago, many news organizations included stories about how reform was not going to pass, today the media seems to believe again. Further, more Democrats seem to be getting behind Obama’s plans. After all, he made reform seem very sensible, and he outlined plans for keeping it from adding to the deficit. Hard to say no to such pragmatic wishes.

Part of the problem is the ineffectiveness of the Republican response. Representative Dr. Charles Boustany delivered the response. He’s from Louisiana; Republican leaders seem to think that the best speakers come from there. He suggested in his response that “most Americans wanted to hear the President tell Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and the rest of Congress that it’s time to start over on a common-sense, bipartisan plan focused on lowering the cost of health care while improving quality.” But at the same time saying, “we agree much needs to be done to lower the cost of health care for all Americans. On that goal, Republicans are ready – and we’ve been ready – to work with the President for common-sense reforms that our nation can afford.”

Which is it? Either we need to get something done soon, or we need to scrap everything and start all over. Do Republicans really think that it helps their cause to be putting off this reform? They admit it themselves: Americans want change to the system. If they wanted an effective message then they could come up with their own plan and tout it in the media. They wouldn’t have to be angry; they would just have to be logical, presenting their ideas as reasonable and effective. Or they could stand up and oppose all change by arguing that it’s too expensive and wouldn’t help anyone. Instead, they admit that we need change and then say that they are not the party who will get it done. Now that’s a campaign platform!

It’s too soon to tell when a reform bill, passed by both the House and Senate, will arrive on the president’s desk. But when it happens, I think this speech will mark a turning point. And once the bill goes into effect, if history is any guide, Americans will soon grow accustomed to living in a society where people can get affordable healthcare, inside or outside their job. When that happens, Republicans will have yet another failure on their hands. Republicans like to play games running against history. Once again, it looks like they are headed for a loss.