Quote:
Originally Posted by myboynoah
Do you think that was his only motivation, just because he was invited? Why did he proceed to whip them in a debate? Do you think that was his intent, or did things just get away from him?
I ask again, why doesn't he just work with House Dems to get them to pass the Senate health reform bill? He doesn't need Repubs, and after whipping them so soundly in such a public manner, is unlikely to be able to bring many of them along if he did. Indeed, why does he need Repubs for anything going forward?
These are fairly simple questions. You seem very strong in the Obama camp, so I'm seriously interested in what your answers are to them.
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This may be the first time I have ever heard someone blame a politician for being superior in a debate. Odd. The Q&A was the Republican's idea. Obama was prepared, as I would expect him to be. Republicans weren't, and they got stomped. You may be putting blame in the wrong place.
I'm not sure what you mean by "just go after House Dems" to get them to pass the Senate health reform bill. Are you saying he should just tell them to do what he says and pass the Senate bill? That isn't how the process works. There is give and take. Democrats aren't a mindless bunch of automatons. They come from varied backgrounds with varied interests (which is why the 60 votes in the Senate was always a bit of an illusion).
Obama's preferred approach to passing health care seems to be instead to get the House and Senate to work out their differences, embody their agreements on amending the Senate bill in a reconciliation bill, pass that bill in the Senate, pass the reconciliation bill in the House, and then pass the Senate bill in the House. I also view that as vastly superior to simply passing the Senate bill. The object isn't just to "pass a bill" but to pass the best bill possible. It can be improved through reconciliation, so it should be.