Americans are fed up. Americans are tired of not only the GOP's efficient obstructionism but also with the Democrats who have allowed the minority to prevent government from working. Republicans were thrilled when Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts seat went to a Republican instead of a Democrat for the first time in decades. But they overlooked something very fundamental about the Brown win. A major part of Scott Brown's campaign platform included a promise that if they sent him to Washington, he would reach across the aisle to work with Democrats. And Massachusetts voters, like the rest of America would be, were delighted at the prospect of an elected representative who would actually go to Washington to work with his colleagues to serve the public interest.
Republicans aren't paying attention. They are sifting through the information and picking the bits they want to believe and dismissing the bigger picture. Some tea baggers and many Republicans believe the GOP should become even more conservative than it already is. If there was anything to take away from the 23rd District election in New York, it is that the voters don't want a country that is even more conservative than it already is. The 23rd District of New York is notoriously conservative and they chose the Democrat over the ultra conservative Hoffman.
What the GOP should have learned from the Scott Brown election is that voters want a representative who will work in Washington, one who will reach across the aisle to try to move the country forward. Instead they deemed the Brown win a win against health care reform. Their early elation at his election turned to outrage when Senator Brown had the nerve to allow a bill concerned with providing jobs to Americans to move forward. Senator Brown may have disappointed the obstructionist GOP collective but he is smarter than they are. He understands that the voters back home in Massachusetts want the person who represents them in Washington to actually work for them.
Senator Chuck Grassley gave anecdotal evidence of what his cons uents wanted using as his proof, his experience over the summer of 2009 in town hall meetings. Half the people attending town hall meetings were bussed in from around the country. He seemed to honestly believe that the people who came to his town hall meetings and voiced their fears about death panels offered a true representations of the average American.
When Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming suggested that poor people buy catastrophic health insurance, it was shocking to realize he was in earnest. The man is so out of touch with the average American that one could almost feel sorry for him if it weren't for the fact that he was so genuinely devoid of compassion for people less fortunate than himself. In states like Alabama, catastrophic health insurance isn't an option for poor people or any people. But that's not the point. One of the reasons our country is ranked 37th in the nation by the World Health Organization is because of the high price of health care and lack of prophylactic care which leads to preventable deaths. One would think that Mr. Barrasso who has a degree in medicine would understand the importance of preventative medicine, something catastrophic health insurance isn't concerned with.
It was never more clear than at yesterday's Health Care Summit that the Republican mantra of 'let's start over' is a stalling tactic when our nation is in the midst of a health care crisis that directly effects the economy. Republicans don't want health care reform. They probably hated it that President Obama invited them to an open Summit meeting where they would have to pretend to be interested in helping Americans who are in crisis. It was transparency in the truest sense. The GOP are so out of touch with the growing number of Americans in crisis that their feeble suggestions and compassionless speeches at the Summit were not only embarrassing for them but shocking to many Americans who watched the event. Never before have Republicans seemed to be so out of touch with the needs of the people they were elected to serve.
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