Issues
Republican Death Panels
Sometimes Democrats are too logical. They forget that communication is mostly emotional. Like health care “death panels.” Democrats need to get off the defensive and turn the issue into political death for Republicans. A Harvard Medical School study says 45,000 Americans die every year because they don’t have insurance. People will gladly…
Read MorePicture This
Imagine that the shoe was on the other foot – or the shout came from the other side of the aisle. Imagine this: President Bush gives a speech about reforming Social Security. He says we should adopt a partial privatization plan. And he vows that no older American will lose any of their Social…
Read MoreThe Internet Strikes Again
Hardly a Democrat has a doubt the Internet has become a force majeure in politics; and if any Republican had any doubts take a look at whatâs happened to Representative Joe Wilson Congressman Wilson was cruising to reelection in a Republican District when he called out, âYou lie!â on national TV â then overnight a…
Read MoreThe Best Ethics Insurance
Pass any ethics law you want. Set up any ethics board you want. The best ethics protection remains The News & Observer. Getting a copy of the Easleys’ settlement statement at Cannonsgate (can there really be a –gate in this story?) is an amazing coup. As shown by Wade Byrd’s threat to sue the…
Read MoreThe News
There’s plenty of hot news lately. Iran’s close to building a bomb. ACORN operatives got caught on film trying to figure out how to bring young girls from Honduras to Baltimore for what sounded a lot like a prostitution ring. And the Republican National Committees are going all out to elect a…
Read MoreObama Speaks
Watching President Obama give a speech is sort of like it used to be watching Reggie Jackson play baseball – I’m no Yankees fan but at times watching Reggie (like in the World Series game when he hit three homeruns) could be pretty amazing. Plus, President Obama has guts, which is about the rarest…
Read MoreThe Cost of Health Care
One of the smartest people I know in the health-care field is Bill Atkinson, CEO of WakeMed. Not long ago, he made a point that gets little attention in today’s debate: That most American families – no matter how well off – are one major illness from financial ruin. The debate seems to…
Read MoreCrafty Obama
One of the many brilliant (that means “Democratic”) readers of this blog has offered what could be a spot-on analysis of Obama’s new strategy on health care. I share it with you in full: “He has leaned back and relaxed and let Mitch McConnell and the screaming chorus shout and work themselves into a…
Read MoreFraming the Debate
Supporters of health-care reform better hope President Obama’s vacation gave him time to come up with some brilliant strategy. Because he’s losing control of the debate. The vaunted Obama message machine from the campaign is grinding its gears. They have not come up with a winning way to frame the debate. I thought…
Read MoreWhat Would Ted Do?
The commentariet says Ted Kennedy’s tactical skills will be missed in the health-care reform debate. What’s more likely to be missed is his roar. Democrats– including President Obama – lack a loud, clear voice to frame the debate. Like Kennedy did on Robert Bork. Like I heard him do at the…
Read More