Finally. The Democrats seem to be coalescing around a message for health insurance reform. It's about taking on the insurance industry. It is, indeed:
With the House already gone and the Senate set to clear out by Friday, the terms of the recess battle are becoming clear. Republicans will assail the government coverage plan that Democrats and President Obama are advocating as a recklessly expensive federal takeover of health care. And Democrats will counter that GOP opposition represents a de facto endorsement of insurance industry abuses.It always has been about the insurance industry. No one likes dealing with their insurance company. Insurance bureaucrats ration care. They jack up our rates. They deny coverage. They cut off coverage. I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost everyone I know has done some kind of battle with their health insurer.
"We know what we're up against," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) told reporters on Friday. "Carpet-bombing, slash and burn, shock and awe -- anything you want to say to describe what the insurance companies will do to hold on to their special advantage."
More after the break.
I don't understand why it took so long for the brain trust in the Democratic Party to figure this out. Too often, Democrats want to offer long, detailed policy analyses when the GOPers are using sound bites. In this case, the Democratic talking point on insurance companies nails it. This is a battle between Democrats who side with doctors and patients and the Republicans who side with insurance companies.
Not that the Democrats have their talking points, they need to stick with it and hammer away at it. (Democrats aren't always so good at message discipline.)
