I've been absent from my blog this summer, not from a lack of interest, but because my need to vent has been taken up by Facebook, Twitter and responding to articles and comments on articles directly.
While that's been satisfying, it is defense. And defense only wins if it's complimented by an effective offense. In the world of politics, offense is probably best done with effective and original ideas that provoke discussion and challenge conventional thinking. So I'll make a more dedicated effort to keep my thoughts here original rather than responding to what I hear and read.
Responding to what I hear and read though, is pretty much what I will do here today. And that is not a contradiction at all.
As summer drew to a close, the buzz in the political world was what would happen at the beginning of October when Obamacare rolled out. The focus was on the web site. The first wind I got about cancelled policies was shortly after that. Then, as media types began to penetrate the layers of the web site, and actually saw their own Obamacare rates, their collective jaws dropped and, slowly, the stories emerged from even the most left leaning outlets like MSMBC that this was not what was promised - that the process was not easy and the RATES were not lower.
Pardon my snicker for the past 3 months. I probably posted 100 links to stories on my facebook backing up my belief that this healthcare law was going to be a disaster. Imploring my liberal friends to acknowledge this was naive - I admit that. In the past, they would post comebacks and we would have a sometimes very long thread of back and forth. They never really ended, we just got tired, until another post came up that threw more gasoline on the dying embers.
But since early October, there has been a notable change. No long threads. No arguments. No nothing. No one will engage. A few of the weaker souls unfreinded me, but most have stopped posting altogether on politics and have reverted to pictures of their supper or their cat. Silence. I don't struggle to understand that. I get it completely. I am not the type that wants to throw salt in the wound either.
The build-up to a big game is filled with bravado and claims of superiority. Doesn't matter if it's a high school rivalry or the Super Bowl. Everyone is confident. Everyone feels confident in victory and confident that if they brag enough, the team will not let them down. Then the big game comes and one team and its fans celebrate. The other team's fans slip into a sort of sulking hangover. Every word seems painful and its' just easier to lay quietly - in silence. I felt that way in November 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008 and again in 2012. In all of those cases I was not convinced I was on the wrong side, I was angered that my side picked the wrong team. Seriously, Ford, Dole, McCain, Romney?
Losing is painful to the spirit. It causes us to challenge our most internally held beliefs. How could I have supported those guys? What was I thinking? Why am I invested in them? How could anyone support the other team? What do they see? How can they not see what I see?
In Cleveland, where some of the worlds most loyal sports fans reside, we understand loosing better than most. Our teams perennially show promise and with equal frequency, let us down. Sure some call the sports talk shows, but the next day at work after a big game is very quiet. Wounds take time to heal. Politics works the same way. The talk shows and pundits still talk and write because they have to. The individuals are looking for answers.
The political right said the healthcare.gov web site would be a disaster, they challenged the President every time he said they could keep their coverage, they argued that Obamacare's entire purpose was to ensure that everyone would give up their private insurance, they swore that it would raise costs, not lower them, they pointed out that the young would not buy expensive insurance and they said the whole thing would be a train wreck. The debate was passionate! The left was comfortable standing up for the president - arguing his points, adding their passion to the debate. Then, over the last 6 weeks the bottom fell out. Like the longest sports competition ever played... and while not over yet. the score is so lopsided, the contest seems all but lost to the left.
Conservatives were right on most points. It has been a train wreck in every sense. The hard part, if you are a supporter of the President, is coming to grips with why it happened this way. Were your beliefs misplaced? Why did you not see this coming? Can it be fixed? Can it be fixed by this team (administration and congress)?
Conservatives are rejoicing in a victory which in the scheme of the war is a relatively small, but consequential battle. They are also rejoicing in the silence of their opponents. That Silence will not last. The Administration will herald every little improvement in the website and parade the handful of buyers that actually saved money before throngs of adoring supporters in an attempt to win back some political inertia. But November 2014 is too soon and the problems are too great. There is nothing that can happen good for Obamacare that will help the left. The only thing they can hope for, or work for, is a major change of subject.
The silent ones out there want to talk about something, anything, else.
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