I was talking about politics with a bunch of highly informed people recently who all thought that health care wouldn't be much of an issue in the fall. (Jobs, jobs, jobs.) I agree that the economy is going to be a huge issue, but I'll be very surprised if health care isn't at the very center of the election. I think it's obviously going to be at the center if the right is driving the agenda:
Repealing healthcare reform will be Republicans' "No. 1 priority," their House leader said Monday.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that repealing the healthcare legislation passed in Congress last month and signed into law by President Barack Obama would be the GOP's top priority if it wins back control of Congress this fall.
"They got everything else in the entire bureaucracy that they need to control our healthcare system ... with the signing of this bill," Boehner said during an interview on WFLA's "Bud Hedinger Show." "That’s why repealing this bill has to be our No. 1 priority."
The Democrats may be able to control the narrative of this election but I see no evidence that they are going to do it. It's possible that the court fight and financial reform might provide some ground to fight on Democratic turf and perhaps an improving economy will help them out but it doesn't seem likely --- it takes about 18 months for economic CW in the country to really take, even if the numbers are unequivocally positive, which they aren't. Maybe by 2012 but it's already too late for 2010. I think the Republicans are going to take the lead and run it as a referendum on health care, which will serve as a proxy for the illegitimate takeover of the government by the socialists.
We'll see what happens and maybe it's true that this will all be old news by then. But I hope the Dems are playing it safe anyway and are preparing talking points to defend their health care votes because I think they're going to need them.
On the other hand, if the Republicans give them gifts like this, they may be able to simply let them hoist themselves by their own petard: