In President Obama’s first State of the Union address he resembled the candidate who was swept into office last November.
Unfortunately we have only seen glimpses of this president however through no fault of his own he has acquired one messy situation after another that understandably juxtaposes what was necessary and what his loyal base wanted.
But in an effort to regain steam and get popular sentiment back on his side Obama needs to hit the campaign trail again. Why? To address all of the mud-slinging that has occurred, in particular over the health care debate.
Fallacious indictments are becoming mainstream understandings with no rationality to buttress them. Most are coming from a political party that will not let Obama succeed no matter what legislative initiative he might champion.
In an effort to salvage the remaining health care bill, which at this point is more conservative than former President Nixon’s health care proposal, he must address the people in the most effective way he can; talk to them, clearly, factually and reasonably.
This past year’s passionate debate over health care reform has underscored the absurdity of the two party political system we Americans have become so chained to. When voters across the country swept Democrats into power in 2008, it was a sign of discontent with the previous administration and the ideas of the Grand Old Party.But a mere 12 months later, voters are showing disgruntlement with this administration and its party.
The only place for people to turn to politically is one of the two parties not in control.
Regardless of how misguided one party might be, and regardless of how insincere the other might be, the fact is we only really have two options for governmental direction.
This paradigm allows the Republican Party to continually taint any and all legislative ideas without the possibility of losing too much voter support, but that does not mean that the Democrats and President Obama have to allow a platform for this type of obstructionism.
The reality is that the GOP is going to refuse compliance with anything Obama does and its rationale is ridden with an understanding that if Obama and the Democrats get a comprehensive health care reform bill that covers nearly all Americans, reduces costs and increases people’s options, it is a death blow to their electoral chances.
If Obama succeeds, Democratic control is eminent and re-election, not only in the mid-term elections but the presidential elections as well, might be insurmountable.
Watching the media coverage of Sen. Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts would have led one to believe that the Republicans increased their supermajority in the Senate. But it gave the Republicans a mere 41 votes, just enough to threaten a filibuster, not enough to govern the country.
Health care costs continue to rise, all the while leaving 40 million people out of the system.
If not morally flawed, this system is economically flawed. And with that, the Democrats should not be afraid of a Republican filibuster.
Present comprehensive legislation that most of your constituents want, and each day, each hour rather that the Republicans filibuster it, remind the American people of how many families max out their credit cards to access health care, or lose their homes to pay hospital bills, or lose their lives because they were denied treatment early on because of a pre-existing condition.
Get back into campaign mode President Obama, because the current road is being blocked by empty ideas that have raised unwarranted concerns, and stick to your word and don’t run for the hills, because if you do you might not have a seat when you come back.
Kevin Garrity, a senior journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at kevin.garrity@laverne.edu.
