The Right's Delay And Kill Strategy

Throughout his campaign for the White House, after his election victory, and as soon as he assumed office, President Obama made it clear that reforming the health care system would be at the top of his agenda. Reiterating that sentiment, Obama said recently that health care is his "highest legislative priority over the next month." And the American public agrees. A recent Gallup poll found that nearly 60 percent of Americans said they favor Congress passing major health care reform this year. And while the relevant committees in the House and Senate are hard at work on legislation, Republicans and conservatives, in and out of power, are doing everything they can to stand in the way of major reform. The right is taking its lead from GOP pollster Frank Luntz, who authored a memo laying out a rhetorical strategy for conservatives to demonize Obama's proposal. Luntz recently admitted that he is urging Republicans to attack reform as a "government takeover" regardless of what the actual legislation says. But Republicans (and some Democrats) have added another obstructionist tactic: delay. As White House budget director Peter Orszag said last Sunday, "The typical Washington bureaucratic game of -- 'if you don’t have a better alternative, just delay in the hope that that kills something' is partly what's playing out here." "There are those who are advocating delay just as a desperation move to try to kill this," he said. Orszag is right: Opponents of reform in Congress are proposing amendments that would maintain the status quo and have resorted to a delay-and-kill strategy.

The Right's Delay And Kill Strategy