New ObamaCare talking points: Forget previous talking points
Some liberal groups are finally acknowledging the obvious: Hardly anyone believed their claims that ObamaCare would “bend the cost curve downward” and help balance the federal budget.
The public rejection of the claims may not be news, but the left’s acknowledgment of this defeat does qualify as a scoop — and Politico’s Ben Smith is the one who got it:
Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care legislation, abandoning claims that it will reduce costs and the deficit and instead stressing a promise to “improve it.”
The messaging shift was circulated this afternoon on a conference call and PowerPoint presentation organized by Families USA — one of the central groups in the push for the initial legislation. The call was led by a staffer for the Herndon Alliance, which includes leading labor groups and other health care allies. It was based on polling from three top Democratic pollsters, John Anzalone, Celinda Lake and Stan Greenberg
The confidential presentation, available in full here and provided to POLITICO by a source on the call, suggests that Democrats are acknowledging the failure of their predictions that the health care legislation would grow more popular after its passage, as its benefits became clear and rhetoric cooled. Instead, the presentation is designed to win over a skeptical public and to defend the legislation — and in particular the individual mandate — from a push for repeal.
The presentation concedes that groups typically supportive of Democratic causes — people under 40, non-college-educated women and Hispanic voters — have not been won over by the plan. Indeed, it stresses repeatedly, many are unaware that the legislation has passed, an astonishing shortcoming in the White House’s all-out communications effort.
“Straightforward ‘policy’ defenses fail to [move] voters’ opinions about the law,” reads one slide. “Women in particular are concerned that health care law will mean less provider availability — scarcity an issue.”
The presentation also concedes that the fiscal and economic arguments that were the White House’s first and most aggressive sales pitch have essentially failed.
“Many don’t believe health care reform will help the economy,” reads another slide.
The presentation’s final page of “Don’ts” counsels against claiming “the law will reduce costs and [the] deficit.”
So, what do the pollsters and advisers recommend? That Democrats and their fellow travelers focus instead on personal stories like greedy doctors who needlessly remove kids’ tonsils — er, I mean, greedy doctors who amputate diabetics’ feet instead of telling them to modify their diets — er, I mean, well, Smith reports the advice here:
“People can be moved from initial skepticism and support for repeal of the law to favorable feelings and resisting repeal,” it says. “Use personal stories — coupled with clear, simple descriptions of how the law benefits people at the individual level — to convey critical benefits of reform.”
And, finally, they recommend telling the public that the law may not be that great, but don’t worry — the great ObamaCare debate of 2009-10 was just a prelude to our efforts to truly fix health care:
“Keep claims small and credible; don’t overpromise or ’spin’ what the law delivers,” it says, suggesting supporters say, “The law is not perfect, but it does good things and helps many people. Now we’ll work to improve it.”
How about this for a tagline: “We had to pass the bill so that we could find out what needed fixing in it.”
(H/t: Hot Air)
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289 comments Add your comment
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
7:45 pm
“I get that dumber words from you all the time…I must be really good to be able to top even myself on so regular a basis!”
Huh? You’ve only been posting on Kyle’s blog for what, two days? I hope Kookman makes it back from whitewater rafting in one piece so he can copy and paste more lame op-ed pieces about how stupid Palin is.
You left wing retards are about as predictable as Jimmy Carter calling Jews, evil.
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 19th, 2010
7:47 pm
And for those scoring at hone, I’ve been coming to Kyle’s blog since it opened and I go to Wooten’s occasionally. CT’s is the one I won’t go to.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
7:47 pm
Hillbilly
“To dream the impossible dream…this is my quest…!”
G-d I love musicals!
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
7:48 pm
“CT’s is the one I won’t go to.”
Yeah, sewage drains have more integrity than that woman.
Real Scooter
August 19th, 2010
7:48 pm
Thanks for the fireworks Grand Forks!
Are we having fun yet? yeehaw
RW-(the original)
August 19th, 2010
7:49 pm
This thing was boiled down nicely in the comments over at Hot Air.
Update: From the comments: “So, their big argument for why they should be re-elelected is that they promise to fix the horrible legislation they lied to us about and passed over the public’s very vocal objections. Good luck with that.”
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
7:49 pm
“Thanks for the fireworks Grand Forks! ‘
I’m saving the M-1000’s for when ScamVet finally explodes all over the keyboard.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
7:50 pm
GF
Oh, they say that loco weed leads to short term memory loss…back before Jay’s Alhambra Decree on you…
Hillbilly
Don’t care much for CT myself…mean spirited and small minded, she…
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
7:51 pm
“Oh, they say that loco weed leads to short term memory loss…back before Jay’s Alhambra Decree on you”
Guess that sucks for you then, ma’am. Tell unmentionable, hi.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
7:51 pm
Scooter
More fun than a barrel of monkeys…
md
August 19th, 2010
7:52 pm
“CT’s is the one I won’t go to.”
That is one I also refuse to validate……..
md
August 19th, 2010
7:53 pm
“Update: From the comments: “So, their big argument for why they should be re-elelected is that they promise to fix the horrible legislation they lied to us about and passed over the public’s very vocal objections. Good luck with that.””
Gotta love it – the only job in the world where one gets to screw it all up and then campaign to fix it……
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
7:54 pm
GF
That ma’am thingie really tickles me…like I’m supposed to be insulted? Not a’tall, mon ami…and Unmentionable says to tell you hi back and thanks for taking me off his hands so he can get a minute’s peace…
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
7:56 pm
md
“… the only job in the world where one gets to screw it all up and then campaign to fix it……”
You ARE on a roll tonight! Good one…what’s in your glass?
md
August 19th, 2010
7:57 pm
“You ARE on a roll tonight! Good one…what’s in your glass?”
Iced water mixed with reality…….
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
7:58 pm
“That ma’am thingie really tickles me…like I’m supposed to be insulted? ”
Not meant to insult you. Remember, you’re “happy.”
md
August 19th, 2010
7:58 pm
Jo – and then vote themselves a raise………….man oh man have I missed the boat.
CJ
August 19th, 2010
8:00 pm
Frank Luntz informing conservatives on how to kill health care reform: “You’ll notice we recommend the phrase ‘government takeover’ rather than ‘government run’ or ‘government controlled’.”
Frank Luntz informing conservatives on how to kill financial reform: “Words to Use – ‘fine print’, ‘big bank bailout bill’, ‘hard working taxpayers’”
These confidential memos suggest that Republicans are acknowledging the failure of their positions regarding health care reform and financial reform legislation.
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 19th, 2010
8:02 pm
and then vote themselves a raise
Doesn’t Congress have it set up now, to get an automatic annual raise, without even voting on it?
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:02 pm
md
Don’t drink water…as WC said, “fish f in it!” Reality, though? It’s not all it appears to be…
barking frog
August 19th, 2010
8:03 pm
This legislation will stay in place but with a single
payer option that will be traded for the mandated
participation, at least as pertains to businesses.
Insurance companies want single payer to
dump unwanted business. Companies don’t
want to be forced to provide coverage.
Healthcare providers will get the balance of
the proceeds. Who is going to get rid of it?
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:04 pm
GF
As Unmentionable says, “Gay? I’m not even mildly amused…”
Honu
August 19th, 2010
8:10 pm
Josef — I truly don’t see that with Cynthia Tucker. Have you read any of the screeds over there? If her picture was not at the top of her column, there would be a kinder, gentler tone to the conversations. She’s simply attacked for having a viewpoint while being black, no matter the topic. I’m surprised; you’re normally more tolerant. . .
barking frog
August 19th, 2010
8:11 pm
That 1099 for purchases over 600.00 has been in
the irs code for years, its just practically
unenforceable except for large amounts.
TGT
August 19th, 2010
8:16 pm
Latest Rasmussen poll is 60% oppose 36% favor Obamacare. Here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/obama_and_democrats_health_care_plan-1130.html
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:16 pm
Honu
I will have to disagree with you on Sister Cynthia…she sets out to offend anyone who doesn’t agree with her…I don’t like her very much and she long ago offended me to the max on her defense of the word “gypsy” as acceptable so long as it was spelled with a lower case “g…” Now, I WILL agree with you that way too many of her attackers are doing so because of her shade of skin and I find that, itself, reason enough not to go over there…I would wind up having to come to the defense of someone who has already said it was okay to use the equivalent of the “n” word of my little Romany Princess grandbaby…
Real Scooter
August 19th, 2010
8:18 pm
More fun than a barrel of monkeys
I’ll say! I bought my very first computer last Sunday and now I can visit with y’all any time I want too. Life is good!
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:23 pm
Scooter
And the good part is that you can be dealing on the other screen with the most mind numbing work reports or the most depressing of research topics and flip over here and get a nice little break…G-d I love modern technolgy—even if, as my own kids say, I did have to be dragged kicking and screaming from my garret with a quill and parchment!
Real Scooter
August 19th, 2010
8:32 pm
Dang josef,it has taken me 4 days to get one screen up and runnin, forget 2. Whew! I never thought I would be one of george Jones’ “hightech rednecks”. ( kinda)
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
8:33 pm
KOOKMAN, PLEASE COME BACK AND RECLAIM YOUR CULT FOLLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!
Honu
August 19th, 2010
8:34 pm
That’s fair enough, Josef — I was not aware of the Gypsy reference. About 7 or 8 years ago (before I knew about this blogging thingy,) I emailed Cynthia commending her on a women’s rights issue that she had championed. I received a very heartfelt and timely reply from her. That impressed me because I really didn’t expect it; but also, because she was so respectful. So I’ve been a fan ever since — not a blindly agreeing-with-everything-she-posts fan, mind you, but just someone who enjoys many different points of view. Even Kyle’s
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:47 pm
Honu
Sister Cynthia DID impress me when she took my phone calls in reference to the Romany issue…she lost me when she set out to defend first, many, many moons ago the scurrilous and clasically racist column by Colin Campbell on the funeral of a Roma notable (I still use it in my cultural sensitivity workshops) and later when she defended the use of the term as “okay” when spelled with a lower case “g” and referring to such things as “gypsy” cabs…the AJC has since corrected its error and no longer uses the term, but it took DECADES to get them to see the point…there was a similar situation in reference to the AJC “challenge” of awarding minority contracts to “blonde, blue-eyed” Cherokee…something that was of significance in this household where we have a red-haired one who would not pass the AJC’s editorial Strassbourg test of racial purity…
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
8:56 pm
Scooter
Once you get the hang of it, you can post on several blogs without going through all the changes…man, I tell ya, that multiple scree thingie was invented for us schizophrenics! (all right, purists, I know it’s multiple personalities, but schizo has such a nice “ring” to it!)
Real Scooter
August 19th, 2010
9:00 pm
Grand Forks
August 19th, 2010
8:33 pm
Come on now GF,I know you like to bebate with the libs no matter what blog they are on!
Real Scooter
August 19th, 2010
9:05 pm
Dang josef,being a hightech redneck is hard enough,let alone being a schitzo technogeek! lol
Mr-B
August 19th, 2010
9:09 pm
Joseph: I, too, am surprised by you antipathy to CT. As a frequent observer and infrequent poster to the AJC blogs, I have watched Cynthia repeatedly being accused of racism when there was no mention of race in her thread post. I’m resonably sure CT meant no offense by her unfortunate reference to the Romany.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
9:11 pm
Real Scooter…
If it weren’t for us, GF wouldn’t have anybody to talk about!
Schitzo technogeek? My kids also say that I don’t particularly think that Gutenberg was such a good idea! Sadly, they’re point on!
Oh, before I forget, glad to see you got that smilie thingie down! Good show…move to the front of the class…
Mr-B
August 19th, 2010
9:13 pm
@ joseph and scooter: how DO you make that work, anyway?
Honu
August 19th, 2010
9:13 pm
Josef — I’m thinking if more folks would approach her with that kind of respect, she would probably have no problem addressing their issues. But when almost every post starts off with “you’re an idiot, moron, race baiter,” etc., it’s no wonder her answers are few and far between. Perhaps you were able to teach her something she was not even aware of. (Sorry about ending that with a preposition.) And as Lou would say, “she’s got spunk!!!” You may not even realize it, but you two are a lot alike — attacked only for who you are. I would think that in itself would form some sort of bond?
Nice chatting with you, Josef — keep up the good work with your students. They must love you! My big sistah is a teacher, too — truly God’s work.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
9:13 pm
Mr. B—
No, she meant no “offense” but she didn’t accept correction either…and it wasn’t “an” unfortunate reference…it continued repeatedly…
Mr-B
August 19th, 2010
9:17 pm
@hono: a (possibly apochrical) quote from Churchill on ending a sentence with a prepposition: ” That, sir, is the sort of pedantry with which I shall not up put!”
Mr-B
August 19th, 2010
9:18 pm
Enter your comments here
@ josef: That was before my time. My apologies for the “PH” instead of “F”
Mr-B
August 19th, 2010
9:20 pm
“Apochrical” = Aprocphical. Damn vodka martinis to hill!
retiredds
August 19th, 2010
9:24 pm
Yea, this kind of reminds me of the time when the argument was put forth by the Bushies that the war in Iraq would pay for itself …. almost a Trillion $$$$ later we are still paying for it (but finally getting out of that rat hole). Also like that Medicare prescription drug program, only supposed to cost $144 billion …. one half Trillion $$$$ later we’re still paying for it. Also reminds me about how those Bush tax cuts were eventually going to trickle down and the deficit would be cut in half. 5 Trillion $$$$ later (On top of the $5 Trillion deficit already accumulated)and still paying for it.
I don’t think Obama and the Dems have the corner on bending the “truth”. Seems like there are no innocent bystanders be they either Republican or Democrat. So, Kyle, your side is no better than the other side when it comes to “bending the truth” (lies maybe). It just comes down to whose lies do we want to believe.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
9:26 pm
Mr B…
Just internet homepage it, put in what you’re doing on that page and go back to the original. If it’s word processing, just do the internet thingie without closing out the processing page…flip back and forth…
Honu
I agree with you entirely on the attack mode…my reason for not being the biggest fan of CT’s is that it took so long to get her to see the point which, in my opinion, should have been obvious spot on…I say she’s limited in that she sees this through a “black-white” prism and doesn’t readily grasp that it doesn’t matter the “group” we ALL have to be aware of our own falling into the same trap, even when we have no personal connection to or experience with “those people” whoever “those people” are.
And, yes, it is that “common bond” where I come to disagreement with her…if you can see it in your own case, why can you not see it in others?
And thanks for the positive thoughts about teachers…as I say (outside the pc fora!). teaching is like medicine, the ministry and other “public service” so-called professions…it’s a “calling” and you either have it or you don’t…
@@
August 19th, 2010
9:28 pm
It was all about making history! It was never about making insurance affordable.
Somebody needs to tell this administration that the American people (some anyway) are neither guinea pigs or pavlovian dogs.
We (some anyway) don’t drool when stimulated.
josef nix
August 19th, 2010
9:31 pm
Mr B
Cabernet myself! I’m one of those “tolerant” teachers myself…far more interested in what’s being put forth than I am the grammar, syntax and spelling…not in the final draft…!
buck@gon
August 19th, 2010
9:38 pm
Well titled headline, Kyle!
In general: New Democrat talking points: Nothing to see here in foreign or domestic policy folks; boy, aren’t those tea party-republicans-conservatives intolerant!
RW-(the original)
August 19th, 2010
9:41 pm
Honu & josef,
I’ve got no particular beef with CT, but I went looking for stragglers when Paul got our thread shut down and that place is an insane asylum missing its Nurse Ratched.
buck@gon
August 19th, 2010
9:43 pm
That “THEY” are promising to improve it is hilarious! These guys live in a childlike world of magical “do-overs” and “mulligans”. The great irony of all this is kook central in the Congress, hosted by Nancy Pelosi, who said (and I paraphrase): we’ll know what’s in the bill AFTER we pass it.
Now that we’re finding out, the Dems are promising to “change it.” History shows that they won’t read that bill before they pass it either!
What’s amazing is the complicit cover that the majority of the press supplies to the Democrats amidst their obvious bumbling, abrasive politics and awful fecklessness. Every day, the President looks more and more like the boob he is. Thanks for being one of a couple of lights at the ajc!