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
@@
August 19th, 2010
11:24 pm
DF:
I like Sarah Palin, but I don’t hang on her every word, and I don’t know who Dr. Laura is.
Is there some reason I should?
RW-(the original)
August 19th, 2010
11:26 pm
@@,
It really isn’t about Kyle or Jay B. It’s more about the community that developes and the customs that begin on each one. The Morning Magpies at Jay B’s have made that place unbearable during the day, but Blindingly Obvious pretty much does that here too albeit in shorter bursts.
Several of “we the homeless” that don’t do a lot of blog hopping have thanked Kyle for the space and/or complimented him on the style of this blog. As far as I’ve seen he hasn’t acknowledged any of us so the impression I get is that he’d just as soon see us gone too.
Dusty
August 19th, 2010
11:40 pm
Don’t forget,
I see you did not forget. Now you’ve brought up Sarah Palin for no reason whatsoever. What’s next? Bush & Cheney? How about something on Obama while you ‘re at it…healthcare? debt? You know…
@@,
I don’t think Kyle is too worried about Bookman’s blog. Sometimes you can jump over 100 posts there and not miss anything. Even the music Friday seemed to be wearing a little thin. Liberals love Bookman’s selective lines and undercover style. I’m glad they enjoy it 24/7. At least that might keep them busy and out of trouble.
Getting late. Good night….
md
August 19th, 2010
11:51 pm
“It really isn’t about Kyle or Jay B.”
My take – the guy/gal at the top is no different than the rest of us except they always get their post in first. As we all know, the topic is the suggestion and everybody kind of goes where they want to go from there……….
@@
August 19th, 2010
11:52 pm
RW:
As far as I’ve seen he hasn’t acknowledged any of us so the impression I get is that he’d just as soon see us gone too.
I don’t know about that. Maybe with all the talk about jay’s he just didn’t wanna impose.
I’ve never understood why conservatives wouldn’t spend more time supporting a conservative columnist. Who knows, maybe it would encourage the AJC to re-examine their readership.
I just dropped in over at Cynthia’s for a looksee. With the exception of a few comments, the entire last page was devoted to cornbread.
And about the Blindingly Obvious. Where else can he go? jay banned him. Who follows him over here to antagonize?
jay’s left-wingers. They can’t resist the guy. It’s not like he gets any help from conservatives over here.
@@
August 19th, 2010
11:57 pm
Oh, and according to AmVet, he, Paul, Kamchak and josef are the only ones who can set everyone straight at Cynthia’s. According to AmVet, Kamchak is a sage.
I guess it’s because Kam is always seeing squirrels, spelling words backwards, and point to signs.
Gee! If only I’d known.
@@
August 19th, 2010
11:57 pm
I’m out.
electrician
August 20th, 2010
12:01 am
“the topic is the suggestion and everybody kind of goes where they want to go from there” proven by 2400+ post on jays blog when he’s not even here.
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
12:01 am
I don’t know about that. Maybe with all the talk about jay’s he just didn’t wanna impose
@@,
Or should I call you Lil Sis? There have been dozens of overtures that said nothing about Jay B that have been ignored. Maybe Kyle just isn’t the interactive type and I can respect that, but then I keep reading about how he does interact so if what I read is correct he doesn’t want to interact with “us people.” And you well know this is a frisking but I digress.
I’ve popped around the sites a bit and from the ones I’ve seen Mark Bradley is one of the few that gets what the new media dynamic is going to require. I’m afraid that from what I’ve seen Kyle is just as much a dinosaur as Jay B thinking that old media norms will return, but I agree that he’s far more thought-provoking.
Uncle Billy
August 20th, 2010
7:16 am
Kyle is able to take any source to smear Obama. This was not an official government site but a group who wants to move further in reforming the health care system, as I do. Kyle regularly avoids the discussion of an issue in favor of discussions of the process. He does not understand the issue well enough to discuss the merits so he becomes a flak for the right wing. In journalism you do not learn dealing with heavy issue analysis. You learn flakkery.
It is a sorry spetacle. Only the very best journalists bother with deep thinking. The AJC does not have the best journalists.
Get Real
August 20th, 2010
7:27 am
It was never about Healthcare! It was all about socialized medicine and turning America more in the socialist direction that Obozo wants to take us to. Obozo and the Progressives want more Government control over our lives.
@@
August 20th, 2010
8:00 am
RW:
Understood, I think.
Kyle pretty much stays on topic. Any interactions are on the topic. He’s not much for chatting.
@@
August 20th, 2010
8:01 am
Oh, and I have to wonder if Tucker or Bookman will be linking to the Ben Smith piece.
Jason T
August 20th, 2010
8:13 am
@josef
“Seriously, though, and I am in support of free, universal, health care,…”
Please, define “free”.
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
8:27 am
Oh, and according to AmVet, he, Paul, Kamchak and josef are the only ones who can set everyone straight at Cynthia’s.
Yet another sorry attempt to intentionally misspeak for others.
Bruno, thanks for the tunes. Good stuff. Yesterday eve was an early one for me. Sorry about not hanging for a little while.Two straight days that began very early.
And even if the Bruin isn’t back by tonight, we’ll find some other refuge, I’m sure. I kinda like RW’s idea about a social/musical experiment spanning threads. But, sometimes it’s hard enough to keep up with just one…
RW and HD, good baseball stuff last night. With pennant races cranking up in earnest, this is the time that baseball fans really start watching the box scores closely.
@@
August 20th, 2010
8:28 am
I just went to Mark Bradley’s site. It “looks like” he’s a Catholic priest who writes about sports.
Don't forget
August 20th, 2010
8:29 am
Dusty
August 19th, 2010
11:40 pm
Don’t forget,
I see you did not forget. Now you’ve brought up Sarah Palin for no reason whatsoever. What’s next? Bush & Cheney? How about something on Obama while you ‘re at it…healthcare? debt? You know…
——————————————————————————————————————
LOL, yeah everybody stays on the subject in here huh? Sorry, but the hypocrisy on the right is a relevent topic. She’s a possible 2012 candidate and people should see how she talks out of both of her faces.
@@
August 20th, 2010
8:30 am
AmVet:
How ’bout from now on, I end with “or something to that effect.”
Whatevah, dude.
The Aristocrat
August 20th, 2010
8:34 am
The government can’t provide ‘free’ health care to anyone because the government is not a producer- it does not create wealth. The government can only redistribute wealth through its ability to tax its citizens.Call it what you will, but any time one individual is taxed and another is not, yet benefit equally e.g. equal military protection/equal access to transportation infrastructure/etc. , the individual paying taxes has effectively had their wealth redistributed unjustly.
saywhat?
August 20th, 2010
8:43 am
Joseph Nix; “Gypsy” gets you apoplectic, but you have no problem with “uppity” and, “white trash”? Really?
I frankly don’t have much of a problem with any of them, since it mostly depends on the context in which they are used ( though I am still trying to think of a context for “white trash” that is not meant to be demeaning- perhaps “That pile of discarded paper napkins, eggshells and marshmellows is white trash”?).
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
8:57 am
Dudette, you would be wise to reconsider your propensity to misuse such words and phrases as no one, everyone, nobody, everybody, all, none, etc.
Reread my post, nowhere did I write that we were the ONLY ones – as you falsely asserted. In fact, I made no inference whatsoever that others cannot and do not as well.
So your faux correction of “something to that effect’ is meaningless.
You demonstrate dichotomous black and white thinking, a cognitive distortion – the bane of demagogues.
If you wish to intentionally and repeatedly misrepresent me and numerous others, at least don’t hide behind silly qualifiers, when confronted for doing so…
Intown
August 20th, 2010
9:10 am
Well, the Republicans did everything they could to make a mess of a good faith effort to reform healthcare. So, they too are to blame for any flaws in it, real or perceived.
Dirty Dawg
August 20th, 2010
9:15 am
Your right-wing buddies in Congress with their obstructionism and ‘just say no’ strategy made this a flawed bill, consequently requiring this list of explanations about the piece parts. At least when Democrats issue ‘talking points’, they’re true and accurate. Your guys don’t worry about little things like that…they’ll tell a lie when the truth will do.
You’re a transparent shill Wing-nut, and the fact that Cox Enterprises even has you on the payroll says the same about them.
@@
August 20th, 2010
9:17 am
AmVet:
Not to worry, that is what people like Paul, Kamchak, josef and I do.
Correct the vast amounts of misinformation promulgated by the intentionally uninformed…
Maybe you’re just intentionally “nunancy”….or something to that effect.
Like I said……whatevah. Have a great day. I intend to.
Jason T
August 20th, 2010
9:18 am
Intown/Dirty Dawg
You can’t blame the Reps for this joke of a bill. It was all Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. One Rep voted for it. Ridiculous accusation.
Dan
August 20th, 2010
9:25 am
Dirty Dawg, Obama had to coddle cajole and bribe Democrats to get the bill through, right wing “obstructionists” had zero power to obstruct until the Mass. election. All you need to know about the bill is Pelosis comment that “we need to pass this to see whats in it” I have never heard a statement that more blatantly show disdain for the voter
But Democratic voters rarely use common sense
Curious Observer
August 20th, 2010
9:32 am
This healthcare law is so bad that it will be defunded once Republicans achieve their gains in November, and the Blue Dogs will be there to help.
The battle was lost once Baucus didn’t allow either single-payer or a Medicare buy-in to make it to the committee. Thereafter, it became a feast for the insurance companies. The rest of us will be stuck with higher and higher health insurance premiums to pay for it. The insurance companies aren’t going to swallow a huge loss. And worse, the law does absolutely nothing to control healthcare costs.
And I don’t much care if it goes down. Better no law than a bad law.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:42 am
Obama = dumbest most inept president in history.
Obama now blames poor job numbers on congressional inaction. Wait! His party runs Congress
Just a few minor things to catch up on for the weekend now that the Fundraiser-in-Chief has gone on another vacation (Don’t worry though. White House chef Sam Kass went along, so the first family need not eat ordinary human food.)
– The Congressional Budget Office says the 2010 federal deficit will be in excess of $1.3 trillion, as in $1,000,000,000,000+. (BTW, the next level we’ll be talking about out of Washington is quadrillion, which has fifteen 0’s.)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/08/obama-mosque-jobs-economy.html
Natio
August 20th, 2010
9:42 am
Without Iraq, we could easily afford national healthcare. It was a border crossing we should have thought more about. A trillion dollars for……….the military industrial complex, the Saudi Royal Family, and cheney (but then I repeat myself).
In fact I’m downright stuttering…….
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:44 am
“And even if the Bruin isn’t back by tonight, we’ll find some other refuge”|
How about doing that now, draft dodger.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:45 am
“Yet another sorry attempt to intentionally misspeak for others.”
You wrote the book on that, BedWet.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:49 am
Speaking of Braves, I’ll be at Wrigley for the Braves/Cubs game. I can’t wait to shout “LET’S GO LEE!!!!” just to piss off Cub fans.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:53 am
Why He Turns Voters Off
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BS Top – Schoen Obama Policies President Obama signed the health care bill in March. Voters are tired of the president pursuing policies they don’t want, and he’ll find out just how much in November. Douglas E. Schoen on the message in the latest polls—and how Obama can turn it around.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-08-18/obama-policies-turning-off-voters-polls-show/?cid=hp:mostpopular3
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:54 am
Obama’s Point of No Return
There comes a moment in a failing presidency where the incumbent, through some single gesture, action, or statement, crosses a certain line from beyond which there is no return. Through his own will and behavior, he so underlines his failings, so frames his negative image, that no further action can ever erase it. Fate, accident, and circumstance have nothing to do with it. It is the president himself who puts the period at the end of his own sentence.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/obamas_point_of_no_return.html
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:55 am
Nearly Half of United States Considering Arizona-Style Immigration Legislation
Twenty-two states are now in the process of drafting or seeking to pass legislation similar to Arizona’s law against illegal immigration. This is occurring despite the fact that the Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law and a federal judge has ruled against portions of that law – a ruling that is now being appealed.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/71294
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
9:56 am
“Without Iraq, we could easily afford national healthcare.”
LOL
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
10:01 am
So sister Cynthia has a piece declaring that Obama is a Christian. Geez, the left wingers are in total chaos these days. I’m not sure how an op-ed writer can declare that Obama is a Christian when he shows absolutely no signs of being a Christian.
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
10:02 am
He’s not much for chatting
Old media never is.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
10:02 am
saywhat…
Okay, I’ll give it a shot here. Bear in mind I’m posting from “the sick bed,” so I’m not up to snuff. First, to uppity. Yiddish has a great word for much the same, chutzpah, but it still misses somewhat in application to the English view of the similar attitude. Uppity is when a person refuses to accept the stereotypical “place” assigned and makes a point of it, generally successfully. Thus, when somebody calls me an “uppity” Southerner, Jew, gay or what have you, if done with negative connotations, they are acknowledging that I have defied the conventional image and have the chutzpah to establish my equality in so doing.
White trash is not quite so easily defined in cultural context. For many outlanders, it is automatically decoded as being “po white trash.” When Bette Middler termed her early act as “trash with flash” she caught the essence. Trash is, like uppity, less an attitude than a lifestyle and every group, regardless of socio-economic status, produces its share. White trash is just the racial identity of said individual. As a positive reference, the great little series “White Trash Cookbook” gives an insight. Come to my house today and given the general disorder due to me not feeling up to clearing the table, the dirty clothes thrown about, me still laying about half-dressed, hair not combed, unshaven etc and I would welcome you “to white trash heaven…”
Now “Gypsy” is a completely different matter. It is the pejorative name applied to the Romany people as an antipathetic term of segregation. It’s use as an adjective has been too often in reference to illegal, criminal or shady behavior/practices associated with the Romany and, even at its less negative, as a quasi-romantic view of the Romany as a vagrant, wandering and anti-social class of people. I go near apoplectic as you say for one reason…the continued use of the term in the media and among supposedly sensitive people over the objections of many Roma speaks to how little the greater society knows or cares about the fragile status of the Romany people around the world. Recent events in France are but one example. They are regularly attacked and hounded out of towns, their children denied schooling, and the list could go on and on… The first step in correcting our social mistrust of and discrimination against them is to understand them better and that starts by calling them what they call themselves…
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
10:05 am
Dammeett…didn’t mean to derail the GF train.
How’s it going, GF? The White House cranked out a notice that O was a Christian so all good little toadies felt obliged to write some backup propaganda.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
10:09 am
“How’s it going, GF? ”
Oh, I’m fine. Loving the fact that the left wingers got left out in the cold by Kookman and now they’ve found a temporary shelter until he gets back.
“The White House cranked out a notice that O was a Christian so all good little toadies felt obliged to write some backup propaganda.”
Yeah, and Tucker follows lock step. Her cut and paste column makes absolutely no sense. She left out the fact that 39% of Democrats polled thought he was a muslim.
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
10:11 am
josef, out of my league a tad here, but the term “white trash” has *for me* been more about a mentality, more than a socio-economic status. Yes, visions of trailer parks come to mind, but the term is also in the purview of the nouveau riche as well. Trash is trash, no matter if they make $25K a year or $25M a year.
And interestingly, it is often used, especially by blacks, as a slur, but also by whites of higher socio-economic status to jokingly describe their origins.
From wiki: In 1854, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the chapter “Poor White Trash” in her book A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe tells the reader that slavery not only produces “degraded, miserable slaves”, but also poor whites who are even more degraded and miserable. The plantation system forced those whites to struggle for subsistence. Beyond economic factors, Stowe traces this class to the shortage of schools and churches in their community, and says that both blacks and whites in the area look down on these “poor white trash”.
So to my way of thinking, just as you can take the boy out of the country, but…, you can take the trash out of the trailer park, but…
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
10:12 am
“out of my league a tad here”
Understatement of the year.
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
10:12 am
Oh, I’m fine
Good to hear, GF. Obama is no Muslim either. You can’t be all things to all people and still follow any reasonable faith.
Grand Forks
August 20th, 2010
10:14 am
“Obama is no Muslim either.”
I think he’s a Buddhist. He worships his own being.
Kyle Wingfield
August 20th, 2010
10:15 am
Going on y’all’s OT:
I’ve certainly noticed all the extra traffic this week while Jay’s been on vacation, and I appreciate the contributions. I think my regular readers will tell you that my engagement tends to be a bit streaky, and it’s been a streak of lightness for most of this week. It’s no reflection of my appreciation for readers, old or new…it’s just been one of those weeks.
Thanks for dropping by — I hope you’ll continue to do so even after Jay returns.
And for my regular readers, thanks for playing nice with the newcomers!
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
10:17 am
I think he’s a Buddhist. He worships his own being.
A wannabe Tiger Woods eh? Could be, he certainly spends enough time playing pasture pool.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
10:23 am
AmVet
Yes, it is very much a mentality…that is really what I was trying to get at and the word I should have used…white trash is just the particular group…I object strongly to those who say “trailer park trash” for the broad brush stroke…trash IN the trailer parks…that’s another matter…along the lines of what you were saying about it not being bound by economic class one of my elderly neighbors down the street was talking about some of our newcomers and said “that white trash down on the corner…” the house on the corner having gone for one of the highest prices in the area…but they’re still trash!
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
10:26 am
KYLE
Thanks…rest assured, this is one refugee who’ll come back…I like your style…
Jed
August 20th, 2010
10:26 am
And for the record, my political group,
paleo-confederate conservatives agin neo-conservatives,
recognize the fact that the terms gypsies, hitanos, jews, white-trash, n-word?, and etc………..
are not POLITICALLY incorrect.
These terms are SOCIALLY incorrect.
The “politically” incorrect term is designed by federal policy wonks to soften the subjects up for the FUTURE.
Where it will indeed be political, and hazardous, to speak out against the political state.