In the long run, the side that most insistently believes in its own arguments usually wins. This neatly sums up the outcome of the 2008 election, and the current state of the health care debate. I don’t think every swing voter would categorically embrace everything that’s happened at the town hall meetings (on either side), but the fervor of one side over the other sends important signals to unaffiliated voters that the doubts outweigh the reassurances on Obamacare, and to armchair quarterbacks everywhere, that the President is on the defensive and dogged by opposition.
More than that, it sends signals to swing Congressmen. It’s not uncommon for members of Congress to freak out when one, maybe two people, pose uncomfortable questions in town hall meetings. Because members tend to self-perceive a bubble around them, they place high value on anecdotal feedback.
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More likely than not when September rolls around, the Blue Dogs are going to have a clear message for the White House: “Make this go away.”
Patrick Ruffini – “Energy at the Edges Moves the Center” – The Next Right.
See also: Mickey Kaus Are Conservatives “Blowing It” on Health Care? and David Karki on Health Care: The True Obama, Pelosi and GOP Revealed.
Comments 1
The insistent side wins?
You need at least three U’s in the usually used to qualify that.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm