As Senate Republicans were on the verge of today's vote to open debate on the repeal and replacement of an out-of-control Obamacare healthcare system, Top democrats had assembled in Berryville, Virginia on Monday to admit “Too many Americans don’t know what (they) stand for,” as put by Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer also declared that the American people would no longer be confused about the Democratic Party’s message after Monday. The most politically significant thing about Berryville - population 4,000 - is that President Trump easily carried that town and the county on November 8 and Democrats need millions of rural Trump voters to crossover before the 2018 elections.
Democrats' "Better Deal" is same deal
By Tuesday, Schumer’s sketchy declaration (that the country would know what the Democratic Party stands for) was eclipsed by the Republicans’ successful vote on healthcare reform. The Republican move leaves Democrats defending a withered version of Obamacare that breaks every promise made by the Democrats, who sponsored the bitterly partisan Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010.
DNA and dangled carrots
Schumer, flanked by controversial Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (the fair-skinned, blue-eyed Massachusetts liberal nicknamed “Pocahontas” by Pres. Trump for claiming Native American DNA for monetary gain) spoke to a crowd of nearly a hundred people in the town 70 miles from the U.S.
capital where they attempted to convey their party’s new direction. Adding to their lackluster performance, the top Democrats merely rehashed a couple of generic promises that failed to materialize during eight years under Pres. Obama. For example, they said that the costs of prescription medicines are out of control. While it would be hard to find anyone not on a pharmaceutical corporation’s board of directors to disagree, the cost of drugs have skyrocketed under Obamacare legislation championed and approved by Pelosi and Schumer less than eight years ago.
Schumer’s gang dangled a couple of other carrots, like creating a national minimum wage of $15 and punishing evil American corporations; however, as usual, the Democrats' proposals were woefully short on specifics.
Old schemes or "Better Deal?"
Meanwhile, Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence was the tiebreaker on the Republicans’ procedural venue that included the return of ailing Sen.
John McCain. However unclear the Democrats were on the mechanics of their “Better Deal”, it probably wouldn’t have mattered much anyway since 95% of the media’s energy is focused on the Republican's healthcare overhaul proposals.
Democrats would do better not to send the same tenured Beltway insiders out to re-introduce old schemes as a new direction. The American people understand that message, and already rejected it.
