HEALTHCARE REFORM IN USA – WHY DO THE DEMOCRATS FIND THEMSELVES FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE?

Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t! That is the kind of situation the Democrats are finding themselves in at the moment on the issue of health care reform in US.

First of all, what the heck is this so-called healthcare reform? Did the message not go out to masses in US as to what this reform is all about? Did the message not go out loud and CLEAR why this reform is needed by US economy?

Well, as expected the opposition, i.e., Republicans did their best in attacking the reform and along with it the Democrats. The Republicans succeeded in confusing the issue – they got the so-called tea parties organized, they used the stream of media, which supports them, to fullest advantage. And in their efforts, it is also alleged (and it seems this may be true) that they were strongly supported with all the resources by the vested interests, namely, Insurance lobby.

Result: The anti-Democrats are dead against the reform; and the Democrat vote base is hugely confused about efficacy of this reform, if any.

Things that helped the Republicans: Essentially poor dissemination of information about the urgency of this reform, and why the reform is important for US. There was hardly any coherent and sustained dissemination as to the need for reform in order to save the American economy in the long run.

If this reform is/was so darn important from the economic standpoint for the average American and US as a whole, then why was this friggin' message not spread by the dint of the loudest of the drums?

· There was hopelessly feeble rebuttal of dis-information/mis-information spread regarding ‘Death Panels’, applicability of the reform to illegal immigrants, public option and so on.
· There was no proactive planning to anticipate Republican negative campaign and counter it – the town hall meetings were hardly arranged in numbers by Democrats that could effectively dispel and rebut the dis-information/mis-information spread by the vested interests.
· Democrats (including President Obama) and the supportive media tended to use long winded professorial verbiage to explain the purported advantages of health care reform and/or rebut Republican sponsored dis-information/mis-information.

So, the net result is that the upcoming elections (and to be held in Nov 2010) are making Democrats jittery – the once safe Senate seat of Massachusetts is going to the wire now. If the Republicans win that seat, life for the Democrats in the Senate will become lot more difficult in terms of getting new legislative measures put in place.

Did Obama bite more than he could chew? Not if this was the only issue to be dealt with. Did he underestimate the bog-down potential of the various issues that were on his plate in the first year of his presidency? The turn of events seem to suggest so.

Can anything be done by the Democrats to salvage the situation? Yes! Arrange a nation-wide barn storming campaign to clarify the confusion/questions the average American has with regard to health reform; and to explain how s/he stands to benefit (individually immediately and as society as a whole in the long run), how USA stands to benefit, the perils to US economy if health care aspect is not handled properly NOW.

Also, the campaign needs to stress that health care is not a Democrat or Republican issue – it is a human being issue, a national issue for the future of USA. Is it a bit too late in the day? May be, but no harm in trying.

And, for God’s sakes simple short sentences have to be used to explain the various aspects of the reform. Long sentences with journalistic verbosity are never helpful in communication with masses– this simple cardinal rule of mass communication needs to be drilled in the heads of the Democrat speech writers and the so-called liberal media practitioners.

President Obama is said to have lots of tenacity – he needs to bring all of that now to get over this major hump in his current political journey. He seems to be sincere, working for and on behalf of the people of US for the greater good of the society. If this is true, the power that be from the Heavens above will turn the course in favour of the good-doer.

LAST GASP REPUBLICAN DIVERSIONARY TACTIC WITH INCURSION IN SYRIA!

BBC website reported on Oct 26 "US helicopter-borne troops have carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people including four children, Syrian officials say.
The official Syrian news agency Sana said the raid took place in the Abu Kamal border area, in eastern Syria. It said that American soldiers on four helicopters had stormed a building under construction on Sunday night.
The US says it is investigating. It has previously accused Syria of allowing foreign militants into Iraq.
Syria has summoned the US and Iraqi envoys in Damascus to protest at the raid.
If confirmed, the raid would be the first known attack by US forces inside Syrian territory, says the BBC's Natalia Antelava."

In a separate article on same day BBC's Diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus writes "But its (US action's) timing is curious, coming right at the end of the Bush administration's period of office and at a moment when many of America's European allies - like Britain and France - are trying to broaden their ties with Damascus."

He further writes "Whatever the local military factors involved in this US operation, it would be unthinkable to imagine that an incursion into Syria would not require a policy decision at a high-level."

So, why did some one very high in Washington - either the President himself or the Defence Secretary - authorised this incursion? The answer is simple: it is a tactic to give McCain, who claims he knows more than Obama on security issues, to divert the election campaign focus from the perilous current economic crisis to security matters.

It is just a ploy to give McCain and the Republicans, who are badly trailing in opinion polls, some straw to clutch on to. Some political analysts had felt about 9-10 months back that US may resort to adventurism in Iran to ensure Republican victory in Nov this year. But somehow this option didn't seem to be feasible because of high cost attached to it and potential of dangerous politico-military fall out. An Israel led adventure also did not seem feasible because of continued political instability in Israel for the last few months and even now.

So, Iran being not an option to do some gun-boat diplomacy, the outgoing Republican administration looked at other 'cheap' options. And, they found Syria to be not only a 'cheap' option to strike but that any action vis-a-vis Syria could be relatively easily justified to the American people and the international community.

Republicans are staring down the barrel for a double whammy - loss in Presidential election, and Democrats getting the magic figure of 60 in Senate. With opinion polls showing precarious condition of Republicans on both the fronts, it is hard to assume that Bush administration will watch the situation idly and twiddle its thumb.

So, the outgoing administration seems to have decided to play the military card against Syria which is notorious in US as being anti-America. They probably reasoned to themselves that whacking Syria, even in a limited manner, would be a safe bet politically and may help the Republican cause in some way.

Some one may say that the above is a cynical view. But in all fairness it should be said that it is not a cynical commentary on this incident. It is not a biased view because one may ask: why did US wait all this long to carry out this incursion? After all, movement of insurgents and foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq has long been a bone of contention between Damascus and Washington.

There is, therefore, hardly any doubt about the political motive of the timing of this military raid. As the BBC Diplomatic correspondent noted further in his article 'this action of US is in marked contrast to European efforts to engage the Syrians.

With French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the lead, a number of European countries have sought to bring Syria in from the cold.'

Incursion in Syria is an attempt by the outgoing President and his cronies to administer 'CPR' to the sinking Republican poll campaign. It remains to be seen whether the US voters can discern this diversionary tactic and prefer to remain focused to more bread and butter issues.

Finally, it will not be surprising at all to see US military carrying out something sensational before Nov 4 to provide the vital dose of oxygen needed by McCain, and the Republican senate candidates for their political survival.