Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Health Care Debate
When President Barack Obama used his oratory gift to transform helplessness to hopefulness at the memorial service in Tucson, Ariz., he did more than "summon the soul of a nation": he summoned the bipartisanship of the Republican Party.
An Associated Press-GfK poll now finds that the venomous opposition to "Obamacare" has subsided and a solid 40 percent of those surveyed support the law. This stands in stark contrast to the statistics after the Democratic Party's "shellacking" in November's midterm election, when opposition stood at 47 percent.The strident calls for repeal of health care reform have all but evaporated, as only about one in four say they want to do away with the law completely. Republicans support for the repeal has also dropped sharply from 61 percent after the elections to 49 percent presently.
Prior to the fatal rampage in Arizona that killed 6 people and injured 13, including Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AR, the GOP, lead by newly minted Speaker John Boehner, were adamantly proceeding with a vote to repeal health care reform, despite White House threats of a veto.
Coined "Healthcare vs. Don't Care" by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the nation braced for another round of political boxing, but the loss of a 9-year-old girl who dreamed of a better America stopped the brawl in its tracks.
"This terrible tragedy requires that congressional leaders act in a responsible, nonpartisan way on behalf of members, staff, the institution and (most of all) the American people," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.
This is not to suggest that everyone is on board with universal healthcare.
Starting in 2014, individuals will be required to purchase insurance through an employer, government plan or be self-insured. At least 6 out of 10 Republicans are vehemently opposed to being mandated to carry insurance, even though that was originally a GOP concept in the early '90s.
"I just think that the liberal left is more going for socialized medicine, and I don't think that works well," said Earl Ray Fye, a farmer from Pennsylvania Furnace, Penn., and a conservative Republican. "It just costs too much. This country better get concerned about getting more conservative."
Joshua Smith of Herndon, Va., is one individual who believes the law should do more to re-engineer the healthcare system, and 43 percent of Americans agree with him:
"Overall, it didn't go as far as I would have liked," said Smith, 46, a sales consultant to manufacturers who lives in Herndon, Va. "In a perfect world, I'd like to see them change it to make it more encompassing, but judging by how hard it was to get it passed, they had to take whatever they could get."
Even with consistent differences, these statistics suggest that in the wake of the tragedy in Arizona, a polarized nation is realizing that a house divided cannot stand. We are not a country that shoots our representatives at point blank range. We are not a country that murders innocent children.
Maybe we are finally realizing that if we're not better than that, we should be.
Liberals must capitalize on this shifting trend to develop a more effective strategy. Those of us who support universal heathcare must embrace conservatives, drop the combative demeanor and not only balance our passion with skillful persuasion but be willing to listen to opposing suggestions. The "Party of No" is finally saying maybe, and we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away.
Speaking before an electric crowd, President Obama revealed to thunderous applause that Senator Giffords had opened her eyes for the first time; this amazing development was made possible in large part due to the exemplary healthcare she is receiving at the University Medical Center in Tucson. That level of quality care should be available to all Americans, and if we can all agree that life shouldn't have a price tag, it will be.
Hopefully, as the healthcare debate resumes this week, both parties understand that this nation is not expecting a fight, we are expecting solutions.
With that thought guiding our bipartisan recovery, maybe we can all open our eyes for the first time.
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The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Jan. 5-10 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.