Though beaten and bruised, Senate Democrats quickly promised a “total war” to defend Obamacare. While that dedication to principle is admirable, the strategy seems flawed.
Democrats have defended Obamacare to their dying breath. Over the last eight years and four national elections, they’ve sacrificed majorities on Capitol Hill and vacated governor’s mansions across the country. Recently, it’s probably cost them the White House.
Instead of dodging, the Left is making its stand and will lean into the GOP’s Obamacare blows. When their party ran the board in 2008, Democrats clinched a dream that had gone unfulfilled since FDR’s New Deal. They went all in and then they lost big again and again and again.
The largest entitlement expansion in American history didn’t translate into Democrat victories. When Obama moved into the White House, there were 29 Democrat governors, 257 House members and 57 senators. Since Obamacare passed, those numbers seemed to decrease in direct proportion to increases in premiums.
It wasn’t difficult to see the slow-motion punch coming over Obamacare. Democrats could have changed course after losing the House in 2010 or the Senate in 2014. Instead, they doubled down. And the marquee healthcare law was on the ballot this year especially.
Campaigning for preservation of his legacy, Obama hit the stump for Clinton, asking crowds to “trust me on this one” and even to put more money into the program. They didn’t listen. They painted the nation red.
Next year, a newly commissioned Minority Leader Chuck Schumer must decide the direction of Democrats’ rearguard action. And if recent history is an indication, hamstringing full repeal won’t renew their majority. A better strategy could be making a deal with the negotiator in chief.
Under new branding, Obamacare lite could pass as Trumpcare. Trump isn’t ideologically opposed to socialized medicine. He’s made several sales pitches for universal healthcare on the debate stage and national television. More populist than conservative, the president-elect could be convinced to ease up on full repeal.
With more than half of their Senate seats up for re-election in 2018, Democrats better regroup and close ranks quickly.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
