It's Constitutional Bitches

There is a problem with Patrick Gaspard’s tweet.  It’s not the course language, however.  I’m not bothered by swear words.  I’ve always been more interested in substance … and frankly I enjoy peppering my speech, and even writing with, more than a few choice words.   Why the hell not?  I’m also not overly concerned that Gaspard’s tweet will serve to stir up and unite Republican opposition.  They’re pretty stirred up already. 

The problem is that this comment by the Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee just plays into the high school football narrative that has been allowed to linger far too long.  This shouldn’t be about which side wins.  The main goal shouldn’t be too crush the liberals or the conservatives.  We don’t need pep rallies and cheerleaders.  We need meetings and mediations, logic and reason, listening … Sure you want your party to succeed, but what happened to focusing on whether or not we fix the problems that are facing us, among them a health care system that every serious person agrees is broken?  Republicans have been focused on denying Obama any sort of success on health care, or anything else for that matter, seemingly unconcerned with any negative effects that approach might have on the country.  It didn’t matter if he borrowed their general approach or essentially compromised with himself when he sought out the middle ground.  Democrats in the House were initially pretty unconcerned with listening to any legitimate Republican concerns, or with compromising … they had the majority, why would they compromise?  Compromise and collaboration are signs of weakness after all … ineffective and inessential distractions that make you less likely to be victorious.

The goal isn’t to solve the health care problem.  The problem is to use the debate over health care to destroy the other side.  Someone serious about solving problems would have been happy with the Court’s decision because a framework for helping fix our medical system had been left in place.  The focus would not be on who won or lost.  It would not be on gloating or trying to deny credit.  The focus would be on how to alter and add to the new framework in the manner that most fits with one’s approach to fixing the problems facing American and improving America’s future prospects.   The focus would be on solving problems.  Unfortunately, that’s not where the focus is now.  And that is nothing to celebrate.