why not "cave" to cater to republican "fears"?

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no, i'm not at all about to suggest simple capitulation to right-wing demands.

my focus is the crazy right-wing LIES. our long-tested and chronically failing method of dealing with their lies is to ignore them or at best deny and refute them. we score debating points but the public still has this lingering doubt and many still believe the lies.

FORGET ABOUT CONVINCING THEM.

instead, "give in" to their demands. best is in the context of going "over the heads" of republican leaders, saying we'll incorporate conservative views but bypass the right-wing legislators who won't work for a compromise.


obama should give a prime-time televised speech and list the several republican-inspired lies about health care and CAVE on them. for instance:

"some on the right have expressed their concern that there would be so-called "death panels" -- government meddling in end-of-life decisions. i understand that ordinary americans very much want such personal decisions to be between themselves and the doctors of their own choosing. that's why i have asked that language be inserted into the bill barring government bureaucrats from making end-of-life, or any other personal, medical decisions, and i will veto any bill that does not include such language."

get it? WE GIVE UP NOTHING BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL BILL NEVER HAD IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. it was always a lie, death panels were never in the bill to begin with, so removing it is a non-event. but politically, it works great, because we "gave" something up so we're not in a position to "demand" something in return.

similarly, we can "cave" to the fear that medicare benefits will be cut (something never contemplated) by putting something in the bill to prevent that.


AND IN RETURN, obama can say, now in return, i want single-payer, etc.

republican leaders and the media would go ape over this, but i think it would play well in peoria.