Clinton Gives a Pep Talk

Hoping to begin Senate floor debate on healthcare reform next week, the Democrat leadership decided to bring in reinforcements this past week for a collegial pep talk. Who better to deliver such a speech than Former President Bill Clinton?

Speaking on an issue that nearly derailed his first term, Clinton warned his Democrat colleagues against repeating history. Urging them to act quickly and pass the compressive healthcare reform, Clinton cautioned that Democrats would be forever haunted by their inability to act if they did not put aside their differences and work together. While many thought the bill is not perfect, he said it represents an initial step forward in a longer debate on reforming healthcare. Attended by nearly all 60 members of the Senate Democrats, Clinton told the Democrats to stop listening to the opposition.  He said that by focusing on the opposition, they lost momentum and the spotlight over the summer and through the fall.  Clinton opined that the reason so many “tea party” activists were angry was because they knew they were losing the fight. Setting off a small firestorm at the beginning of the week among more conservative activists, Clinton’s comments seemingly energized the Democrat base. Serving to encourage many of the more liberal Members to put aside their differences and work to find a compromise that can pass the Senate, Clinton is a living illustration of how healthcare failures can reverberate nearly 20 years later. While we must wait and see whether or not President Clinton’s remarks had any lasting impact, for the short term, they boosted supporters in the push for healthcare reform.

Having participated as a member of the Clinton Healthcare Policy Task Force, I remember very distinctly when the air came out of the tires on his healthcare-reform effort.  In essence, the various constituencies went to their respective corners and pointed at one another.  And, the White House turned deaf to the cacophony of debate that arose.  The kiss of death was the Harry and Louise discussions on national television.  While we’re not there yet, the glimmers of a return to a fractured discussion are beginning to appear.  In an email to all 75,000 employees this past week, UnitedHealth Group asked them to write their senators and local newspapers in opposition to a “government-run health care” program that will force “millions of Americans to drop their current insurance."  The email served as the nidus in a potential tit-for-tat war between those in favor and those opposed to elements of the evolving Senate healthcare package.  As I’ve said before, the middle is where we make great changes in this country.  Perhaps we should encourage everyone to listen to one another…

Kevin Fickenscher, MD

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