Suppose that the main GOP message is, "Health care reform will kill grandma." If health care reform passes, and three years from now grandma is not dead, then the Democrats can say, "We told you so."
Instead, suppose that main opposition message is, "Medicare is not on a sustainable path, and if this passes it will still not be on a sustainable path." Three years from now, if Medicare is not on a sustainable path, then it will be the opposition that can say, "We told you so."
Maybe the Republicans think that the "grandma is gonna die" approach is going to work to defeat the Obama program. If so, they may be getting suckered by the apparent disunity among Democrats. In the end, the incentive for the Democrats to resolve their differences is pretty high. If something passes, the Republicans may regret that they adopted an opposition tactic that lowers the bar for success for health care reform.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/08/lowering-the-bar-on-obamacare/23052/
