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The politics of health reform
Friend or foe?
Aug 13th 2009 | NORTH ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From The Economist print edition
It is not wise for Democrats to bash health insurers
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No-one said it would be easy
“I AM not a Nazi, I’m not being paid to be here, and I’m not un-American!” The elderly man who uttered
those angry words on the afternoon of August 10th was clearly boiling over. He and several hundred
others had gathered in a poorly ventilated hall in North Arlington, New Jersey, to berate Steven Rothman,
their Democratic congressman, for advocating health reform. The patriotic constituent echoed the
sentiments of the angry crowd by declaring that the Democrats’ health plan was something his children
and grandchildren simply “can’t afford”.
With Congress in recess this month, many members are holding such town hall meetings—and meeting a
similar reaction. Across the country politicians are being confronted with the outrageous allegation that
Democratic reforms will create a rationing bureaucracy of “death panels” to decide who lives and who
dies.
What explains all this? The initial Democratic instinct was to see a dark plot masterminded by
conservatives. Mr Rothman recalls encountering such open hostility at public meetings only twice before—
during Bill Clinton’s impeachment saga and over the Iraq war—but the difference this time, he insists, is
that the complainers are well-organised. A White House official claims that the protests were the result of
a “concerted viral whisper campaign”. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, went so far as to suggest
this week that the tactics used by those disrupting public meetings were “un-American.”
It is true that e-mails and other documents have surfaced confirming that conservative groups and talkradio
hosts have been fanning the flames of discontent. And prominent Republicans ranging from Newt
Gingrich to Sarah Palin have indeed pounced on the issue with glee. The former governor of Alaska even
posted a note on her Facebook page claiming that Democratic reforms would somehow do in her
handicapped child.
Look beyond such opportunism, however, and it becomes clear that there is much genuine anger and
concern among ordinary people about health reform. For one thing, the punters at these meetings often
have poignant and unscripted personal tales that explain their distrust of proposed reforms. Also,
numerous polls now confirm that scepticism among Americans at large—and independents in particular—is
growing about health reform.
The Democrats are using two other strategies to try to quell dissent. The high-minded tactic is the White
House’s redoubling of efforts to address the concerns of Americans directly. To that end, the
administration has set up a new website designed to debunk half-truths and myths and is pouring money
into a huge advertising campaign. Mr Obama has also headed out on the road again, with three town hall
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