Barack Obama’s official screenplay It marked the return to the White House On Tuesday everyone will be available with a certificate of care. And Obama has continued to do so, focusing primarily on laws Results At Current efforts Looking forward to this success.
But if you listen carefully, you will also hear that the former president has intervened on another subject: the difficulties of governing in a world where so many political forces are lined up against you.
In this part of his speech, Obama appears to have addressed his longtime critics of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
And if you agree with his views, this topic is particularly relevant now that President Joe Biden and his allies are struggling to move their agenda to Congress.
The ambivalence of the left toward the Obama presidency
The Obama presidency has long caused ambivalence among some progressives, particularly on social media, on the theory that he is too quick to reduce ambitions, too shy to face Republicans, asking for too much money, and too eager to commit. of deals.
The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, is an integral part of this narrative. While Obama was more resistant, he thought Democrats could pass a law with more generous insurance subsidies, government-negotiated drug prices, and a “public option” with cheaper and more reliable coverage than private insurance quotes.
At the White House Tuesday, Obama easily identified flaws in the law, noting that millions of Americans still do not have health insurance or struggle with high premiums and out-of-pocket costs. But, he said, “we had to compromise, we didn’t get everything we wanted. … In the story, what you see is important to start something, raise the flag, lay the foundation for further development.
You’ve probably heard Obama say this before. I am of course – in other places at the time Interview Of the Moon The book I wrote In the Affordable Care Act.
In this speech he mentioned the underestimation of the depth of the republican opposition and the need to address the problems of an institutional congress like Philibaster. At the same time, he defended (and cited) the law, “because it was passed and 20 million people received health insurance and it still exists.”
I think what matters is that there are many reasons to predict individual decisions, whether they are those of Obama or other party leaders. It is not so easy to think of better solutions that represent more ambitious legislation: very strong special interests, very difficult to witness the legislature, very toxic political environment.
Now it’s easy to forget, but the whole effort is almost wasted over and over again. Last Law Cancels Congress From Minimum Limit – And it only happened after accepting the concessions of Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson, the two most conservative senators in the Democratic group.
It can be considered a miracle to go through anything under these conditions.
And it will lead to the present.
Democrats tried the approach this time
In recent years, Obama’s progressive criticism has been more reflected in the collective democratic consciousness, which has had a clear impact both on the Democrats ’main debate campaign in 2020 and, more recently, on discussions of what has been done” better. the law has been restored. ”
The starting point for this legislation is a package to address climate change, early childhood education and many other priorities – $ 3.5 trillion for the federal government over 10 years. This figure is really something of a compromise: Bernie Sanders, the leader of the progressive wing, wants to spend $ 6 trillion.
Compromise is inevitable and progressives, despite their reputation as strategic nihilists, have clearly shown their willingness to do so. It is only hoped that by offering such an ambitious opening, the final deal will be even more ambitious.
But just as Obama had to fight Lieberman and Nelson, Biden must pass the bills in the Senate, where they were vetoed by conservative Democrats Joe Mancin and Kirsten Cinema. And so far, negotiations have stalled because Mancin has said that even a noticeably small tax is too big for his liking. There is a real possibility that Democrats will eventually fail to do anything.
To put it bluntly, this is not the end of the story. Democrats can still find consensus, and if they do, they can pass legislation that includes provisions to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, which Obama popularized in the White House. But any law passed will inevitably fall short of what Democrats expect.
Progressive and other ambitious advocates of law will fail because of this – and this is understandable because of the real and very urgent needs they are trying to address. But as Obama reminded his audience on Tuesday, the best thing you can do sometimes is lay a foundation for future change and help many people along the way.
“Everyone is sometimes frustrated with what’s going on in this city – progress is very slow,” Obama said. “Successes are often incomplete and in a large and diverse country like ours, consensus is never easy.” What the Affordable Care Act shows us is that … If you’re patient, stay here and strive to overcome barriers and criticism and continue to improve where you are not, you can improve America. “
Source: Huffpost
