It’s hard to predict what the political environment will be like in 2016, but in 2014, it was lousy for Democrats because people were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Charles Shumer blamed Democrats’ focus on health care reform, instead of jobs and the economy, for hurting the party’s political standing and setting up the waves of 2010 and 2014. He is probably right, but that doesn’t mean Obama did the wrong thing by passing the Affordable Care Act.
In 2008, before we understood the extent of the recession, Obama and Hillary Clinton and just about every other Democratic presidential candidate ran on fixing health care. In fact, Democrats had been running on the issue for about three cycles. So, when Obama decided to tackle it, he was keeping his campaign promise and reaching for history.
When the fight over health care began in the summer of 2009, Obama had just pushed through a stimulus package that was smaller than he wanted and probably smaller than needed. Any additional funding for jobs programs would have been a hard sell, especially since Republicans were already starting to scream about the deficit they created under George Bush. That said, he could have probably pushed a bunch of small ball legislation that may have made people feel better but probably wouldn’t have had that much impact on the economy. It may have kept Obama and Democrats more popular but it would not have left much of a legacy.
Obama and the American people won with health care reform. The Affordable Care Act will almost certainly change and evolve, but we will never go back to a system where people are denied health care because of pre-existing conditions or they go bankrupt because of illness or injury or more than 15% of our country lacks basic health coverage. And that’s Obama’s legacy.
Conservative critics are still issuing dire warnings of exploding premiums that will leave people unable to afford care. That won’t happen because before large number of people lose their insurance, Congress will step in. And they won’t fix it by kicking the sick people off of insurance rolls. So Obama will still get credit.
Shumer may have been right in terms of shear politics but Obama will go down in history as a transformative president. Not only will he be remembered for health care reform, he’ll get credit for keeping the economy from sliding into a depression, saving the auto industry and shifting our economy toward one fueled by renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. Hispanics will remember him for his executive order even if Republicans vilify him. Gay people will remember that he was president when the country finally decided to treat them like equal citizens, too. And as the first African-American president, he’ll be seen a symbol of progress in racial attitudes in the country, despite the societal upheavals over deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. But health care reform will remain the most significant piece of legislation passed since Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society programs.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
I agree with a lot of this but I do worry that a lot of experienced Democrats and Progressives do not appreciate enough the negative aspects of President Obama’s legacy for millennial voters. Young people came out in historic numbers in 2008 and Obama was a candidate that inspired a lot of hope in a fairly cynical generation. The polling I’ve seen indicates that many young people see that hope as betrayed. I don’t agree that that sense is due to an accurate assessment of Obama’s responsibility for the chronically bad economy. But young people I know, and I believe this is reflected in the polling, associate the Affordable Care Act with a large expenditure of political capital made by president Obama for a very technocratic band-aid on what remains a fundamentally dysfunction and ill considered health care system. I also think the pursuit of the Grand Bargain was really costly for the view that millennial have of the Democratic party. Millennials were entering a toxic economic environment and the President that had inspired them was pursuing technocratic adjustments to the deficit on the economically silly grounds that ‘families all over the country are tightening their belt so we should too.”
So I find Schumer’s realpolitic of not helping irregular voting poor people to be morally offensive, but he does have a point that Democrats have not done a good job presenting themselves as the champions of economic opportunity.
What amuses me about the senior Senator from NY.. is he saying the Democrats with a 60 vote majority could not take on both the economy and healthcare? What were they a one note wonder? No rather it is the usual Democrat lack of backbone.
Schumer, who certainly takes care of his voters and funders from Wall Street along with Dodd was as responsible as any for the limp wrist response to the economy. The GOP bullied them and they picked up there skirts and ran. Senator Schumer obviouisly believes we were all under a rock sucking our thumbs in 09..and 10. Chuck if Reid does not run in 16 or God forbid is defeated and your pal Hillary is destined to be president do you you think you will take the Majority Leader job…because the Dems will get the majority back…sorry Chuck want happen.
In a republican America there will be two classes, the very rich and the poor. The rich have the advantages of education, health care and decent jobs. The poor, well they have nothing to look forward to, except a minimal education, questionable health care and lousy, low paying jobs. Maybe, if they live long enough, social security and medicare. Obama came along an offered access to affordable education, health care and the chance to enjoy the freedoms this country is famous. Republicans convinced folks Obama has it all wrong. He is taking the country in “the wrong direction”. We need to give the wealthy huge benefits and low taxes. Maybe, that is the way things are supposed to be?
That is NOT the way it is supposed to be………NOT< NOT NOT
Republicans have set about adding clauses to current legislation designed to allow a few banks to play the derivatives game with FDIC protection. In addition, allowing larger campaign contributions from those who can afford it. Perhaps, I should say from those who have something to gain from dumping a ton of cash on a politician. Absolutely, not the way it is supposed to be. Although, I doubt Senator Warren or Sanders will stand a chance against the current system, at least their voices will be out there. Maybe, one of these days those vote will ask why things are this way and do something about it. Senator Shumer believes regulating health care insurance companies was to risky. Perhaps, but somebody had to start the ball rolling. The US is the only industrialized nation without a national health care program other then Medicare. So far, medicare appears to be working. But waiting to 65 may be to late for some folks.
I totally agree. Schumer’s hindsight is both on and off the mark. He would have been more correct if he simply pointed out that the Dems had no consistent unifying message for the midterms.
Yes, Obama’s response to the recession was the right one. The economy has improved, albeit in plodding tempo. It could have rebounded more quickly and more strongly had the GOP allowed more of a government stimulus to happen.
Yes, Obama’s automaker bailout save this anchoring American industry from the ash heap of history, a much better outcome that would have happened had Romney gotten the nomination in 2008, won election, and let GM and Chrysler fail (as he had indicated he would have).
Yes, Obama’s efforts to address the issues of Hispanic immigration and protecting/expanding the civil rights of gays–despite strong opposition from the Right– will be viewed more positively with each passing year.
And, yes, Obama deserves credit for having the nation take a step toward universal health care coverage, working with and through the private insurance industry sector. No matter what the SCOTUS and the GOP congressional majority do in the next 2 years to undermine or repeal the ACA, the GOP would at its own political peril try to take things back to pre-2013 conditions and deny millions health insurance coverage.
I’m sure we’ll soon read some invective from commenters whose only mission is to vilify and downgrade this POTUS’ performance and legacy.
Fear not…as hard as they try (pundits et al) will not have the final say on what will be remembered as a historic and massive presidential legacy…history will.
The GOP legacy…Iraq , Kartina, 2008 depression, the Tea Party(or as I like to call them , old fashioned John Birchers).
History will be very very kind to Barack Obama.