If leaders of the Republican Party had an appreciation for irony, a grasp of destiny or just a good sense of humor, they would show up uninvited in the Rose Garden when President Obama signs the health-reform bill and declare a historic victory for Republicans.
Why not? It was a Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, who first articulated the goal of universal insurance, a Republican; Richard Nixon, who before Obama had come the closest to achieving it; and a Republican governor, Mitt Romney, who furnished the immediate blueprint for the plan that should soon become law.
If Nixon were around, he would have the chutzpah to grab credit from the Democrats, and he would have good cause. If he had not died four years ago, Caspar Weinberger, who actually crafted Nixon's Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan in 1974 when he was secretary of health, education and welfare, might express satisfaction that his handiwork had been recognized and made the law of the land. It would be some vindication for the proper old Republican, whose Cabinet service for Nixon and Ronald Reagan ended in undeserved disgrace with the Iran-Contra scandal.
As long as we are fantasizing, imagine a revival of the rivalry between Nixon and Mitt Romney's dad, George Romney, who lost to Nixon in the bitter nomination battle in 1968. They could dispute whose health plan, Mitt's or Dick's, was the closest template for Obamacare, as the Republicans are calling the plans written by Democratic congressional leaders.
Whether he was audacious enough to claim victory, Nixon would at least take some smug satisfaction that on the great issue that most defined his hated enemies, the Kennedys, it was his idea, the Republican idea of that time, not the Kennedys', that was victorious.
***
more:
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=d05d74c6-4f86-4879-8374-7f5e5533f13f
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
