In the latest health care reform debate, the president has not changed his mind; he did not waffle or intend to give up on public option. Not one minute. What he is doing instead is countering of the Republican machine’s manipulative rhetoric which has effectively fooled both, their conservative base and yes, us, his progressive supporters.
How has the Republican rhetoric machine been able to galvanize the right wing crazies against the "public option"? By using psychological scapegoating with the help of terminology. As we know, scapegoating is a powerful rhetorical tool used to unify people for a cause. It is potent especially when the targeted scapegoat is a "single entity." In this case, the term "public option" have become that singular target enemy. Now add to this fact that the right wing crazies have been manipulated daily for the last 8 years by the fear mongering corporate owned media (you know who they are). Also, during the election battle, as we remember, they called Barack Obama a Muslim, a Nazi, a baby killer, etc.etc., all fear triggers for the collective unconscious of the conservative base which is obviously suffering from severe xenophobia (don’t forget the fact that Obama is also a black male) . Furthermore, since the election, their fears seem to have doubled or maybe tripled and that’s why we are seeing their "insanity" on display, daily, in town hall meetings, etc. Why are they behaving that way? I mean crazy-like? Nonsensical? Because that’s what fear (as an emotion) does to the human psyche. It blocks our human side (the side that reasons and is rational) and leaves behind the fearful beast defending itself from the enemy (the scapegoat). Ever heard of bears being dangerous when they have their cubs around? A seriously threatened human being, whether the threat is real or imagined, does not pause to think rationally, for most cases, either. Anytime we have a fear trigger we block our thinking and reasoning and click on to our "survival" mode. It is a part of our nature. The term "public option" thus is purposefully being used by the Republicans as a fear trigger, with hopes to block the reasoning of their constituents.
Moreover, "public option," the republican machine’s scapegoat term, is effectively associated with the name "Obama" which represents everything the right wing nuts fear and are suspicious of. Add this the "birth certificate" campaign (designed to alleviate the suspicion and fear, making him appear foreign, non trustable), "death panels" where "grandma is going to get killed," "Economic instability" which adds to the fear that we will not be able to pay for it, "FEMA camps," "Obama is racist against whites" comment from Glenn Beck, claims that Obama is "Nazi and foreign and Muslim" and on and on...you get the message. Now we have a vision of this bogymen "Obama" attached to the "public option" which has become, in "Whole foods" CEO’s language, the "Obamacare." Yaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!! See what I mean? How they are playing with the terminology and driving the fearful crazies further into convulsions? The manipulators have manipulated the right wing nuts (who are naturally a bit on the xenophobic side to begin with) into seeing the "public health care option" as the code words for the monster enemy that’s going to get them, all by associating it to their long lived fear of Barack Obama.
The president, thankfully, appears smart enough to understand these things, so the latest efforts on "language games" by the president and Sebelius (they have to fight back with rhetoric) are nothing other than the effort in "diluting" the potency of the scapegoat term "public option" by making it appear as not the singular most important part of the health care reform but just a part of a larger one involving other reforms. This strategy, the attempt to spread the scapegoat into a multiple form, is a good one since the power of a singular target as the scapegoat is well known. It was the very thing behind the German dementia during the Second World War.
Now the most important part. How do we, the progressive left have also fell to the same rhetoric trap, albeit for different reasons? I think it happened like this: We have stopped thinking in our zeal to get everything done, our way, right now, just because "we" are the power in congress now. And each time we yell "nothing other than the Public Option will do," we are, unintentionally and unknowingly, contributing to the Republican rhetoric. I repeat, each time we use the term "public option" by itself we are cementing its singular identity which in turn adds to the potency of the Republican rhetoric game. I am not suggesting that we should stop using the term but rather we should use it as a part of other reforms that are equally important, which is, I suspect, what the president is doing.
In addition, we keep calling the president a "wuss" for his bipartisan efforts. He is not a "wuss" and he never will be. Bipartisanship to me is rather smart politics meaning not putting all your eggs in one basket. He wouldn’t count on Democrats alone even if he had guaranteed 60 votes. Would you? He understands the "unknown" factors and he will not take chance with his plans to get the health care reform (yes with a public option) through the congress.
It is time that we wake up and start supporting the president and letting the congress know that we have the president’s back. He can’t do this alone and if he fails we will have no one but ourselves to blame.