No, not the entire state, not this year, proabably not ever. However, my conversation with a Republican friend last night reveals that it is possible to move the needle from red to blue one voter at a time. A strong debate performance by President Obama started a conversation about what Democrats really stand for. Read on.
My Republican friend is Mormon. He is middle aged, the father of 4 and operates his own small business. After the 1st presidential debate he posted the following to Facebook:
Obama looked and sounded like a little leaguer in a big league game.... I think it's time for a big leaguer to be the president. Bring in Romney!
Following Tuesday's strong performance from the President I received the following text from him:
I was wondering if you would take a few minutes and give me some insight of why Democrats want to reelect Obama. I promise I won't even bring up Romney. I seriously just want to be educated. Thanks.
WOW. I know this friend reads my posts on Facebook, and we have had political discussions in the past, but this was a shock. So, I called him.
He really wanted to know what Democrats stand for, and how President Obama represents those values. I decided to talk about the subject I know best, healthcare.
I explained that the primary goal of Obamacare from a Democrats perspective was to get everyone in the US healthcare coverage. That it was morally wrong to leave people without this basic need in a country as wealthy as ours. That this represents a core principal of Democrats that the little guy needs a hand up and the big guy can take of himself. I explained how small businessmen can have access to group rates in the insurance exchanges. That under Obamacare the health insurers had to accept elimination of lifetime caps, eliminate exclusions for pre-existing conditions, keep children on their parent's policies until age 26 and provide rebates to policy holders if they did not spend a minimum amount of premiums on healthcare.
I went on to explain that Obamacare's 2nd biggest goal was to reign in healthcare costs. I pointed out that healthcare costs have risen far faster than inflation for decades and that the health care industry was very profitable. I explained that Obamacre sought to reduce the rate of growth in healthcare costs and I used the example of the 716 billion dollars of spending reductions in Medicare brought about by reduced payments to insurers, hospitals and doctors. I made him understand that this was a process that any good businessman would pursue. Go to your suppliers and negotiate a better price!
He responded very favorably to my explanations. He could see the point of view and he could understand why Democrats supported Obamacare and the President.
The President helped himself, the Democratic party and America on Tuesday. I rewarded him with a $100 and took the opportunity to try to persuade a voter when that opportunity presented itself. Let's stand up for what we believe in and be proud of our ideas. Even in UTAH!