I have not diarized here for a while because I've been busy, but after reading about the opt in option I had to make time. I could not have imagined Obama would be able to rub the Republicans noses in it any more than he has already, but this latest plan is sheer genius.
Join me below the fold while we look at what he has done to the Republicans.
I have to believe by now that the Republicans are wishing the vote for healthcare reform had actually taken place in August, because their wailing and gnashing of teeth has only served to crater their favorability ratings. So now instead of getting a straight up or down vote and the ability to put healthcare reform behind them the Republicans have a new albatross around their necks. This isn't going away for them anytime soon.
When healthcare reform with the public option passes (and it will) the Republicans will gain no respite. In fact it will actually get worse for them as each of the 50 state legislatures will have to take up the debate on whether to opt in or opt out of the federal public option. This will be a Republican Apocalypse of Biblical proportions.
Can't you just imagine the debate now? Republican lawmakers, understanding the economic disadvantage at which their states will be placed if they opt out of the public option, will be forced to make a once in a lifetime decision: do I go with my wingnut base and vote down the public option knowing it will cause an economic Armageddon for my state, or do I vote to opt in knowing I'll never win election as a Republican in the state again? They will either have to jump over to argue in favor of the public option or vote for the impoverishment of their states. The carnage will be devastating and complete.
Clearly to retain any credibility with the wing nuts, local Republican lawmakers will be forced to vote for the opt out. Financial ruin for the state will ensue as those states become unviable options for new business opportunities due to steep health-care costs. Obama's decimation of the Southern strategy will be complete. Moderate Republicans will either scramble towards the center or possibly even switch parties and become Democrats while ultraconservative Republicans will break off and form their own party. The South will be returned to the economic realities of reconstruction while the rest of the country prospers. It will be like the burning of Atlanta all over again, only this time it will be all of the South.
The coup de grace may be that Republican state legislators will be forced to take up this debate just prior to the 2010 elections, handing majorities in several state houses and therefore the Congressional gerrymandering, uhh redistricting, following the census to the Democrats. I've lived 55 years and I've never witnessed the desecration of a political party so complete as this one. I think we should take a moment to appreciate the political virtuosity we are witnessing.
Now let's go finish off the public option so the rest of the dominoes can fall.