Politics of hate changes USA
COLUMN
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By Olli Kivinen
Problems linked with reform of health care legislation in the United States inspired many opposition Republicans and also many independent observers to say that the party was given a new and powerful political weapon for use in the Congressional elections next autumn.
The final spurt by Barack Obama and other leading Democrats to win approval for the law brought a very narrow victory in the second chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives, because not a single Republican voted for it, and even a few Democrats joined the ranks of the opponents.
Obama’s victory was an important milestone, although admittedly, the Republicans will do their best to turn their loss into a victory through legislative trickery at the federal or state level. Obama had concentrated his efforts on getting the health care legislation through Congress. It was a key part of his programme.
Now Obama has the possibility to take the initiative into his own hands and focus more attention on economic policy and foreign affairs. In the latter, his achievements have remained meagre, which has been a cause of disappointment among his supporters. A positive flash of light came at the end of the week when the United States and Russia announced that they had reached an agreement in principle on reducing strategic weapons. Another indication of a new direction was the very curt treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
The narrow victory in Congress led to instant analyses according to which the Republicans have grown stronger, and even that Obama had won a Pyrrhic victory - an achievement that will turn against itself. Is this really the case? A few days of reflection have already cooled emotions. It might seem now that the Republicans might have the possibility of winning a clear victory in the elections in the autumn. Off-year elections are often an opportunity for protest. Nevertheless, six months is a long time in politics.
The Republican Party has been taken hostage by its right wing. The fight against Obama’s health care reform reached a level of a self-nurturing politics of hate. The impression is reinforced by vandalism and intimidation targeting Democratic congressmen, deep contempt shown toward the Democrats, and the use of semi-racist language.
Many American experts are confused as to what has happened to the old and distinguished Republican Party. The party has brought the country many significant statesmen and has been a key factor in turning the United States into the world’s strongest superpower.
The United States is used to severe political language, but the fever rose exceptionally high this time. What has turned the Grand Old Party into a party of hate, asks author Timothy Egan, for instance. He compares the present situation with that of Ronald Reagan. Reagan was a staunch right-winger who fought against the increase of federal power, but instead of hate, the general attitude of the party was one of smug optimism.
There are clear dangers in choosing the tactic of total resistance. The first problem is that Americans like winners who overcome insurmountable difficulties, and Obama got a victory. Another is the attitude of independent, politically centrist voters.
The American electorate is split, roughly, into three parts. The Republicans and the Democrats each count about one third of the voters as “sure” supporters. Between them is a group of floating voters. Some of them look askance at the kind of mob politics that has been promoted.
There is also the danger that hyperbole about killing grandmothers, the destruction of the country, socialism, and tyranny will turn against the Republicans. This will happen especially in a situation in which the big middle class notices what the reforms mean for themselves, and when they realise that the Republicans have turned into a party of no, no, no.
Another potential pitfall is in the “tea party movement”, which is engaged in a grass-roots struggle against what has been perceived as excessive power of the state.
The Americans’ strong yearning for freedom has led over the years to some very strange small groups, some of whom support violence. The audacious words of some of the groups against Obama and his programme - that he is the greatest threat to the American way of life since the 1850s, the end of the world, the Antichrist, the Gestapo, and a fascist - have found their way into the tea parties, and even into the vocabulary of leading Republicans.
The disparate movement may benefit the Republicans in the elections, but its behaviour is unpredictable, and it could just as easily prove to be a millstone for the party.
An additional problem for the opposition is the fact that the health care reform will be the first of Obama’s changes to take effect.
There have been many inequities in the health insurance system, which is ibased on private insurance companies, resulting in situations in which a serious illness has pushed people into bankruptcy, even if they have been insured.
The furious attempt by the Republicans to torpedo the health care bill gives the Democrats weapons to accuse the Republican party of blocking reform, and to ask who would oppose the removal of this injustice or that one. The defiant attitude of the Republicans seems to forget that elections are won in the centre.
The United States spends vast amounts of money on health care - up to two times as large a proportion of the country’s GDP is spent on it as is the case in the Nordic Countries, for instance.
In spite of the vast spending, statistics on the achievements of health care on the national level make for grim reading, whether the figures involve infant mortality or life expectancy.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 30.3.2010
The writer is an independent columnist for Helsingin Sanomat
OLLI KIVINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
okivinen@kolumbus.fi
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| 30.3.2010 - THIS WEEK |
 Politics of hate changes USA |
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