As tensions heighten in Washington over healthcare, it seems that a solution in the immediate future is questionable. Or at least a solution that the majority of American people will support is questionable. A March 8, 2011, Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that, “42 percent [of voters called] favor the plan while 53 percent are opposed.” But if these numbers seem too close for you to make a judgment on how constituents really feel, the following number is a bit more telling: the same report found that there are “just 20 percent who Strongly Favor the plan and 41 percent who are Strongly Opposed.” This seems to be the divide that Americans have faced for months. And yet even though Americans have been voicing their opposition to the healthcare proposals in large numbers, President Obama and the Democratic-led Congress just can’t seem to listen. Our president is supposed to be representative of the American people, right? The election of the president (let’s forget about the Electoral College because that wasn’t a determining factor in the presidential election of 2008) is determined by the people’s vote: the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins the presidency. This isn’t divine monarchy; it’s a democracy. But what’s democratic about pushing through a vastly unpopular agenda?
President Obama recently held a healthcare summit in Washington with both Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders. Great idea, poor result. Both parties addressed their concerns for the proposed bill, and it became immediately apparent that, if the Democrats wanted to pass this healthcare reform, they would have to do it without help from the other party. But something greater could have come from this meeting, as opposed to the little that it actually accomplished. Instead of listening to the opposing viewpoints and implementing them to adjust the healthcare bill to fit the needs of the American people, President Obama and his minions left the summit with hardly any intention of change. Wait, “change…” that word sounds familiar. Oh right, that’s what President Obama promised the American people for so long. His posters read, “Change You Can Believe In.” There are a few things about this claim that bother me. First of all, that slogan ends in a preposition. More importantly, I believe a lot of things about President Obama, but I don’t believe that I can support him if he’s not willing to listen. If he ran on a campaign of “change,” why hasn’t he changed anything? And I mean change things for the sake of the American people, not change the nation’s healthcare system just because he feels it’s the right thing to do. The first step in assuring the American people that he’s serving in the Executive Office as our representative is to change the way he’s handling this healthcare situation; listen to the American people, figure out which changes need to be made to improve the quality of American life, and adjust the healthcare proposal accordingly. Otherwise, it’s a small group of individuals in Washington making decisions that many voters simply can’t support.
In the presidential election of 2008, President Obama received 53 percent of the popular vote. Does this percentage sound familiar? That’s the same percentage of Americans who are opposed to his healthcare bill. What a coincidence! If it was enough to elect him in to office, I think it should be enough for him to talk to the Democrats in Congress and urge them to take the time in understanding the needs of the American people. He seemed pleased by what they had to say in November 2008; maybe he should give some more consideration to the same people who gave him the power he is so successfully abusing.
