Read @ The Washington Post

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Democrats have proved they can govern. Can they keep it going?

 

With the enactment of health-care reform, the often hapless, sometimes hopeless Democrats have transformed themselves into something America has not seen in decades: a governing party. By passing the most significant social legislation since the '60s, they have ended the policy gridlock dating to the middle of Ronald Reagan's presidency. They have revalidated the almost quaint notion that -- despite the ever greater role of money in politics -- elections have consequences, too.

This revival was partly the result of the Democrats' decision to activate their base. Obama for America -- the 13 million-member organization of the president's supporters -- was put to sleep after Barack Obama's election. But in recent weeks it was awakened and enlisted in a massive effort to lobby wavering lawmakers. Its members sent a million text messages and made half a million phone calls to fence-sitting Democrats during the 10 days preceding the House votes on Sunday. Unions and other organizations that were already pressuring Democratic lawmakers to support the legislation intensified their efforts. (Emphasis added)

Of course, none of this would have happened had the president decided to "go small" after Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts special Senate election in January, depriving Democrats of their 60-vote Senate supermajority. The president's insistence on a big bill that guaranteed nearly universal coverage -- a position he was encouraged to maintain by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who played Margaret Thatcher to Obama's George H.W. Bush in this tale -- is what motivated the base organizations to go all out for the bill, even as it required the White House to reawaken its own massive group of supporters. It also ensured that these organizations, which are critical to turning out the base in November, will actually be motivated to do so. (Emphasis added)

In the process, Obama and Pelosi became a legislative force that Democrats have not seen since Lyndon Johnson. Pelosi's contribution, no less than Obama's, is one for the history books. While there have been notable House speakers over the past century -- Sam Rayburn, Tip O'Neill -- none presided during periods of epochal reform, while the speakers who did (Henry Rainey and Joseph Byrns during the New Deal; John McCormack during the '60s) played negligible roles in enacting landmark legislation. Pelosi is the first speaker in more than 100 years whose role in the passage of major reform was indispensable.  (Emphasis added)

Continues @ The Washington Post

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From the viewpoint of both 2010 and 2012, Pres.Obama has done many things correct for himself and his party in this process:
1- re-engage his supporter base in his and Dems' legislative success [and thereby getting them to recommit to his success]
2- get his version of the bill passed that is indeed near Universal Health Care
3- Introduce a mandate which is technically not a mandate for both the employer and the employee/taxpayer (technically because there are out's in it)
4- get the Dems to unite (especially after Scott Brown).
5- change the "purpose" /platform of Republican party. They will not be able to say just "Repeal" anymore. They will have to say "Repeal and Replace" and it will require the same kind of majority and they will now have to show line by line comparison to what they take out. Not easy to do.

So, from political party and election strategy viewpoint it was a clear homerun for him with his voter base... and possibly in the long run with voter base - this latter part is still in question and depends on how well he and the Dems execute on his HCR communication strategy.


-- Edited by Sanders on Wednesday 24th of March 2010 12:22:50 PM