Politics: The Art Of The Crumb Trail

by: Jack Mitchell

Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 11:36:00 AM EDT

In Hansel & Gretel, the two expeditioners tried to use a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way back home. I like to think that, in politics, statements and action, or lack thereof, create a "crumb trail." And the deft politician uses it to show how they got to where they are at any given moment in the chess game.

Case in point: Democrats Seem Set to Go It Alone on a Health Care Bill

Hat Tip to NH Rep.Peter Schmidt from Dover, who cracked open the Town Hall with this.  

-snip
Now, one of the things you've been doing in your campaign to change the situation is you've been striving for bipartisanship. I think it's a wonderful idea, but my question is, if the Republicans actively refuse to participate in a reasonable way with reasonable proposals, isn't it time to just say we're going to pass what the American people need and what they want, without the Republicans?  

POTUS delivered his usual detailed answer, but ended with this:

But I have to tell you, when I listen to folks like Lori and families all across America who are just getting pounded by the current health care system, and when I look at the federal budget and realize that if we don't control costs on health care, there is no way for us to close the budget deficit -- it will just keep on skyrocketing -- when I look at those two things, I say we have to get it done.  And my hope is we can do it in a bipartisan fashion, but the most important thing is getting it done for the American people.

As events turn during Congress' August recess, I am starting to wonder if The Senate Finance Committee has in fact been the "Trojan horse" we have heard so much about in the health care debate. Except, I wonder, if savvy progressive politicos have lured a few unwitting GOPers to step into to it, so that it could be set ablaze?

Consider the bending over backwards to appease the likes of Grassley and Lenzi. Only to be rewarded with NOTHING. The NYT points out:

"The Republican leadership," Mr. Emanuel said, "has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day."
-snip
The White House has also interpreted critical comments by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican negotiator in a crucial Finance Committee effort to reach a bipartisan compromise, as a sign that there is little hope of reaching a deal politically acceptable to both parties.
-snip
In what Democrats regarded as further evidence that Republicans were not serious about negotiating, Mr. Kyl and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking House Republican, described a co-op as a public option carrying another name.

JimC duly noted the siesmic shift when Howard Dean went on his TV tour. I was glad when he did his rendition of "Congress For Dummies." After a week off, I think Dr.Dean should give Mary Matlin a tutorial on "Political Operative 101." Carville didn't help her an inch, as she blurted out the GOPer strategy to divide and conquer the House majority.

The Speaker circled the wagons.

The Democratic Party is "all in" on this one, imho. And, ever the master of the understatement, POTUS has Gibbs drop this morsel:

The continuing opposition was noted Tuesday by Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, who said of Republicans that at best "only a handful seem interested in the type of comprehensive reform that so many people believe is necessary to ensure the principles and the goals that the president has laid out."

I'd like to close with this point along our journey:

I ain't so subtle.