The Resignation of Tom Price May Create the Opportunity We Need

I have a concern about whether the Democrats are prepared to deal effectively with the challenge posed by the article above (the “Ongoing, Quiet Repeal”– https://www.theatlantic.com…. Namely, that Trump wants to sabotage Obamacare and then declare that it was the program itself — not his demolition of it — that was a “disaster.”

The challenge here is to make sure that the American people understand what Trump is up to. The better this is accomplished, the more likely the Trump gang is to change course in order to avoid having the blame for the problems fall on them. And if they do nonetheless continue to sabotage the program, it is important that public opinion exact a big political price on the Trumpians, and not be duped into believing that Obamacare was irremediably flawed by itself.

My question is: what can the Democrats be doing to meet that challenge? And do we have any reason to be confident that they will manage to do it?

In a subsequent brief exchange between Lowell and me, the question arose whether there’s anything that can be done in the relatively near future that could bring massive attention to the Trumpian sabotage effort. I stated my belief that “it is important for the finger of blame to be pointing straight at Trump BEFORE the Obamacare markets get really terrible.”

Now, just hours later, it looks to me like the opportunity may have just been presented.

The headline of the afternoon is that HHS Secretary — and gross hypocrite and greedy pig at the public trough — Tom Price has resigned. That means that before long a replacement will be nominated. And that, in turn means, public confirmation hearings.

I’m thinking: Maybe the Democrats can turn these confirmation hearings into a highly visible arena to put the issue of Trump sabotage into the public spotlight.

The nominee can be grilled on whether he or she supports the sabotage effort. And grilled, too, on whether he or she supports the kind of bipartisan effort (in which Senators Alexander and Murray were engaged, until the Republicans pulled the plug on it a few weeks ago) to make the present system work better.

Will that fill the bill?