September 13, 2011

The White House is quietly implementing a shrewd new strategy of silence on Obamacare. Its goal: making sure the revolt against the unpopular health care overhaul that swept Republicans into power across the country in November 2010 isn't repeated in 2012.

After two years of nonstop focus on health care, the president has stopped talking about the law's far-reaching effects. Now he is concentrating on a few micro changes. Meanwhile the administration is working hard to dampen controversy by handing out buckets of waivers and attacking Republicans over Medicare.

Bringing Obama around to this new course wasn't easy for his advisors. The day after last November's elections, the president belligerently refused to acknowledge that the results were a referendum on his unpopular policies or that Obamacare had hurt Democratic candidates. His health policy agenda was correct and possibly only needed a bit of "tweaking," he insisted.

But his advisers pored over the election results and reached an inescapable conclusion. "The economy, as important as it was, was not the decisive factor this election. Health care was," Democratic pollster Pat Caddell said just after the election. "It is…health care [that] killed them," Caddell said of the 63 defeated House Democrats. "The American people found this a crime against democracy…they want it repealed, and this issue is gonna go on and on." Now the White House's strategy has the president talking as little as possible about Obamacare.

We haven't intercepted their memo to the Oval Office, but we can extrapolate from recent White House tactics what his advisers have recommended Obama must do:

1. Stop talking about it. Every time you talk about the sweeping overhaul of health care, your poll numbers go down. People know you can't spend $1 trillion and pretend to reduce the deficit. Or take more than $575 billion out of Medicare and make it stronger. Anyway, it is now the law of the land and the wheels of bureaucracy are grinding to make sure it takes effect in 2014. Your only job right now is to get reelected to veto any reform bills passed by the next Congress.

2. Focus on the small stuff. People don't know what is in this law, as Republicans so annoyingly continue to remind us with Nancy Pelosi's unfortunate quote -- "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it." We can calm the opposition if the public is convinced that it's only about putting 26-year-olds on their parents' health insurance, free preventive care, risk pools for preexisting conditions, and some new insurance regulations. We should call attention to those who have already benefited from the law's early provisions. If people believe it is only about small changes, they will wonder what all the fuss was about.

3. Attack Republicans. Health care is a Democratic issue and always will be. So go after Republicans for their ridiculous ideas about "private competition" and "putting consumers in charge of decisions." Paul Ryan has given you a golden opportunity to target Republicans for trying to destroy Medicare and forcing seniors to pay thousands of dollars more for health care. Hammer away at him.

4. Calm the opposition. The most important thing is to keep opponents quiet. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is a key ally here since the health law gives her so much power over how it is implemented. Focus on the governors. Sebelius should find ways to give them temporary relief from Medicaid costs. She also should issue waivers to states, companies, and anyone else who complains the new law is hurting them.

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