PR Strategy

This week we discussed in class the Obama healthcare plan, compared it to the Clinton plan, and attempted to determine why the Obama plan worked and the Clinton plan did not. Many plausible reasons were suggested as to why Obama was able to get his plan passed and Clinton wasn't. Suggestions included differences between the two plans: Clinton's was intended for all Americans versus Obama's being intended for uninsured Americans, and Clinton's having significantly more effects on the insurance companies as a whole than Obama's, among other differences. Another aspect to the comparison that was one of the primary topics during the lecture was the Republican Party's strategy during both health care plan events.

The strategy used by Republicans during the Clinton health care plan situation was suggested by Republican strategist Frank Luntz. Luntz's advice called for Republicans to denounce the Clinton health care plan for the overbroad expansion of bureaucracy it would necessitate and its' growth of "big government". The chart showing in graphic terms this governmental expansion through committees and other means was used effectively by Republicans to prevent the Clinton plan from even coming up for a vote. Unfortunately for Republicans, similar tactics were of no use in preventing the passing of the Obama health care plan. We came up with many reasons in class, but I have considered a few other explanations.

The Republicans once again tried to deride the proposed health care plan for being a step toward big government. However, this time they went a step further and labeled the plan "socialist" and claimed that it would create "death panels". I suggest that one of the reasons that this strategy didn't work a second time is that it came across as being somewhat ridiculous, particularly the use of the term "death panels", which was an obvious exaggeration. It is my opinion that the use of such inflammatory vocabulary was unnecessary, and alienated many who therefore saw the attack on the plan as blatantly partisan and elitist in nature. Sarah Palin's involvement in the debate certainly didn't help, and might have reinforced the perception that the Republican attack was ridiculous and incorrect. I further suggest that the Republican strategy didn't work the second time because the American people and legislators were fed up with the previous policy and were willing to try something new, perhaps a sign of a short attention span amongst Americans when it comes to politics.