Republicans Look Angry

            This week’s congressional oversight hearings on the Obamacare website debacle provided a lot of theatre but no answers.  I particularly enjoyed the one Democrat Representative that called the event a “monkey trial.”  He was pretty close in his assessment of the hearing.  The underlying problem of the failed website was never uncovered, a timeframe for fixing it was not drawn out, and no one was identified as accountable.  What was the purpose of this hearing?

The only result of the hearing was the Republicans ranting that the failed website is symbolic of the entire Affordability Act – which they claim is not ready for prime time.  The Democrats on the other hand spoke of the wonderful outcomes many Americans are experiencing.  The Democrats provided anecdotal accounts of constituents with pre-existing conditions finally being able to obtain affordable health insurance.  The Republicans provided anecdotal accounts of people having their monthly rates being doubled and tripled.  The man on the street watching this hearing walked away not knowing whether Obamacare is a good thing or a bad thing.  What that man on the street did walk away with was a perception that the Democrats were optimistic and willing to “fix it not nix it” and the Republicans were angry, pessimistic and ready to pull the plug.

The entire Republican caucus (Senators and Representatives alike) need to hire a public relations firm.  This PR firm should hold a mandatory meeting every Wednesday night for all the Republicans to attend.  At that meeting, a review of the past week’s performance should be reviewed.  All the PR firm would have to do is show a few clips of news footage that depicts how angry the Republicans appear.  Then, the PR firm can offer an example of how the same message could have been delivered without appearing so negative.

“If we delay the implementation of Obamacare by three months we should be able to make it more successful” sounds so much better than “This whole program is a debacle and it must be delayed until we can figure out whose head has to roll.  We should also consider repeal and replacing the whole thing.”

The mid-term elections are only a year away.  It’s time for a kinder, gentler Republican Party to take center stage.  Principles do not need to be compromised – but the message has to be delivered much better than it is now.  Let us not forget how the message was sent and received during the 2012 presidential election.  Do the Republicans really want to alienate the majority of voters again?