Then why run it out till 2014? long after Obama needs it?
December 2, 1993 - Leading conservative operative William Kristol
privately circulates a strategy document to Republicans in Congress. Kristol
writes that congressional Republicans should work to "kill" -- not amend -- the
Clinton plan because it presents a real danger to the Republican future: Its
passage will give the Democrats a lock on the crucial middle-class vote and
revive the reputation of the party. Nearly a full year before Republicans will
unite behind the "Contract With America," Kristol has provided the rationale and
the steel for them to achieve their aims of winning control of Congress and
becoming America's majority party. Killing health care will serve both ends. The
timing of the memo dovetails with a growing private consensus among Republicans
that all-out opposition to the Clinton plan is in their best political interest.
Until the memo surfaces, most opponents prefer behind-the-scenes warfare largely
shielded from public view. The boldness of Kristol's strategy signals a new turn
in the battle. Not only is it politically acceptable to criticize the Clinton
plan on policy grounds, it is also politically advantageous. By the end of 1993,
blocking reform poses little risk as the public becomes increasingly fearful of
what it has heard about the Clinton plan.
