Did the Dems actually set a PR trap for GOP by waiting to call public option ''medicare for all''?

[yurbud]

Thom Hartmann has consistently used that terminology and I remember hearing something about it from a couple of candidates in 2004, but in the current health insurance reform debate, Democrats oddly switched to the vaguer more obtuse "public option" terminology.

The effect of this has been that the GOP has said the public option will somehow hurt medicare which they are indirectly praising or at least acknowledging it's popularity in all their misinformation ads.

Now when they switch to "Medicare for All," a big chunk of that GOP PR work will actually help them, even with conservatives.

Did Democrats plan this all along or did they finally realize the cost of betraying the public to line their own pockets would be too great?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. The PR for the Public Option is more like, "The lovely Pinto was only driven by a lttle old lady..."

[timeforpeace]

9. They had the chance to call it that at the start, decided against it, and can't do a "reset" now.

[Kahuna]

2. No way did the Dems plan that. Face it, they are just to lame to think

outside the box.

[CTyankee]

3. I was saying months ago that hcr should be marketed as "Medicare for All" and I certainly wasn't the

only one who thought of it. Amazing how boneheaded these guys can be...

[TorchTheWitch]

4. WTF?

You think they should be marketing this crap as Medicare for All when it isn't even remotely similar? You're ok with making people believe they'll be getting something they won't actually be getting so a shitty bill gets passed?

[CTyankee]

5. WTF? I said nothing about this bill in particular. I said it about health care reform

as a concept, an idea, a good thing that we should/must have in this country.

Sweet jesus, can we just try to be sane in this conversation....

[ellenfl]

6. i'm obviously in the minority but i believe

there is a lot going on behind the scenes. why give the rw time to mount an offensive? i think we have seen some distractions aimed at deflecting criticism and keeping the rw out of the loop . . . and especially not letting faux 'news' and friends know what they are thinking.

i think the admin is keeping its powder dry. it would be the smart thing to do. this is why i still have a wait and see attitude. this cockeyed optimist does not think she will be disappointed.

ellen fl

[yurbud]

7. yeah, Obama is not stupid and he must know if he blows this the Dems will lose two elections that

should have been cakewalks.

They need to establish themselves as the party that actually listens to the people. That would be the first coherent branding they would have done since RFK.

[yurbud]

8. for those who think the pressure is doing it, here's another way to turn up the heat:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6849367&mesg_id=6849367