If you've been following the opposition to President Obama's health care plan, you probably noticed that opponents of the plan are using the same tactics they used to oppose Bill Clinton's plan in 1993. One of their lies, the "death plan" rumor, is identical to one they were telling in 1993. And yet the Democrats seemed utterly unprepared for these tactics. They had no plan in place to counter them. It's as if they were completely unfamiliar with Karl Rove's playbook, despite the events of the last nine years.

Another thought that struck me is that we couldn't muster up nearly this level of opposition to the Iraq War. There are several reasons for this, one being which protestors the media decide to pay attention to. But the big reason is that, unlike the opponents to the health care plan, the opponents of the Iraq war did not have the support of the opposition political party. The Democrats made the decision that tepid approval for the war would be more politically expedient than opposition to it. This is the same strategy they employed in 1968, and as we know it was a bitter failure. Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Labels: democrats, enablers