Jeff Goldsmith on Why the Dems Lost Congress in 1994

There’s a myth circulating among the policy types in Washington about why the Democrats lost control of Congress in the fall of 1994.  To wit, it was the failure to enact health reforms which disillusioned the Democratic base and energized Republicans, leading to a Republican landslide and the rise of Newt Gingrich.

How time has warped peoples’ memories.   My recollection is that there was a tremendous voter backlash against an incomprehensible reform template, secret task forces, disharmony between the White House and Congressional leadership and legitimate concerns about how it would actually affect peoples’ healthcare.

It was what Washington tried to do, and how it tried to do it, not that it “failed” that cost the Democrats control of Congress.  The American people don’t like what they’ve seen and heard about health reform and there’s a good reason:  it’s terrible legislation.

For my thoughts on why, see:  http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2010/02/02/getting-health-reform-done/#comment-32506   and on what I’d do instead:  http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2010/02/12/an-alternative-path-on-health-reform-a-reply-to-tim-jost/

As John Kennedy said:  “We can do bettah… “