Democrats erred by pushing health reform, Schumer says

WASHINGTON — Breaking ranks, one of the nation’s top Democrats said Tuesday that the party made a major political mistake when it pushed a health care overhaul instead of programs directly benefiting the middle class.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said the controversial push in 2009 and 2010 shifted the emphasis away from the pocketbook pain the broad middle class was still feeling from the Great Recession and toward changing a health care system most Americans liked.

He recalled how President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats quickly pushed through a huge economic stimulus shortly after the president took office in 2009.

“After passing the stimulus, Democrats should’ve continued to propose middle-class-oriented programs and built on the partial success of the stimulus,” Schumer said in a speech at the National Press Club.

“But unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them,” he said. “We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem: health care reform.”

Schumer offered a tough look at his party in the wake of its losses in the Nov. 4 midterm elections, when many Democrats lost seats to Republicans who appealed to lingering doubts or outright opposition to the health care law. He suggested the Democrats’ troubles had their roots in 2009, when people desperately wanted economic stability and help finding jobs.

“We were in the middle of a recession, people were hurting and said, ‘What about me? I’m losing my job. It’s not health care that bothers me,’ “ he said.

Schumer’s comments came a few weeks after a clip surfaced where Jonathan Gruber, an adviser who helped write the law, talked about how “the stupidity of the American voter” helped get it through Congress.

The White House said Tuesday that it welcomed dialogue with Schumer about the health care law.

“I saw that he talked about the need to have an emphasis on the middle class, and that is something that drives us and this president every single day,” said deputy press secretary Eric Schultz. “If you want to have a conversation about the Affordable Care Act, we should, because we believe strongly the Affordable Care Act is working.”

Schumer is widely regarded as a top candidate to succeed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as the Senate’s top Democrat. Reid will continue in that role next year as minority leader.

While Republicans lambaste the health care law as big government run amok, Schumer’s critique was political, and he argued for big government overall.

“When large forces, harnessed and encouraged by the private sector, push you around and you feel helpless, you need a large counterforce to stand up to, to stand up for you,” he said.

“People know in their hearts that when big powerful private sector forces degrade their lifestyle, only government can protect them,” he said.

Schumer also had harsh words for the 2009 economic stimulus, another of Obama’s signature initiatives, saying, “It was a mistake, frankly, for Democrats in Congress to make the breadth of the stimulus so wide that funding seemed to be going to any number of pet programs and not just things that would jump-start the economy.”

Schumer recalled 2008, when Democrats won the White House and controlled both chambers. That was “a broad mandate to use government to stop the free fall caused by the financial crisis and reverse the middle-class decline,” Schumer said.

The stimulus, though, “was not the bright spot for Democrats that it could have been for two reasons,” he said.

Since Republicans tried to block it, Democrats could not pass as big a package as some hoped.

“Therefore,” Schumer said, “while it certainly prevented things from getting worse, its positive effects didn’t really break through.”

Second was the scope of the stimulus. “It gave Republicans the opportunity to create the impression that the bill was loaded up with pork, which they used to frame the whole bill as a taxpayer-funded giveaway to special interests,” he said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.