Tom Daschle's Poorly Conceived Op-Ed on Health Care

For anyone who missed it, Tom Daschle, Democrat and former Senate majority leader, wrote an extremely ill-conceived op-ed which appeared in today's Wall Street Journal. After Senator Daschle's embarrassing admission earlier this year that he had "overlooked" paying taxes on over $300,000 worth of income - an admission that ultimately forced him to decline his nomination as HHS secretary under the Obama Administration - I assumed that he would slip quietly into the political night. Apparently though, Daschle is intent on wreaking additional political havoc on the Democrats' health care reform agenda.

Daschle's politically tone deaf article begins with a glorified account of the late Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral, emphasizing a eulogy at that event which he found particularly moving. Under most circumstances this would have been entirely appropriate content for an op-ed piece; however, Daschle's ultimate purpose in writing the article was to advocate the need for health care reform. Apparently, the soft-spoken Senator from South Dakota is unaware that Republicans are laying in wait for any and every opportunity to accuse Democrats of over-politicizing the death of Senator Kennedy. Daschle's article reeks of just that, and will likely be hoisted atop the Republican flag pole as evidence that Democrats are unable to refrain from exploiting Kennedy's death for political gain. To make matters worse, Daschle chose the WSJ editorial pages - the epicenter of intelligent conservative thought - as his venue, ensuring dissemination amongst Republican strategists.

In further aggravation of his cause, Daschle presented a largely emotion-based argument that won't sway a single fact-seeking moderate voter. In summary, Daschle lived up to every expectation and stereotype that Democrats have ever been accused of. Sphere: Related Content