When
it comes to the Missouri gubernatorial incumbent’s opinions about national
healthcare, Governor Jay Nixon is excellent
at straddling the rhetorical fence.
Nixon
uses rhetoric to enforce his position in terms of an individual state, and
draws contrast between his domain —Missouri — and the national legislation,
according to this
PoliticMo post from June:
“Nixon called the health
care reform the ‘Washington health care
law,’ as he has made distancing himself from the partisan back and forth
that happens in the nation’s capitol a key pillar of his reelection campaign.”
The
PolicMo blog, this article from ozarksfirst.com and even this
NRP report, all feature the same quote from Nixon’s healthcare discussion
during June.
"Without going into great detail, having the
government order you to buy something like that is not something that in the
past I’ve supported.”
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| Jay Nixon From PoliticMo |
Journalists
grab on to this quote because it is easily removed from the context while still
retaining meaning and states in a fairly straightforward fashion Nixon’s
policy.
It
is also important to note that articles and blogs often attribute the quote to
the original reporting done by St. Louis Public Radio.
In
journalism, the early bird gets the word. The original reporter got to pick his
quote, which became the quote not only for the article, but also for the
coverage for the entire event.
Because various publications spread and
reuse the quote across the state, the power lies with the person who picks the
main quote from the original interview.
If
you click
here to listen to more of his statements about healthcare, you’ll hear several
other quotes that depict more moderate stances, but first, you’ll hear him
firmly denying his support for the legislation:
“I don't think we should have a federal law that orders people that
they have to buy insurance. I never have supported that.”
“I think I’ve been pretty clear…that the health insurance
mandate is not something that I think is a good thing.”
And then he goes on to itemize the parts of the bill,
which he does support including:
-Allowing
children to stay on their parent’s insurance plan longer
-Preventing
insurance companies from dismissing you when you get sick
-Expanding
insurance for elderly and children
But
according to Nixon, the national legislation isn’t the solution, so he gets to
support helping people, without supporting the bill, by straddling the
proverbial and in this case, rhetorical, fence by pivoting back to what
Governors love best — promoting states’ rights while requesting federal funds.
“But he calls for the federal government to provide ‘some dollars’ and let states run the
insurance programs, ‘because we're much
more close, as far as what health care needs to be covered.’”
Let
us know what you think! Can any governor solve healthcare? And is Nixon
straddling the fence, or just trying to find some middle ground?
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