Jennifer Foster: Political story lines will abound in 2010

As we turn the corner into a new decade, here’s a look at some of the storylines that will shape the political world over the next 12 months:

* The first major storyline will set the tone for everything else in Washington this year, and it will come quickly: How, and even whether, congressional legislative leaders can meld together their dueling health care bills. (I refuse to call them health care reform bills until I know what’s in the final product.) President Obama now appears to support the individual mandate he opposed throughout his campaign; conversely, in a much-maligned deal with major pharmaceutical companies, he has dumped the prescription importation plan he trumpeted on the trail. The “negotiation” throughout this process has been surreal: In exchange for their votes, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) procured $300 million in Medicaid help for her state, and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) scored a lifetime exemption for his state from the costs of Medicaid expansion in a deal in which the federal government picks up the tab — a deal that has a bunch of attorneys general demanding an investigation.
When the House passed its version of the bill, conservative and liberal senators pronounced it dead on arrival. The Senate then proceeded to pass a bill without the public option, the bedrock of the House plan. It’s all but impossible to see how the bills, in many important ways diametrically opposed to one another, can be reconciled to the satisfaction of 51 senators and 218 congressmen.

* The fallout from the health care drama: How will Americans react to whatever Congress finally produces? And how will that affect the rest of what legislators undertake this year? Because all that will set the stage for …

* Midterms: They’re traditionally bad news for the party of the president. But will health care — and whatever comes after — make them worse for Democrats in 2010? How will the president’s prosecution of the war in Afghanistan and his ability to defend America from another terrorist attack impact his coattails? Will Republicans be able to find their voice and a leader? And will dissatisfaction and anger among tea partiers and liberal progressives alike produce credible minor-party challenges in congressional districts across the nation?

* Closer to home, will Artur Davis be able to overcome racial bias, even among older African-Americans, in his gubernatorial campaign? Will Republicans wrest control of the Alabama Legislature from Democrats? And what will these results mean for con-situational reform, tax reform, responsible budgeting and real ethics and accountability going forward?

* PACT: Will the thousands of parents who trusted Alabama’s PACT program for their kids’ college educations fight back against the indefensible failure of the state to hold up its end of the deal? Will they punish those leaders who are failing them while continuing to fund pet projects in their own districts?

* Gambling: Will 2010 finally be the year that we stop lying to ourselves that there is no gambling in Alabama? Will we institute common-sense regulations that are the statewide standard and stop letting the rich and politically connected play us for fools?

* Finally, and most importantly, what role will you play? You may not be a political junkie. But if you pay taxes of any kind, if you have children, if you are an employer depending on an educated work force and if you ever go to the grocery store, these things affect you. Will you get involved, educate yourself and mobilize for the change you want to see — or against what’s happening — in your community, state and country?

Happy New Year!

Jennifer Foster is a political enthusiast who lives in Auburn and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News. She can be reached at jfoster1@bellsouth.net