Byron York on the Democratic Party’s push to get health care passed despite public opposition to the plans currently in play:
(They) think they know what’s best for the public,” the (party) strategist said. “They think the facts are being distorted and the public’s being told a story that is not entirely true, and that they are in Congress to be leaders. And they are going to make the decision because Goddammit, it’s good for the public.”
Of course, going forward has turned out to be harder than many Democrats thought. And now, with various proposals lying wrecked along the road, the true believers are practicing what the strategist calls “principled damage control.”
But still, does it make sense? In the end, perhaps the most compelling explanation for Democratic behavior is that they are simply in too deep to do anything else. “Once you’ve gone this far, what is the cost of failure?” asks the strategist.
Harder to reckon than the cost of “success“, that’s for sure.
“This is something the party has wanted since Franklin Roosevelt.”
As I told Carnahan after his vote for the house bill and I am telling McCaskill, I will do whatever is in my power to make sure they are removed from office because of a vote for this monstrosity of an idea.
If this were actually about a rational approach to “health care”, they would not be going down this road. There are too many ways to “fix health care” that are less expensive and far less expansive than what the dems are trying to shove down our throats. That quote tells it all, this is NOT about “health care”.
The dems make a point of saying that this has been in the works for nearly 100 years. That may be so. But if the American people really wanted it, it would have passed nearly 100 years ago.
Bottom line: the democrat party wants it, NOT the American people.
We really need to fire all of them from BOTH partys and start from scratch.
That would be Murray and Cantwell in this part of the country, both of whom got their blistering earful last week. 2012 is the year we do a good sweep down fore and aft in the Evergreen State. “Screw you. We do what we want.” has long past worn out its welcome.
Tom Clancy had the same idea, only he used a 747. I’m still in favor of the voting booth, but…may need to reread the book. We need to get more folks off of their widest part and out making their voices heard. Less butt marks on sofa and more clacking on the keyboard (phone time is good).
I just finished re-reading “Debt of Honor” this weekend. The same thoughts occurred to me as they did to you Mongo. Would prefer option A, though option B is not off the table, and IMO will happen if the American version of the Politburo continues on its current path.
Speed dial #3 on my cell phone is used often (Congressional Switchboard). I no longer bother calling the WH since I know that BHO doesn’t give a damn what I think.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Mongo… Murray and Cantwell MUST GO! Whenever there is something happening, a signature or other big event, you can depend on Murray standing alongside looking up at the people with her pensive eyes saying, “can I be a part of this? Please, please?”
BTW… nice picture, Mongo!
I think Pat Buchanan asks the right question today:
“Is this the government the Founding Fathers dreamed of — or is this the kind of arrogant government they took up arms against?”
More here: http://buchanan.org/blog/fat-city-3255
That is an excellent question!
While it is not often that I agree with Mr. Buchanan nowadays, he nailed it with that question. Used to watch and read him a lot more a decade or so ago than I do know.
Old Pat is not always wrong–even a stopped clock, etc. The key word here in Pat’s statement is arrogance, supreme arrogance. Period. Full Stop. That, and an admixture of desperation, Hence the doubling down on the ramming speed part of the legislative process even as they shed, modify the bill or buy off doubters (think Mary “$300 mill” Landrieu) confident in the knowledge they can always come back next year or the year thereafter and slip back in (“improve”) all the originally objectionable parts. This has happened with both Social Security over the years (now expanded all out of recognition from the original legislation) and Medicaire/Medicade. (Medicaid is perhaps the worst. Each state is a cornicopia for lobbying interests for various segments of the health-care industry to include medical procedures provided at tax-payer expense. The definitions of “vital” “medical procedure” would water your eyes–to include the provision of wigs for cancer radiation treatment patients.)
It might interest some here to know that in many states Medicaid provides–if deemed medically necessary by the physician–a pvt hospital room for the indigent, while the blue-collar worker’s (the guy whose taxes are paying for the pvt room for the indigent patient)
own health plan usually only pays for a semi-pvt room! Medicaid is riddled with things such as that.
The upshot is that the camel’s nose will be well and good under the tent with this bill. A cancerous tumor that will only metastasize and spread as the years go by, not only sucking big bucks out of the economy, but at the same time rationing care in the name of the very costs the system itself engenders. Even worse, will come in the form of the societial govt controls on our personal life-styles–all in the name of keeping health-care costs down. From the kinds of food we will be allowed to eat, the liquids we drink and the activities we will be allowed to participate in (think hang-gliding, white -water rafting, rock-climbing, etc.) It is already happening before our eyes in the food industry. And even today 50 MILLION–practically THE ENTIRE NATION’S INVENTORY, has been forced to be “recalled” as “unsafe” by the Feds because EIGHT (8) children were chocked to death by strangulation via the cords because careless parents put there cribs, etc near the blinds cords. Like banning cars because of auto accidents. (Saayyy, maybe a good time to by stock in mass transit & bicycle companies!) And while we laugh at the prospect of banning of the auto, that hasn’t stopped “urban planners” visions of utopia from convincing politicians to do just that in many major metro down-town areas in the 60s & 70s like Fresno and Louisville–banning cars and bricking over the streets to make them “pedestrian friendly” to enhance the “urban experience.” It took almost 20 yrs of financial disaster and EVERY SINGLE ONE of these areas becoming virtual ghost towns before the bricks were removed and commercial life/financial health brought back to these self-same areas by allowing the auto traffic back. Never under-estimate the power of the utopian vision–of a more “enlightened” culture.
And of course, to harp on the obvious, at bottom it really is all about control–for our own good, of course, by those more all-knowing than we mere ignorant peons–those possessed, like Obama surely believes himself to be–with, in the immortal words of Thomas Sowell, “The Vision of the Anointed.”
Maybe Herman “When I hear the word ‘culture’ I reach for my gun” Goerring was right after all…
I REALLY need preview. Should read: 50 MILLION “Roman Shades”
That’s OK. WE know you’re an LSU grad. We understand.
What is the First Rule of Holes?
Don’t be one?