Holy Foola

National Review ^ | December 16, 2009 | Editors of National Review

[Tom D.]

Holy Fools By the Editors

Sen. Harry Reid has been a kind of reverse Houdini with a talent for getting into traps. To appease Democratic moderates, he proposed to drop the public option, which made liberals furious. To get back in their good graces, he suggested expanding Medicare by letting people as young as 55 participate in it — but that led Sen. Joe Lieberman to threaten to join Republicans in a filibuster. If Reid manages to cobble together a deal that gets 60 votes, he may find that it cannot win majority approval in the House. The Senate and House do not, for example, see eye to eye on abortion funding. And if Reid and Nancy Pelosi somehow squeak something through Congress, they may walk into the biggest trap of all. They will have pushed through a major, unpopular piece of legislation on a party-line vote.

Democrats seem to be reconciling themselves to losing seats in order to achieve their health-care ambitions. A few ended political careers will be the price of progress. This attitude would be admirable were it not delusional. This legislation will not reduce health-care costs; the Obama administration’s own actuaries have just reported that it will increase them. It is unlikely to make Americans healthier: The evidence tying extensions of insurance to improved health outcomes is surprisingly weak. Insurance will reduce the financial anxiety of some people; but others will find theirs increased. Some will still lack insurance, but now have to pay a fine for the privilege. Some will be paying higher premiums and taxes.

The Medicare buy-in that Reid proposed is the perfect distillation of the Democratic approach. It would expand a program that is already facing insolvency. Similarly, the bill attempts to achieve cost control by empowering the Medicare and Medicaid bureaucracy to drive hard bargains — a policy that has been tried, and has failed, for decades.

Ramming through complex, far-reaching, and unpopular legislation on a party-line vote would be unprecedented, and if it happens it should call forth an equally unprecedented response. Federal programs tend to last regardless of their results. This time, Republicans should commit themselves not to let that happen. If anything resembling the current health-care legislation passes, Republicans should spend the next two election campaigns vowing to repeal it. We should both deny liberals their cause and give them their martyrdom.

[Tom D.]

"We should both deny liberals their cause and give them martyrdom."

I like the idea, but it is unlikely that we will get the White House and a large enough majority in both houses of Congress to kill this before it becomes so entwined with our lives that the system cannot be unraveled.

[o_zarkman44]

Here is what is happening.

Mary Landreau of Louisiana was balking on the plan and got her state $300 Million.
Lieberman is balking and who knows what he has secured his state.
Dick Durban secured Gitmo North for Illinois. Now Burris is balking some, so what is he going to get for Chicago?
What will Ben Nelson deal for? Base expansions at NorCom?
What will the price be for a vote on this 2000 page monstrosity? Brokered behind closed doors, with nothing but vagueness and abstract benefits and Enron style accounting.
It’s only 20% of our economy they want to control. They only want access to our bank accounts to determine how much our fair share will be and zap it from our accounts with no oversight.

The pattern is suspicious. It seems that anyone who acts like they are going to fudge their vote, even remotely casting doubt, is going to get something in return for their state as an enticement in exchange for their vote.

And we have no idea what the ultimate additional cost to American taxpayers will be to pay for this political fascism and bribery. Money is no longer the issue. For America, it begins the end of liberty and prosperity, and sets up a socialist bureaucracy of left wing fascism.
This is war being waged on liberty. If this is pulled off without a shot fired, considering the 50 year perpetual stand off with the Red Commies in the USSR, this may end up being the all time easiest conquest of any civilization.

NOT ON MY WATCH! I hate COMMIES!

[Bob Buchholz]

My email to Senator Kay Hagan:

If the Senator from Louisana can get 300 million for for her state for voting the same way you are, why are you giving yours away for nothing. I think we got screwed, don’t you?

[Louis Foxwell]

Reid is caught in the tarbaby syndrome. He is madly scrambling to find a thicket to hide in.