Toss it out and start again

The health care reform act was supposed to (1) cover more people and (2) reduce costs. In the eyes of many people the Senate version will do neither. Instead, it will line the pockets of Big Health. Are we surprised?

Robert Samuelson of Newsweek says the "savings" actually mean health care costs will grow more slowly but the difference will be miniscule.

Joe Lieberman (due to ego? spite? money?) has made sure the health care reform bill won't have any meaningful (government) competition for insurance companies. Yeah, 30 million people will be required to get health insurance (can you say "insurance company bonanza"?). But will they be able to afford it? Probably not.

Howard Dean feels the total bill is now so useless that the Senate should toss it and start over. Yet Obama has staked his presidency on health reform and a bad bill now is better than a good bill later.

To get civil rights and Medicare bills passed in the 1960s, LBJ did some serious arm twisting -- don't vote with me and I'll make sure the national party doesn't fund your next campaign. If this bill is so important to Obama, why isn't he (or Reid or Pelosi) doing equivalent arm twisting? Then again, Lieberman is technically independent.

Annoyingly, the GOP did in 2003 the very things they are against now. Then it was the prescription medication addition to Medicare. Never mind the shenanigans that got it passed. It is now a huge contributor to the deficit, something the GOP says the current health bill can't be. It's all politics of course. Medicare affects seniors who tend to vote GOP. This new bill is for the poor, who don't.

Many people, notably gays, are now telling Dem organizations exactly why they aren't donating. The old story -- if you don't support us the GOP will be in power and they'll work against you -- doesn't wash anymore. We elected you to be Dems, not wimps. The GOP voters will vote for their candidate no matter what. Dem voters will only bother to vote for candidates that happen to actually enact Democratic Party principles. The Dem party is bigger than the GOP but has so many voters that must be convinced they can still lose.