I am happy that the House passed the health care reform bill last night. It is not the bill I would have written, but it's a step in the right direction. I believe it does make the world a better place, and it promotes social justice. I don't think it will be as bad politically as Republicans claim. Oyster points out that Newt Gingrich claims this will be as bad for the Democrats as when Johnson passed Civil Rights in the 1960's. I find that to be revealing. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) just declared the reform unconstitutional, as the federal government can't tell states what to do. Are water canons and dogs on their way in the future to implement this radical agenda? I am also put off by protesters calling civil rights hero John Lewis a N-word and all the other vitriol being flung. Also, and I shouldn't admit this, but I find myself being entertained by the rantings of right wing "media" blowhards. I actually googled Glen Beck to see what he had to say, and he didn't disappoint:
I mean, what happened? I will tell you what happened. Exactly what I told you would happen when you put Michael Moore and his cottage cheese ass right next to Jimmy Carter. You think, I said, you think you are using these radical socialist, communist progressives, but they are using you, and they will eat you. You think he got that big by eating Cheetos? He's eating the party. The Democratic Party is dead. As my grandparents and as you knew it and as many Democrats knew, it is dead. There is no place in the Democratic Party. You want to talk about a big tent: Unless you went along with Nancy Pelosi, you are out and you will be destroyed. That was the message. There is no ‑‑ there's not even a, there's not one chair in the tent. The Democratic Party is the progressive Socialist Party, period.
4 comments:
Glen Beck could be a character in South Park: he is a walking, talking cariacature.
Neither side in the debate can call themselves paragons of virtue in how they handled themselves.
No one can argue that it is a laudable goal to have the greatest number of people able to access health care when they need it.
But on Sunday, the Congress of the United States mandated that before I feed my family, clothe my children, or put a roof over my head, I must contract with a private corporation whether I believe it is my best interest to do so or not. Otherwise, I am subjected to fines, possible garnishment of wages, or even jail in the extreme.
If this law stands, there are virtually no limits to the power of the Congress to regulate our lives. The president often derides those who are willing to sacrifice some liberties for (national) security when he (mis)characterizes the Patriot Act or other post 9/11 laws. We now know he has no conflict with taking liberty in order to impose his own concept of the greater good.
I've heard most attorneys frame it more in terms of tax breaks for those with health insurance and higher taxes for those without it. I'm much more concerned about wire tapping after 9-11.
They've called it a tax so that the IRS is able to collect it on the 1040 and impose the monetary penalties if an individual does not buy the mandated specific insurance menu that the government deems to be required.
If you don't pay the IRS, you get fined, they garnish your wages, and if you piss them off really bad they put you in jail.
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