If the Democrats wanted a debate on health care reform, one would expect a deliberate process of questions and answers, not speeding to get it done before anyone even knows what it contains. So, I admit I am having trouble following the Democrat talking points that it’s the Obamacare protestors who are hampering debate. Debate is said to be stifled by “swastika” carrying, “angry astro-turf mobs” of people too “well dressed” to be authentic and who are therefore organized by “evil insurance companies” and “right wing conspiracists.”
This is the answer to shouts of “Why so fast?” and “Read the Bill!” and “You work for us!” and “Will Congress agree to be covered by any plan they pass?”!?
None of this ad-hominem silliness has anything to do with the content of a 1,000 page bill to completely reorganize American health care, so perhaps our “representatives” have forgotten the unseemly haste of their attempt to pass it. They can’t answer questions about it, so you might say they’ve forgotten the content of that bill. That would be wrong. They haven’t forgotten it. They never read it, and that means they can’t debate it.
They even bragged about not having read it and ridiculed those who suggested they should. John Conyers told us that without 2 days and 2 lawyers there’s no point in reading the bill, it’s too complicated. So we have to pass it right away. No time for pointless debate.
John Dingell, when asked if medical tort reform would be part of any health care bill, replied that “The Congress can only handle so much at one time.” No time to debate, we’re too busy. When asked why Democrats want to nationalize health care given it has failed in Massachusetts, Dingell said, “I don’t know whether it’s working in Massachusetts or not.” So I can’t debate that.
When the President was asked if Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance, he replied, “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about.” Next question.
In response to such effrontery, the White House has mounted a Big Brother-like campaign to gather information about anyone critical of socializing medicine. This effort was apparently kicked off in response to a video of the President saying “I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program,” an extended euphemism for socialized medicine. The quote was claimed to be taken out of context. I.e, “Yes, I said that, but my meaning isn’t open to debate.”
So much for debate, then. As the President said on Thursday:
… I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking.
That same day White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.” Between them, they seem to have gotten the message out, at least to the SEIU:
Tampa Couple Roughed Up by Thugs at Kathy Castor Town Hall
SEIU Thugs Coordinate With Sebelius
At a Philadelphia fundraiser in June 2008, Barack Obama said he would counter Republican attacks thusly, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” It turns out he wasn’t talking about Republicans at all. He meant to say, “If they bring some concerned citizens to a meeting, we’ll bring SEIU enforcers.”
In closing, I would like to thank Obama and the SEIU for using the health care debacle to show us something about how card check would work.