Congratulations are in order -- to the Republicans. They got the health care bill they wanted.
What?
Yep. The strategy was ingenious. They forced the administration to concede and compromise, got much of what they demanded and they still get to complain when it fails. Brilliant.
But wait a minute; liberals are celebrating! They say it's a first step. They say these things take time. They're calling it a monumental achievement. That's a stroke of genius on the part of the Democrats. They have the base so conditioned to defeat that any lip service motion will come off as a victory. In fact, I believe the Dems have a new victory motto. "It's better than nothing."
Hip! Hip! ...aah, the hell with it.
We've been thrown a bone with no meat, been asked to pay for it, and are expected to say "thank you."
So what do we have in regard to health reform? I'll break it down in 5 simple terms.
#1: The bill is estimated to cost over a trillion dollars. That means higher taxes. Okay, so far so good because taxes for a good cause is money well spent. Right? Well, let's see.
#2: Health cost is yet undetermined but to many people, the estimates are still too much. Of course, the poor will need subsidies. So we're right back to instilling Medicaid in one form or another.
#3: The insurance companies hold the cards and their job is not to provide care; it's to prevent us from cashing in on getting care since it costs them money, and this is a business after all. They will decide what you can get and how much it will cost.
#4: Since payment is not contingent on income it won't matter if you make $150,000 a year or $50,000 a year. The cost will be the same. Again, the lower middle class, (i.e. those who need health care the most) will take the hardest hit.
#5: More small businesses will not provide health care, mainly since they won't be able to afford it. Besides, they're sure to realize that people will be mandated to get it anyway, so why bother?
Dennis Kucinich is the only one who got it right. He realized that what we needed was a government run system that would provide for those who can't afford to deal with the insurance companies. He voted against the bill and rightly so. Health care never has been, and never should be a "scored point" for one side or the other. It must be a program that cares for the people.
In a word, what the people got was defeat.
And the crowd cheers.