The Health Care Takeover Timetable

Have you noticed how desperate the President and the Democrats get when the subject of Health Care comes up? How important it is for them to get it passed now, in whatever form they can get, whether it makes sense or not?

There's a reason for that.

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has passed its version of health care reform, 42% of voters nationwide favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and down four from the week before.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% are opposed to the plan.

I'm not going to attack them for doing something that their constituents clearly do not want. The fact is, we live in a Republic, not a Democracy, and they are elected to use their judgement in representing the citizens of this country. They are responsible for upholding and protecting the Constitution, and if there's something they believe to be in the best interests of the country, it shouldn't matter that it's going to cost them their seats - they should do the right thing.

Obviously I don't believe that they're doing the right thing. I believe that the proposals which they've put forth for taking over¹ the health care system are an offense to the Constitution and a guarantee of further, and worse, problems down the road. But let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that they really, honestly and truly believe that they are doing the right thing.

It's going to cost them. That's the point, that's the purpose behind the rush-to-judgement. While a year can be a long time in politics, there are enough members of Congress who are clearly "dead men walking" at this point that they know this is the chance, the only chance, to get this health care plan passed. If it doesn't go through this Congress, it isn't going to happen. A new session starts in January, and there's just no way on God's earth that something as unpopular as this plan looks to be happens during an election year. The stimulus has been an economic disaster, and, in retrospect, a public relations disaster. The "cash for clunkers" program isn't a laughing-stock in all areas and with all sections of the electorate, but it is with enough people that it's a net negative for the powers that be.

The Democrats may be able to keep the House of Representatives next November, but it's not a great bet, and they are almost assured of losing enough seats to make this kind of package impossible to pass again. The Democrats will almost certainly keep the Senate, but probably not with a filibuster-proof majority. Hence the desperation to get the Health Care System Takeover "Reform" Bill passed now.




¹ - I realize that this is inflammatory language, and that technically, nothing that is being proposed actually is nominally intended to "take over" the system. But that's the logical end result of everything being proposed, and it is the stated goal of many of the proposers, so I will continue to use it.