Some Final DemCare Wrap-Up Thoughts

Here are two great wrap-up posts that I thought really struck home.  Excerpts follow.

Should we be mad at Republicans?

There's been a lot of anger among conservatives directed at Republicans leading up to the health care bill passing the Senate this morning. Is this anger justified? My answer is yes, but I mean that in a different way than other conservatives.

...conservatives should be angry at them. The reason why we have a liberal in the White House and why Democrats control overwhelming majorities in Congress is that Republicans failed badly when they were in power. Democrats were in a position to push a government takeover of the health care system, because when Republicans controlled things, they didn't advance free market solutions. After Hillarycare was defeated in 1994, the sentiment was that they dodged a bullet, and could go back to ignoring the issue -- while Democrats were quietly plotting for the next time they were in control. Sure, health savings accounts were a good thing, but they were narrow in scope, and far overshadowed by the largest expansion of entitlements since the Great Society in the form of the Medicare prescription drug plan.

By the time this year rolled around, Democrats were in power and Republicans were discredited. Meanwhile, all of the special interest groups (insurers, drug manufacturers, hospitals, the AMA and AARP) were on the side of those in power so they could carve up the pie at the expense of the rest of us. It was going to be an uphill battle to begin with, but Republicans dithered for months, and settled on a strategy that ended up focusing on protecting Medicare from cuts rather than going after something like the individual mandate, which would have struck a blow at the heart of Obamacare.

By the time it got to the Senate floor, I don't think any tactical decisions by McConnell could have made up for more than a decade of Republican blundering.

You reap what you sow, and the GOP spent years morphing into the Diet Democrat party.  Thus, the liberal takeover.  The key now is to learn from that mistake, correct it, and remember it as we move into the future.  Clearly, Democrats cannot be trusted with running the country in a way that is sustainable for the long term, nor in a way that preserves freedom and prosperity, so the GOP is our only hope.  If they fail, the country fails.


An "Unusually Good Bill Clinton"

Harry Reid got his 60 votes earlier this morning. Some initial thoughts:

• The mainstream media is going to go back into campaign mode, to see that some form of Harry-Nancy-Obama-care, or is it Obama-Nancy-Harry-care, gets passed. The NY Times already is on the case pressing the big lie: "The Senate voted Thursday to reinvent the nation's health care system, passing a bill to guarantee access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and to rein in health costs as proposed by President Obama."
• The mainstream non-big media types also will join the campaign. Jonathan Chait at The New Republic is on the case: "Why the health care bill is the greatest social achievement of our time."
• The blogospheric self-appointed liberal wonks are joining the campaign. Ezra Klein is on the case: "It was the first time the body had been in session on Christmas Eve since 1963. That's fitting, as it's arguably the most important piece of legislation the body has passed since 1963."
• The left-wing Democratic noise machines will join in with background support to make sure the media doesn't stray. Matthew Yglesias, paying homage to his "boss" John Podesta, is on the case: "The health care bill passed!"

But no one can outdo the "unusually good Bill Clinton," our President Barack Obama who can say things with a straight face and moral indignation that would make Bubba blush:

"This bill will strengthen Medicare and extend the life of the program. It will make coverage affordable for over 30 million Americans who do not have it — 30 million Americans.

And because it is paid for and curbs the waste and inefficiency in our health care system, this bill will help reduce our deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion in the coming decades, making it the largest deficit-reduction plan in over a decade."

I'm out of breath from explaining, hundreds of times, why this is a monstrous lie. But it is on its way towards passage with the help of the mainstream media, mini-media pundits, and blogspheric sycophants.

Merry Christmas. Rest up. You'll need it for the final battle in January.

That's the bottom line.  We need to keep fighting this, no matter what.  As Bill Kristol said, we also need to keep fighting against every facet of the radical Leftist agenda.  By persevering and fighting effectively, we can make this victory a Pyrrhic one rather than a successful liberal takeover of the nation.

DemCare isn't law yet, though it likely will be soon.  We need to keep our eyes on the ball, start working toward a victory in 2010 with a renewed GOP based on core conservative principles, and immediately start talking up a repeal of this monstrosity.  It won't be as good a solution as preventing it from being enacted at all, but it's better than rolling over and giving up.

And finally, a note to all those who voted for hope and change last November...be careful what you wish for.  You just might get it...

There's my two cents.