These are both excellent cartoons, but it's not fair to give the Republicans ALL the blame. Right now, the biggest resistance to real health care reform is coming from the Democrats - who are either too timid to stand up to the Republicans, who by all rights should be completely irrelevant in this discussion (see: Reid, Harry), or openly bought off by the insurance industry (see: Lieberman, Joe; Baucus, Max). Much as I would love to lay all the blame at the foot of the GOP, the Dems have plenty to be ashamed of here.
I don't ignore the DINOs in the Senate - the Republicans are just doing a better job of spouting "talking points." I fully expect a horrible bill to be produced by the Senate. They are the least populist and most beholden to BigMoney of the two chambers. House, if it arrives at all, will come from the House, and then only if it survives Conference.
Baucus' constituents in Montana want real reform. I don't think they'll get it from their senator; he gets too much from PhRMA.
Or, depending on how you view it, the GOP has much to be proud of here.
The longest running government healthcare plan in the country is that provided to the Indian nations on their reservations. Per-capita spending there is over a third less than what is spent on federal prisoners. The healthcare system there is like something out of a Dickens novel, to the point where many don't even bother trying to get care.
The President wants a multi-trillion dollar overhaul to the healthcare system, the most sweeping and radical change to healthcare this country will have ever seen. He says that by making huge investments now we will save money later. I think it's both ethical and prudent for the opposition party to say, "no, this idea is speculative and there is no established track record of its success; give us real results and then we'll get out of the way."
If you read Instapundit or some of the other right-wing sites (Instapundit is more arch-libertarian, but close enough), you'll see lots of people talking about the need for small real-world trials before rolling out the plan. They suggest applying these changes to the VA, to the Indian nations, to Medicare, etc., in order to give us empirical real-world experience with the kinds of changes the President is advocating.
It's hard for me to see the GOP as being obstructionist or as backstabbers. The GOP is the opposition party. This is their job.
Frankly, I think the GOP should be proud: even when vastly outnumbered in Congress and kicked out of the White House, they're still able to capitalize on Democratic backbiting and fractiousness well enough to be an effective check on the ruling party.
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Date: 2009-06-21 09:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-21 10:16 pm (UTC)Baucus' constituents in Montana want real reform. I don't think they'll get it from their senator; he gets too much from PhRMA.
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Date: 2009-06-22 01:51 pm (UTC)The longest running government healthcare plan in the country is that provided to the Indian nations on their reservations. Per-capita spending there is over a third less than what is spent on federal prisoners. The healthcare system there is like something out of a Dickens novel, to the point where many don't even bother trying to get care.
The President wants a multi-trillion dollar overhaul to the healthcare system, the most sweeping and radical change to healthcare this country will have ever seen. He says that by making huge investments now we will save money later. I think it's both ethical and prudent for the opposition party to say, "no, this idea is speculative and there is no established track record of its success; give us real results and then we'll get out of the way."
If you read Instapundit or some of the other right-wing sites (Instapundit is more arch-libertarian, but close enough), you'll see lots of people talking about the need for small real-world trials before rolling out the plan. They suggest applying these changes to the VA, to the Indian nations, to Medicare, etc., in order to give us empirical real-world experience with the kinds of changes the President is advocating.
It's hard for me to see the GOP as being obstructionist or as backstabbers. The GOP is the opposition party. This is their job.
Frankly, I think the GOP should be proud: even when vastly outnumbered in Congress and kicked out of the White House, they're still able to capitalize on Democratic backbiting and fractiousness well enough to be an effective check on the ruling party.