If you’ve been watching any of the “debate” in the House over its health care bill, this guy sums it up for me in a post titled, For All the Wrong Reasons:
“It’s sad, for lack of a better word, that in the midst of the biggest, most significant, most consequential domestic policy debate in recent memory, an entire political party has committed itself to repeating talking points with no basis in reality. Claims have been routinely presented, debunked, and shamelessly repeated anyway. Arguments ranging from “fascism” to “death panels” to “socialized medicine” have become eerily common, despite having no connection to reality.
We’re watching one of the rare instances in which a bill’s actual flaws are ignored, while confused politicians debate the merit of ideas that aren’t being proposed. What a waste.
I’ve long believed there’s a greatness to American politics — it’s why I do what I do. It’s genuinely embarrassing to the system and our traditions to see it go missing from a major political party during a debate of such importance.”
Civilized Conversation 
There has been zero attempt to involve House (or Senate) Republicans in crafting the House’s near 2,000 page monstrosity. Republicans have been physically excluded from key discussions. Offers by Republican House Leaders to meet with the President have been repeatedly rebuffed.
It should be of concern to all of us that a bill aiming to “provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending” does not include any provisions for:
1. Tort reform (some estimate this bill will make it easier for lawyers to sue);
2. Allowing companies to sell insurance across state lines;
3. Allowing purchase of generic drugs;
4. A la carte insurance plans rather than one size fits all;
5. Mandating that all congress and their staff and families including white house and all government employees be the first people signed up for the new insurance policies. (The bill specifically excludes them);
6. Allowing small companies and individuals to form themselves into larger groups or pools to facilitate their access to private insurance;
7. Allowing individuals to tax deduct their premiums like large employers can;
8. Boosting the number of doctors which surely will be neeeded with a big increase in the number of insured.
9. Etc, etc, etc.
The latest CBO report estimates that there will still be around 8-10 million people uninsured if this bill is fully implemented so “universal” coverage is clearly not the aim. Also, it would cost far, far less to insure the alleged 30-40 million currently uninsured by paying for their health care directly and leaving the rest of the system alone.
The President continues to refer to the legislation as “Health Insurance Reform”. Instead of “reform” however the inevitable (and intended) consequence of this bill will be quite different: nothing less than the wholesale destruction of the Health Insurance industry as insurance plans are regulated to the point of non-viability. That will leave the government in charge of another 1/6th of the economy with massive increases in federal payrolls to run the whole thing. An attack on doctor salaries is surely next, while the lawyers are left to clean up.
Rather than the wholsale destruction and replacement of what we have now, surely an incremental approach is preferable?