As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I always get nervous when the Reich declares war again.
However, this Reich has nothing to do with Germany or the 1000 years of murderous glory that actually only lasted from 1933 through 1945.
This Reich entered the United States Government in 1993, and was told to permanently shut up by his boss before 1995.
Yes, Robert Reich is back, determined to do for the Democratic Party today what he did for them in 1994. As a Republican, I sure hope so.
For those who do not remember, Robert Reich was a Secretary in the Clinton administration. I thought this meant that he was an administrative assistant taking dictation, but this is not the case. So for those who sent him flowers on Secretary’s Day on April 20th, it was a bigger waste than the Clinton domestic agenda.
Robert Reich was the Secretary of Labor. He has never met a union he didn’t like, or a big business that he did. He is a socialist through and through. This is absolutely not an insult or a slur. It is his world view.
While he is often teased for being vertically challenged (I am only 5 ft 5 myself), it is the shortness of merit in his ideas that I quarrel with. He is not a mental midget (another short joke that I wish people would leave alone). He simply has a prescription for America that would destroy our healthcare system.
When the Reich last collapsed in 1994, he and Hillary were sent to the locker rooms for cold showers of reality. Newt Gingrich wanted welfare reform, and Bill Clinton was more interested in keeping his job than in actually standing and fighting for any principal that might get him fired.
Reich, to his credit, remains a true believer. The problem is, his proposed actions to enact laws based on those beliefs is still wrong.
Barack Obama is off to a good start on health care. He has dispatched Hillary Clinton to the nether regions of the Earth to sip tea with despots and diplomats. She has no real authority, and will not be able to actually do anything. With Hillary out of the way, the environment will be less poisonous.
Although Bill Clinton was famous for his triangulating “Third Way,” it is actually President Obama that is trying to find a third way between Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Hillary approach is the “My way or the highway” style that endears her to only herself and perhaps her daughter (and Bill if he is asked in front of her). The Bill Clinton approach is the “Just pass a d@mn bill so I don’t get fired. I don’t care what’s in it. Slap some words on a page and send it to me.”
Barack Obama may lack substance in the tradition of Bill, but on this issue he actually does want substance. He just does not want to be sen like Hillary.
This is where the Reich comes out of his gopher hole. Like Hillary, he would rather have ideological purity rather than accomplish something that is more modest, but actually doable.
(For those who wonder where this incrementalism came from, read about George Washington and the Founding Fathers. What we call gridlock, they call the system working perfectly.)
Robert Reich has declared that “The Healthcare War has officially begun.”
Yes, we are now at war, fighting a war even liberals could embrace. There are several consequences for this idiocy.
For one thing, Barack Obama does not want war. He is a smart student of political history, and remembers clearly what happened when Hillary Clinton flew in on her broom and starting demonizing her “enemies.” Barack Obama refers to these enemies as “opponents.” Hillary and Reich cannot grasp this. Barack Obama wants a reasonable bill.
(An interesting argument that I will posit for the first time is whether Hillary wants Obama to fail on healthcare reform since she failed. I love starting provocative discussions, and will expand on that in the coming days. Get your pundit hats on, political strategists.)
The second reason Robert Reich is causing damage to his own side is because it brings up the still valid stereotype that Democrats are a bunch of peacenik surrendering wimps. They will not acknowledge the War on Terror, or that we are at war with Radical Islamofascists. We are not even at War with what used to be called enemy combatants. Yet American businesses that produce jobs and provide goods and services, they need to be obliterated on the battlefield.
Every negative stereotype of liberals comes through. They are hostile toward the military and business. The only war they feel comfortable declaring is a War on Poverty. What was LBJ going to do, bomb poor people so that they would not exist anymore? That would have been one way to raise the standard of living. Perhaps he wanted to cure two world problems by feeding the homeless to the hungry.
Nevertheless, the war on poverty, like every liberal war on some abstract concept, was a colossal failure.
(Conservatives are often attacked for the “war on drugs,” although at least shooting drug dealers has some societal benefit. Now that liberals are in power, the war on drugs will be how to obtain them fast enough without getting caught by their parents. This is not to be confused with the “war on rugs,” which affects Joe Biden and other middle aged men.)
A war on healthcare is ludicrous because what it really implies, and quite honestly, is a war on American businesses. In the same way environmentalists and animal rights activists would allow for the mass suffering of humans to save trees and animals, the health care zealots would be happy to try and get cradle to grave benefits for every person despite the fact that there will be nobody left to provide those benefits. They want the government to do it, and we all know how well government entities outside of the military actually function. Governments can print money, but they cannot create doctors (They also can’t and won’t stop lawyers from suing doctors.).
Democrats like to use the word “war” against Republicans because it makes them sound tough. They are ready to fight to the death to protect America from conservatives. They will not declare war on the people who caused 9/11, but they sure as heck will go after a white male wearing a blue suit, white shirt, and red and blue diagonal necktie.
This leads to the third reason why declaring a war against Republicans in the form of a healthcare war is imprudent. Unlike liberals against terrorists, conservatives are not afraid of liberals. We fight back. If liberals want war, they will get one. Bill Kristol became a hero in 1993 with his daily faxes. When the entire Republican Party began to cower, only he and Phil Gramm stood up and fought Hillary. Mr. Kristol is already preparing to overload fax machines around America.
This is exactly what Barack Obama wants to avoid. He calls himself “No drama Obama.” He does not want conflict. He knows that his high approval ratings are because he has not done anything of consequence yet. Hillarycare was popular in the very beginning until she started fighting with everybody. Once she lost the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, she was done. Congresspeople, especially liberal ones, are like rats. They jump ship pretty quickly.
Barack Obama wants a reasonable bill passed. He is not going to get that if the Reich returns to try and spread more terror.
Harry Reid is in a tough reelection fight, so he may not want a fight either. A moderate bill helps him.
Playing the roll of Hillary Clinton will be the Pelosiraptor. Nancy Pelosi is not moderate about anything. Yet Hillary had one major advantage that the Pelosiraptor does not have. Hillary could not be fired. Also, nobody was allowed to criticize her. If the Speaker of the Louse gets out of line, a certain thug named Rahm Emanuel will be dispatched to handle her, with no carbon footprints being traceable to the President.
The solution is to pass a reasonable bill. To do this, once again, the Reich needs to be defeated to save civilization.
eric
A “war on American businesses.” Hmmm…
For all the ridiculous rhetoric from the right on this matter, barely a faint whisper of substantiation has yet to be heard. Nothing in this post, nothing in any of the rightwing columns or speeches or radio and TV chatter. Of course, part of the reason for this is that there’s NO BILL. It’s hard to agrue against something tat doesn’t yet exist – it’s also pointless and shows irrational prejudice: you are against something you don’t even know.
President Obama gave a speech to the AMA today. It’s not exactly heavy on the details, but he does make some strong assertions and promises.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-06-15-obama-speech-text_N.htm
If you guys want to actually know what you’re against, let alone what you’re talking about, I would strongly suggest reading it.
He makes some very important and valid points about the current status quo, and he makes some promises about what he will be willing to do and not willing to do.
First, the problems…
Today, we are spending over $2 trillion a year on health care – almost 50% more per person than the next most costly nation. And yet, for all this spending, more of our citizens are uninsured; the quality of our care is often lower; and we aren’t any healthier. In fact, citizens in some countries that spend less than we do are actually living longer than we do.
Our largest companies are suffering as well. A big part of what led General Motors and Chrysler into trouble in recent decades were the huge costs they racked up providing health care for their workers; costs that made them less profitable, and less competitive with automakers around the world. If we do not fix our health care system, America may go the way of GM; paying more, getting less, and going broke.
If we fail to act, one out of every five dollars we earn will be spent on health care within a decade. In thirty years, it will be about one out of every three – a trend that will mean lost jobs, lower take-home pay, shuttered businesses, and a lower standard of living for all Americans.
These are facts. There’s no denying that. The fact is that “war on American businesses” is being perpetrated by the healthcare sector, not by those who want to reform it. It hamstrings small businesses from being able to compete with large business for talent, it loads our exports with extra costs that foreign competitors don’t have, it overloads our hospital emergency rooms with uninsured patients who could have otherwise prevented the visits, it goes on and on and on and on. What we have now is a FAILURE and anyone who doesn’t think so is simply stupid or lucky enough to have good coverage but too ignorant to imagine that other people don’t and that the costs those other poeple incur because of that fall on those that have that good coverage on the end anyway. It’s just plain stupid.
Then Obama gfoes on to say what he will and won’t do – again, light on details, but heavy on concept…
I know that there are millions of Americans who are content with their health care coverage – they like their plan and they value their relationship with their doctor. And that means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what’s broken and build on what works.
He’s been very consistant about these promises.
First, we need to upgrade our medical records by switching from a paper to an electronic system of record keeping. And we have already begun to do this with an investment we made as part of our Recovery Act.
We shall see if this really accomplishes much by way of results, but at least it’s a step in the right direction. They just better make ssure such a system is SECURE.
The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so that we can avoid illness and disease in the first place. That starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. It means quitting smoking, going in for that mammogram or colon cancer screening. It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.
Bla bla bla… But nothing for anyone to argue.
That starts with reforming the way we compensate our doctors and hospitals. We need to bundle payments so you aren’t paid for every single treatment you offer a patient with a chronic condition like diabetes, but instead are paid for how you treat the overall disease. We need to create incentives for physicians to team up – because we know that when that happens, it results in a healthier patient. We need to give doctors bonuses for good health outcomes – so that we are not promoting just more treatment, but better care.
Now, you really should read the whole section that goes with this quote. This is where people will start shouting “rationing!” What it’s really about is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Doctors get incentives to try new, superfluous, unnecessary “treatments” from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, they tell the patient they need it, patient gets insurance company to pay for it, insurance company pays pharmeceutical company for a product so as to fill a quota on a service contract for lower prices, doctor gets golfing trip to Bermuda. We have to have a system that can take away the incentive for fraud, which is really what that is. But we don’t want rationing. As it is now, insurance companies ration much care and treatment. We certainly don’t want more of that. This is an important subject. Hopefully we’ll see more details in the furture, but I fear moneyed interests in this may hamper real reform.
Now, I know there’s some concern about a public option. In particular, I understand that you are concerned that today’s Medicare rates will be applied broadly in a way that means our cost savings are coming off your backs. These are legitimate concerns, but ones, I believe, that can be overcome. As I stated earlier, the reforms we propose are to reward best practices, focus on patient care, not the current piece-work reimbursement. What we seek is more stability and a health care system on a sound financial footing. And these reforms need to take place regardless of what happens with a public option. With reform, we will ensure that you are being reimbursed in a thoughtful way tied to patient outcomes instead of relying on yearly negotiations about the Sustainable Growth Rate formula that’s based on politics and the state of the federal budget in any given year. The alternative is a world where health care costs grow at an unsustainable rate, threatening your reimbursements and the stability of our health care system.
What are not legitimate concerns are those being put forward claiming a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system. I’ll be honest. There are countries where a single-payer system may be working. But I believe – and I’ve even taken some flak from members of my own party for this belief – that it is important for us to build on our traditions here in the United States. So, when you hear the naysayers claim that I’m trying to bring about government-run health care, know this – they are not telling the truth.
Now, here’s the real sticker – the “public option.” Most think it will be killed in the Senate – if a bill ever gets there – and they may be right. It’s a shame. We need that public option. That would force the insurance industry to truly compete on the levelest possible playing field. But moneyed interests don’t want it, and they own both parties. So, regardless of whether you think the “public option” is “government run healthcare” (it isn’t) ir not, it’s probably not going to happen.
Anyways… it’s an interesting speech. You all should read it so that you can put a little substance in your arguments rather just spout partisan blather.
JMJ
There are 305m Americans folks. We grow at about 1%/ year, or a little over 3m persons. I believe that includes immigrants.
Soooooooo, yes, we have more people uninsured than at any time
in our history, but for good reason. We have more people, get it, a larger base. Many of these uninsured are children, who do not go to hospitals
for expensive to treat illnesses, similar to adult. They don’t have diabetes,
heart problems, cancer, arthritis, PVD..irregular heart beats, chronis
kidney failure or ailments of the aged.
Most medical costs are incurred by your average American in the last 2 years of life, when outrageous tests and surgeries are performed.
Let’s be up front, our doctors and hospitals are the best in the world
We invent more drugs than anyone else (at great cost), have the
most modern technologies.
Our problem is not treatment, but prevention. Simply put, we
are too fat, too lazy, and smoke like fishes (which create all kinds of
problems-see COPD, cancer, etc.)
Obesity thanks to poor nutrition handed out as easy as a McDonalds,
Burger King, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut, are literally killing US.
Mal-practice insurance is killing our doctors and those who otherwise
would be interested in medicine. We are a nation of fast food eaters
and people whose middle name is SUE!
We do have a flooring, it’s called medicare, and medicaid, not to forget
all the state programs. We have free clinics (see Los Angeles).
We make using medical MJ illegal..with conflicting laws, while
tobacco and alcohol companies are thriving.
Yes, something is wrong..and it isn’t only the liberal policies of
Robert or Hillary..it’s ourselves.
We are hearing about a one payer system..gov’t organized, run and
paid for.
We all know the results will be the bankruptcy of our insurance companies
and average taxpayer. Someone has to pay for all this.
The unions did cause the demise of our US car manufacturers. In fact,
generous benefits were in lieu or high (er) salaries. Our downfall
was the result of our lust for foreign made vehicles..smaller, better
manufactured, better gas mileage (better competitors).
I own a US made car, and will NEVER buy a car from the Japs or
the Krauts. I recall Pearl Harbor and Buchenwald. Like Eric,
had my parents remained in Kiev, I would be buried someone
near Treblinka, or maybe just a pile of soot
So, I say, with emotion, buy American, it’s good for US.
And while you are at it, write Obama about “talking” and “engaging” with Ahmad and the mad mullahs..ha, ha, ha, ha. What now Obama, will
you arm the Revolutionary Guards?
BTW, Obama, I am still waiting for my 1,000 credit.
“but he does make some strong assertions and promises.”
Whoa ! Really ? Thats a first.
Dan, you said so many smart things just then and then you had to go and almost ruin it with the blanket assertion, “The unions did cause the demise of our US car manufacturers.” (emphasis mine) Right after that, you say, “Our downfall was the result of our lust for foreign made vehicles..” Well, which is it??? Even that whole rant – “rant” not being a derogatory here – about buying American was misguided. I worked in the auto manufacturing sector. Every car, regardless of “where it’s made” contains parts from thousands of different manufacturers from around the world. You could buy a “Japanese” car that is more “American” than an “American” car! Heck, the foreign auto makers assemble much of our “foreign” cars right here in the USA! Oh, and the benefits and pay for doing that are just about the same as for the “American” auto makers. So much for “The unions did cause the demise of our US car manufacturers.” How about this? – The fact that our foreign importing competitors don’t have to pay for health benefits means they have a huge advantage in overhead. Sound more factual? It does to me. Why do you think Ford is doing fine today – they assemble cars in CANADA.
Micky,
Yes, of course I know Obama was as vague as any politician as usual, but he made a few strong assertions: One, he said “single-payor” is NOT on the table. He’s right about that whether he, I, or anyone else likes it or not. Two, he said the system we have today is an unteneble failure. I was just talking with a very strong-minded, elder conservative local pol today who agreed wholeheartedly with that – though his answer to the problem differed from mine – and both of our’s differed from Obama and the Dems. Just the same, it’s hard to argue that what we have today isn’t working, or at least won’t work in the future if things keep going the way they are.
There were more rather strong points in Obama’s speech as well. Remember, he wasn’t exactly speaking to the most friendly audience. So we should take it for what it’s worth.
JMJ
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