In wandering around the internet today I came upon an article that directed me to this quite able takedown, by David Shorr of TPM, of yet another pundit who blames our current political dysfunction on both parties equally. I couldn't resist some low hanging fruit left un-plucked by Shorr. He quotes John Schindler, the plague on both your houses pundit, as follows:
[T]he Left pretends that [the ACA] is a radical step forward to justice, when actually it is a very modest reform of the existing – exceedingly, unsustainably expensive – system, based largely on onetime GOP proposals, while the Right is in high dudgeon mode over this allegedly vast expansion of state power, when really it’s a huge gift to the insurance industry (a Republican stalwart). Moreover, the ACA manages to do the nearly impossible, namely increasing access to healthcare only very modestly, at considerable taxpayer expense, while doing essentially nothing about controlling spiraling costs, not least because that would upset trial lawyers (a Democratic constituency).
Now, mind you, this is in an article about the inability of both sides to retreat from their absolutist positions. I won't argue with his characterizations of the ACA (except the part about the “Left” believing it's a radical, rather than a tentative step toward justice), but his description of the ACA proves beyond doubt the absolute eagerness of the Democrats (Obama first among equals on this score) to retreat from orthodox left/liberal/even moderate positions on Health Care Reform in the first place. What part of “based largely on GOP proposals” proves the Democrats are intransigent partisans? Was Schindler living elsewhere when Obama spent months vainly seeking the vote of even one Republican by offering compromise after compromise? Does he not recall how much the original House bill (which contained a public option) was eviscerated in the hope of attracting Republican support? We can argue about whether the Democrats should have ceaselessly sought compromise, but no one can honestly argue that they didn't. Can Shindler think of an example of the Republicans bending so much on any subject? We won't even stipulate that it has to be as politically significant as Health Care.
The fact that this meme will not die bodes ill for what's left of our Republic. One can't cure a disease unless one diagnoses it correctly. The doctors into whose hands we have largely given the task of diagnosing our ills, like Schindler, engage in serial malpractice of just this type.
Post a Comment