I don't know where to begin regarding the health care reform train wreck unfolding before my eyes, so I will confine myself to one anecdote, lest I start rambling and foaming at the mouth. Josh Marshall has persuasively and tirelessly argued since Tuesday that the only way forward is for the House to pass the Senate health care bill as is, and that's the message I've been giving my Congressman's staff every day on the phone.
Today's exchange was telling. The staffer worked hard to pass the buck:
It's not up to Congressman Scott to move the bill; it's up to the House leadership. There are many factions opposed to the bill in the Democratic caucus. The pro-lifers don't like the abortion language. Another group doesn't support the tax on high end plans. I know that from outside Washington it looks really easy to get everyone together and vote to pass the bill, but it's more complicated than that.
I replied that from outside Washington it looks like the Democrats are assembling a circular firing squad, and wished the staffer a good day.
And the more I think about it, the more that last sentence rankles. In a democracy, don't they bear the burden of understanding us, rather than we understanding the machinations of Washington?
It only took a year of power for them to get so out of touch.
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