The French have the health-care system that Americans desperately want: it combines private providers and patient choice with a large and generous public insurance system ---- hogwash this is what the socialists among us want
Reihan Salam doesn't have a fucking clue what Americans want. On Aug 10, 8:59 pm, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > *Democrats tried to turn around the health-care debate this weekend, with > Obama criticizing opponents** on his weekly address** and Pelosi labeling > them "un-American." But Reihan Salam says the protests will only grow.* > > Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have harsh words for the protesters who have > been turning up at town halls across the country. After highlighting a > handful of extreme tactics—in Maryland, protesters hanged a member of > Congress in effigy—Pelosi and Hoyer proceeded to accuse the protesters of > engaging in > “un-American”<http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/unamerican-attacks-cant-derail...>behavior, > perhaps forgetting that the far more extreme tarring and feathering of > British officials was a favorite pastime of America’s pro-independence > radicals. > > Whether the House Democratic leadership likes it or not, the so-called "town > brawls" are a sign of things to come. The left has accused conservative > activists of manufacturing outrage over President Obama's health-reform > efforts. Conservatives in turn have argued that the AFL-CIO, SEIU, > Organizing for America and other left-leaning groups have been just as > active in rallying their supporters. What is clear is that both sides have > had a fairly easy time finding riled-up citizens who are more than happy to > wave incendiary signs and scream like banshees. Could this have something to > do with the lackluster quality of prime-time television? *Mad Men* won't be > back on until August 16th, and bullying some chump congressperson might be > preferable to enduring yet another episode of *The Real Housewives of > Atlanta*. > > If Obamacare eventually passes in some form, I'll make you a guarantee: > these ferocious protests will keep getting bigger and louder. > > Actually, the people who've been raising a ruckus at town halls are not > there because they have nothing better to do: they're acting out because > they are intensely ideological, and they are eager to fight for their > beliefs. Liberals insist that the anti-Obamacare protesters represent an > extreme and intemperate minority, and they're absolutely right. But the same > was true of those who protested for abolition and women's suffrage and > temperance and civil rights for African Americans and for gays and lesbians. > I don't believe that Obamacare is a grave evil that should be bitterly > opposed, like Jim Crow. Rather, I think it's an ill-conceived mish-mash that > will quickly fall apart, leaving the next president to pick up the pieces. > If I did think Obamacare was evil, though, I'd angrily attend a dozen town > halls, shaking my fists and playing the kazoo at every one. And if Obamacare > eventually passes in some form, I'll make you a guarantee: these ferocious > protests will keep getting bigger and louder. > > To get a glimpse of America’s future, consider France. The French have the > health-care system that Americans desperately want: it combines private > providers and patient choice with a large and generous public insurance > system, one that keeps out-of-pocket costs extremely low for working > families. The French system is also dramatically cheaper than our own. But > whenever there's a move to tweak the system in some way—say, to gently nudge > patients to get the approval of a general practitioner before seeing a > specialist—the French go absolutely mad with rage. Doctors go on strike, > massive street protests ensue, the riot police come out: it's a crazy scene. > > And it makes perfect sense: as more life and death decisions are placed in > the hands of democratically elected legislators, politics become more than > an occasional nuisance. When your wages are stagnant or your health > insurance premiums are zooming skyward, you don't blame your boss or bad > luck; instead, you blame the knuckleheads running, or rather ruining, the > country. You come to feel as though you can't just wait until the next > election: You need to make your voice heard now—even if that means taking to > the streets or throwing a punch. We can call the protesters “un-American.” > Yet America has gone through long periods of roiling unrest before and it > can happen again. > > *Reihan Salam is a fellow at the New America Foundation and the co-author > of *Grand New > Party<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307277801/thedaibea-20/> > . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
