The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Flip Side of the Brown Coin

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | 20 Comments

by Smitty

The Amused Cynic points to a George Will column which ends:

If the Democrats’ congressional leaders are determined to continue their kamikaze flight to incineration, they will ignore Massachusetts’ redundant evidence of public disgust. They will leaven their strategy of briberies with procedural cynicism — delaying certification of Massachusetts’ Senate choice, or misusing “reconciliation” to evade Senate rules, or forcing the House to swallow its last shred of pride in order to rush the Senate bill to the president’s desk. Surely any such trickery would be one brick over a load for some hitherto servile members of the Democratic House and Senate caucuses, giving them an excuse to halt their party’s Gadarene rush toward the precipice.

I don’t foresee the Democrats taking any ‘scorched earth’ approach. No, once they recover from whatever they’re doing to drown their sorrows, the strategic game looks far better.

Make the Republicans appear to be driving, as they have the tempo. Give Mitch McConnell an unlimited supply of rope. Get anything possible passed that can be labeled “ObamaCare” as a fig leaf for the POTUS.

The real problem for the Republicans is the Progressive worm gnawing at their power-lusting hearts. Too few of the GOP in either chamber have rejected the premise of Federal involvement in individual citizens’ medical decisions. Why? My suspicion is that such a train of thought threatens to expose the last century of bi-partisan folly. If the Federal Government hasn’t any business worrying about Smitty’s ticker, then why should it be worried about my retirement, or my income, or mortgage (for non-veterans), or student loans?

Healthcare cuts to the marrow of the question of what tasks are assigned by We The People to which level of government. The bad news about the Federal Government is that it has, with infrequent exception, botched the bulk of tasks undertaken, especially those that involve individual citizens.

This is not to say that State Government would tube things any less, just that the results might be more fixable, given the relative responsiveness of local leaders. The diminished range of the neck making decisions to the hand those decisions affect seems to be a powerful feedback loop.

The GOP, like the Democrats, enjoy maximizing that range, however. The message of the Tea Parties seems to be that there is some possibility for long term GOP survival, but only if the GOP load-sheds the Progressivism that has wrought financial ruin within the last century. If Michael Steele comes to love the smell of napalm burning crappy, un-Constitutional legislation in the morning, he may yet smell some victory.  Also, that napalm needs to immolate the GOP, so that it can rise, a phoenix/elephant/pegasus (?) from the ashes.

When Harry Reid comes by with the rope, Mitch McConnell needs to look at the line, then at Harry, and say:

dice

No Dice

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Comments

  • BlueCollarGal

    Ya know, I really love Stacy, but I think I just fell head over heels for Smitty. This post was spot on.

  • BlueCollarGal

    Ya know, I really love Stacy, but I think I just fell head over heels for Smitty. This post was spot on.

  • http://theothermccain.com smitty

    For such a wonderful comment, I’ll spot you an edit. ;)

  • http://theothermccain.com smitty

    For such a wonderful comment, I’ll spot you an edit. ;)

  • young4eyes

    Damn Smitty! A well reasoned, balanced commentary that gets to the heart of the matter. I’ll be damned…
    You have managed to illuminate for me the split in our respective thinking concerning healthcare: you see the issue from a “govt. intrusion” point where I see it from a fiscal one. To deny that the HealthCare system is not thoroughly corrupt and shot is to turn the other cheek on a societal ill. That, god forbid, a terrible accident is capable of sending American families to financial ruin destroys the fabric of what’s left of our Capitalist system. The Government doesn’t care about your ticker so much as to what the effect of your debilitating HealthCare bills do to the economy as a whole.
    That the Government at this point is the only entity capable of correcting the monopoly that Health Insurance companies command may be a sad but necessary evil.The free market has proven itself impotent to correct an ugly state of affairs. Are any of the solutions proposed perfect? Or is it better do do nothing?
    On that note, would really really love to hear your take on the recent Supreme Court decision concerning campaign financing. In light of all this angst against “special interests”
    I am curious to see what the Con take is on all this. Boehner and McConnel seemed really thrilled about it…

  • young4eyes

    Damn Smitty! A well reasoned, balanced commentary that gets to the heart of the matter. I’ll be damned…
    You have managed to illuminate for me the split in our respective thinking concerning healthcare: you see the issue from a “govt. intrusion” point where I see it from a fiscal one. To deny that the HealthCare system is not thoroughly corrupt and shot is to turn the other cheek on a societal ill. That, god forbid, a terrible accident is capable of sending American families to financial ruin destroys the fabric of what’s left of our Capitalist system. The Government doesn’t care about your ticker so much as to what the effect of your debilitating HealthCare bills do to the economy as a whole.
    That the Government at this point is the only entity capable of correcting the monopoly that Health Insurance companies command may be a sad but necessary evil.The free market has proven itself impotent to correct an ugly state of affairs. Are any of the solutions proposed perfect? Or is it better do do nothing?
    On that note, would really really love to hear your take on the recent Supreme Court decision concerning campaign financing. In light of all this angst against “special interests”
    I am curious to see what the Con take is on all this. Boehner and McConnel seemed really thrilled about it…

  • Pingback: Quote of the Day | The Lonely Conservative

  • http://indenturedservantgirl.blogspot.com Indentured Servant Girl

    Starting to sound like Ron Paul Smitty. Watch out. :)

  • http://indenturedservantgirl.blogspot.com Indentured Servant Girl

    Starting to sound like Ron Paul Smitty. Watch out. :)

  • http://javelineer.com The Javelineer

    Smitty wrote, “Too few of the GOP in either chamber have rejected the premise of Federal involvement in individual citizens’ medical decisions. Why? My suspicion is that such a train of thought threatens to expose the last century of bi-partisan folly. If the Federal Government hasn’t any business worrying about Smitty’s ticker, then why should it be worried about my retirement, or my income, or mortgage (for non-veterans), or student loans?”

    Accurate and precise and true. Perfect analysis that allows us to predict what the country club republicans will do.

  • http://javelineer.com The Javelineer

    Smitty wrote, “Too few of the GOP in either chamber have rejected the premise of Federal involvement in individual citizens’ medical decisions. Why? My suspicion is that such a train of thought threatens to expose the last century of bi-partisan folly. If the Federal Government hasn’t any business worrying about Smitty’s ticker, then why should it be worried about my retirement, or my income, or mortgage (for non-veterans), or student loans?”

    Accurate and precise and true. Perfect analysis that allows us to predict what the country club republicans will do.

  • Adobe Walls

    @ young4eyes

    The court ruled that spending restrictions imposed against “special interests” such as unions and corporations no matter their “wealth advantage” violated “free speech”. As a purely academic argument they are obviously correct. I hold no illusions that any entity with money that felt they could affect a political race to their advantage were thwarted by the laws just struck down. Given the still existing disclosure requirements and assuming the evil puppeteers go the more, strait forward route now legally open, it will be easier to determine who is buying our politicians.
    The States currently heavily regulate and require that health insurance can only be purchased in the State where one resides. Hence there is no free market for health insurance. Seems a good place to start.

  • Adobe Walls

    @ young4eyes

    The court ruled that spending restrictions imposed against “special interests” such as unions and corporations no matter their “wealth advantage” violated “free speech”. As a purely academic argument they are obviously correct. I hold no illusions that any entity with money that felt they could affect a political race to their advantage were thwarted by the laws just struck down. Given the still existing disclosure requirements and assuming the evil puppeteers go the more, strait forward route now legally open, it will be easier to determine who is buying our politicians.
    The States currently heavily regulate and require that health insurance can only be purchased in the State where one resides. Hence there is no free market for health insurance. Seems a good place to start.

  • http://knappster.blogspot.com Thomas L. Knapp

    “The message of the Tea Parties seems to be that there is some possibility for long term GOP survival, but only if the GOP load-sheds the Progressivism that has wrought financial ruin within the last century.”

    Setting aside the fact that “Progressivism” originated in the Republican Party — most people forget that it was a Republican House and Senate majority that sent the 16th and 17th Amendments to the states, created the Federal Reserve, spawned Roosevelt’s Progressive Party (“Bull Moose”) and LaFollette’s 1924 campaign, and blueprinted the New Deal — how could that possibly be the “message of the Tea Parties?

    Sorry, the game’s up. To the extent that the Tea Parties supported Scott Brown (not all of them did), they were sending a clear message: “We’ll put up with anything that has an R next to its name.”

  • http://knappster.blogspot.com Thomas L. Knapp

    “The message of the Tea Parties seems to be that there is some possibility for long term GOP survival, but only if the GOP load-sheds the Progressivism that has wrought financial ruin within the last century.”

    Setting aside the fact that “Progressivism” originated in the Republican Party — most people forget that it was a Republican House and Senate majority that sent the 16th and 17th Amendments to the states, created the Federal Reserve, spawned Roosevelt’s Progressive Party (“Bull Moose”) and LaFollette’s 1924 campaign, and blueprinted the New Deal — how could that possibly be the “message of the Tea Parties?

    Sorry, the game’s up. To the extent that the Tea Parties supported Scott Brown (not all of them did), they were sending a clear message: “We’ll put up with anything that has an R next to its name.”

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  • smitty

    @Kn@ppster,
    Hey, it’s a blog comment, so I shouldn’t get too reactionary, but “Setting aside the fact that “Progressivism” originated in the Republican Party” seems a bit of an oversimplification.

    Wikipedia, FWIW, hints at just a little more detail.

  • smitty

    @Kn@ppster,
    Hey, it’s a blog comment, so I shouldn’t get too reactionary, but “Setting aside the fact that “Progressivism” originated in the Republican Party” seems a bit of an oversimplification.

    Wikipedia, FWIW, hints at just a little more detail.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.wordpress.com Bob Belvedere

    Quoted from and Linked to at:
    The Parasite In The Brain Of The GOP

  • http://thecampofthesaints.wordpress.com Bob Belvedere

    Quoted from and Linked to at:
    The Parasite In The Brain Of The GOP

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