Thursday, August 13, 2009
Town Hall Revolts Heat Up
As the town hall meetings get even hotter, I can't resist pointing out the obvious: calling these people "lynch mobs" and comparing them to Nazis and the KKK didn't make them less angry. Insulting people who are already angry, it seems, makes them even angrier.
For as long as I can remember, the Democrats have been assuring me that they are the smart ones, and the other major party is just a bunch of stupid idiots.
Their response to the protests has shown that there are a lot of Democrats who are at least as dumb as the rest of us, if not more so. I would think that one of the basic principles of politics in a democracy, so obvious it is never stated explicitly, is Thou shalt not criticize the electorate, or any large segment thereof.* It's like the business principle, "The customer is always right."
By the way, I used to be in sales, and that last principle, I can tell you, is true. Unless starvation appeals to you, never tell the customer they are simply wrong to want what they want. Rather, show them something that is even better than what they were originally looking for.
Politicians, like business people, should not attack their clients. On the other hand, if you are not running for office, you can attack the public as much as you like. Like this wonderful man. May he rest in peace:
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* Attacking individual protesters is probably a smarter idea.
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9 comments:
The woman who stood up was 35 years old or born in 1974. When she was 12 years old perhaps she sat with her parents in front of the TV and watched Reagan rededicate the Satue of Liberty on July 4th.
With millions of uninsured single parents (mostly caucasian), millions of uninsured illegals and aging seniors; "The Horse Has Been Walking Out The Barn" all of this woman's life.
Perhaps Carlin said it correctly. Although we denigrate politicians, the Constitution said they are there to enact the will of the people and I believe that's correct. Unfortunately their will is not as free as they want to believe, but instead it is shaped by forces they don't recognize. As Carlin said; "Just pull the credit card out of your fanny pack" and buy that junk you don't need.
The woman in the clip voted for Bill Clinton both times. I'm not sure if this is relevant to your point, though.
My point is that the country has turned into more of a market and less of a cohesive nation bound by language, culture and ideology. Alot of the Reagan-Democrats thought they were witnessing the rebirth of America in 1986. The Statue of Liberty Restoration Project was chaired by Lee Iacoca, who as Ford executive in 1964 gave us the Mustang which was a symbol of America's rebirth into frivolity. Likewise in 1980 as Chrysler chairman he took a gov't bailout to subvert the laws of capitalism.
The lady doesn't realize that she was not rebirthed into a nation but rebirthed into a market.
Of course my bigger point is that health care is not a moral right but its a market and the cardinal rule is "Thou Shalt Not Touch The Market or Thee Will Die".
Just like the scene in "Airplane": "The pilot informs us that we are headed towards an asteroid and we are all about to die. By the way, we are also out of coffee."
Of the facts you describe, the only one that seems bad to me is the Chrysler bailout. I'm not very keen on national unity. I'm for the individual. I also rather like Mustangs, though my own frivolity-mobile is a 1957 Imperial.
Fire and police protection are not a moral right, but are provided for everyone wthout regard to their economic status. Some measure of medical care, at least catastrophic care, is equally important.
Peter,
That is the premise that the present system is based on. (Remember that "medical care" does not per se mean "medical insurance.")
I think the underlying fact is the explosive growth of the potential market so the rationing argument has soundness. In other words the present system is intentional obfuscation in order to achieve class of care divisions. Any type of gov't plan smells of social engineering or class warfare so the right wing conservative forces come in to play with the UNAmerican arguments. The famous statement about Reagan was "He made us feel comfortable with our prejudices".
The main reason health care costs have gone up, I think, is that the government is already throwing so much money at it. It's supply and demand. Notice the other important expense that exploded in the same period: college tuition. Gov't throws a lot of money at that one too. Any econ 101 student can tell you what will happen if you do that.
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