Archives for November 2010

I’m not surprised by this:

Most Americans think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they’re in office. Only 33% think they should accept the health care they get for being a member of Congress while 53% think they should decline it and 15% have no opinion.

But Republicans and independents- who put these folks in office in the first place- strongly think they should refuse their government provided health care. GOP voters hold that sentiment by a 58/28 margin and indys do 56/27.

Hypocrisy arguments really resonate with conservative voters. I’m not crazy about relying on HYPOCRISY, I think that approach can easily enter the realm of the deeply stupid and irrelevant (Al Gore took an airplane to a conference, so take that, liberal!) but conservatives are madly in love with this approach.

I have only to look at their perennial favorite-Obama sends his children to private schools!- to see that, and this issue is beautiful, because liberals can simply demand that conservatives purchase health insurance on the current private market. That’s the conservative policy position, so the public versus private schools comparison doesn’t hold up.

Obama believes there should be both public and private schools. He’s not advocating outlawing private schools, and he doesn’t denigrate public schools. Conservatives, on the other hand, ran on overturning the Affordable Care Act, and demonize any public program or federal scheme as a path to tyranny.

Conservatives are more vulnerable to hypocrisy charges, because their positions are so deeply dogmatic and rule-bound. The “free market” solution is ALWAYS better, no matter the facts or circumstances. Liberals are okay with Social Security alongside a private retirement account, while conservatives are dogma-bound to trash Social Security-it’s a PONZI SCHEME, after all, and who in their right mind defends a Ponzi scheme?

They fed their rabid supporters a steady diet of raw meat, and I suspect they’ll have trouble introducing nuance or facts into any discussion of, well, anything, at this point.

Too, in the 6 or so years I’ve sporadically attended political events for Sherrod Brown, this was always a huge applause line, even with a liberal audience:

Brown has refused to participate in the government’s array of health insurance plans for 17 years, saying they are more generous than the coverage choices that many other Americans get. Why should Congress get such sweet coverage? he asks

Brown must recognize that it’s effective, because he used it again, with the public option, in 2009:

Whenever Democrats talk about their proposed federally backed insurance plan, or public option, in the ongoing health-care debate, critics pipe up. If you think this public option is so great, they say, why don’t you demand that all members of Congress go on it, too? Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown says that’s a fine idea. And this morning, he forced his way onto a Republican amendment saying as much, becoming a co-sponsor of a Republican protest measure that would require Congress to go on the public option if it passes.

Democrats should pursue this, if only because it’s a favored tactic of conservative leaders. It’d be fun to throw it back at them.

Hypocrites!Post + Comments (164)