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Bold abroad, impotent at home

By Michael J. Smith on Thursday October 18, 2007 09:38 AM

Great Partitioner Joe Biden -- he of the bold Caesarian plan for a tres-partes approach to Iraq -- turns strangely skulking and fidgety when confronted with a real threat, in the form of the insurance cabal. His "plan" for health insurance is, believe it or not, even more timorous and nugatory than Hillary's, or Obama's, or the guy with the nice haircut -- you know, whatsisname. Here's Biden:

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/10/18/news/local/9fe7caee7cc0a7c98625737800070534.txt

SIOUX CITY -- Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden termed himself a pragmatist... he said changes to the health-care system and other policies have to be based in reality.... Americans [are] uncomfortable with drastic change when many Democratic presidential candidates discuss a single-payer health-care system....

The big focus of his health-care reform, Biden said, would be that medical bills exceeding $50,000 for treating catastrophic conditions would be pushed up to the federal government to pay. Those costly procedures are responsible for driving up health insurance costs, he noted.

He also advocated for the option of Americans buying into Medicare coverage earlier, at age 55, or electing to buy into the health-care plan that federal employees have.

To make the plan less prone to attack from those who fear "socialized" medicine, Biden said, "I don't want a whole new bureaucracy."

Primum non nocere, indeed: Do No Harm to the insurance companies, as usual. But Biden offers the insurance Moloch a fatter, more toothsome burnt offering than most -- whenever the highrollers place a particularly bad bet and have a big tab to pay, hand it off to the taxpayers!

American political campaigns are often compared -- not least by me -- to marketing campaigns for soft drinks, but in one crucial way this comparison is excessively complimentary to the politicians. People who market treacly soft drinks, or aorta-plugging hamburgers, or ridiculous top-heavy vehicles with Halloween animal-face grilles -- these people have to work pretty hard at coming up with new slogans, new angles, new imagery, all the time. They can't just serve up the same old thing year after year.

But Biden's clumsy fumbling with the rosary-beads of "bureaucracy" and "pragmatism" and "realism" makes me really, really wish that these people were subject to some market discipline. Maybe we should make 'em go on American Idol and get savaged by that nasty English guy. That would at least have some entertainment value, a thing decidedly lacking, along with every other kind of value, in current American politics.

Comments (6)

Kasey:

Rarely have I read just an ignorant piece of crap than this ugly rant. If you had a clue, you'd know that Biden's likely the ONLY candidate who could actually GET SOMETHING PASSED in the current U. S. Senate.

Rather than pandering to ignorant ideologues, Biden chooses to tell the truth about what is POSSIBLE.

I live in Iowa and have heard him speak passionately about health care three or four times. If you had a clue about what he's really saying on the stump, you would be embarrassed to have your name attached to this garbage.

Please don't embarrass yourself further.

Kasey:

Rarely have I read just an ignorant piece of crap than this ugly rant. If you had a clue, you'd know that Biden's likely the ONLY candidate who could actually GET SOMETHING PASSED in the current U. S. Senate.

Rather than pandering to ignorant ideologues, Biden chooses to tell the truth about what is POSSIBLE.

I live in Iowa and have heard him speak passionately about health care three or four times. If you had a clue about what he's really saying on the stump, you would be embarrassed to have your name attached to this garbage.

Please don't embarrass yourself further.

Djur:

The perfect is the enemy of the mediocre, eh, Kasey?

MJS:

Comrades! We're being read in IOWA!

Scruggs:
Biden's likely the ONLY candidate who could actually GET SOMETHING PASSED in the current U. S. Senate.

That's both true and terribly depressing.

op:

from the school
of
speak passionately
but carry no tooth pick

"ignorant piece of crap ... ugly rant...
If you had a clue ... actually GET SOMETHING PASSED in the current U. S. Senate "

let us pray :


okay so it ain't much
but pass it out any way

like a kidney stone

piss it out into
the public urinal
like its the very plymouth rock
of our medical salvation

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