We all know the truth: Partisan “warfare” yields the usual war casualty, truth itself. Now, because of the increasing weight of federal government presence in healthcare markets, partisan untruth incurs medical costs.
Take the goofy Republican plan(s) to “repeal and replace” ObamaCare — pushed with so many half-truths and downright lies that one wonders where to begin. But before die-hard Republicans get too incensed about this judgment, let’s note that the supporters of the mis-named “Affordable Care Act” are no better.
Probably worse.
“Fact-checking,” writes David Harsanyi on the media mishandling of ObamaCare, “has evolved from an occasionally useful medium to an exercise in revisionism and diversion.” Journalists now seem more like spin doctors.
And their patient? The reputation of ObamaCare’s namesake.
One journalist, for example, insists that “Obama didn’t lie or ‘mangle facts’ or mislead anyone,” Harsanyi writes.
What does this journalist claim Obama did in repeatedly promising “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor”?
Well, “he gave a ‘misguided . . . pledge.’ The word ‘misguided’ intimates that Obama wasn’t misleading anyone on purpose.”
It helps the former president save face if he accidentally got us in this fix. He had the best intentions, you know.
Worse yet, as both sides snipe about these little untruths, they lose sight of the biggest truth, which I wrote about this weekend: that “government-run” means “government-decided,” and that, in turn, means
government deciding matters of your life and your death.
It would be helpful if our leaders took this all a bit more seriously, daring to speak truth . . . to us . . . as well as to themselves and each other.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “ObamaCare’s Casualties”
Giving all government social programs the assumption and benefit of the doubt they were passed with good intentions and rose colored glasses does little to change the damage, destruction and dislocations their unintended consequences have brought.
I do not have to be convinced polititions and programs are mean spirited, only that they are foolish, to oppose them.
Why should our leaders speak truth to us? It’s never worked before. We vote out anyone who doesn’t promise us ever more bread and circuses. We deserve the government we have.
Correct Pat, generally democracies self-destruct due to the tyranny of the majority. That is why ours was a constitutionally limited republic and has taken so long to enter ithe death throes which we are witnessing the first of.
A pity, and perhaps still reversblle, but not if the general attitude parallels yours.
Just exactly like when Bill Clinton said “Now I’m going to say this one time.”
” I did not have sex with that woman.” and then comes back later after Monica showed the world that she had the blue dress with his stains on it .
“Well that depends on what the definition “is” is.” Lying sack of weasel droppings.