Democrats and Obama must think Republicans are idiots but they are only partially right

Having failed to sell the “co-op” option as a substitute for the “government option,” Obamacare fanatics are now pushing the “trigger” option. Of course, any thinking Republican (which excludes Olympia Snowe) sees right through this scheme.

This new proposal to help Democrats pass Obamacare is submitted by no other than Senator Olympia Snowe, (R-Maine), with whom Republicans can do without. The so-called "trigger" plan has been suggested by Snowe who is a member of the "gang of six" Senate negotiators who are trying to broker a bipartisan compromise. Under such an option, if agreed-upon goals are not met by the insurance industry, then that would pull the trigger on government-run insurance; thus keeping a government-run insurance plan on reserve. Liberals complain “the trigger would likely prevent a public option from ever being implemented. Conservatives complain, to the contrary, that it would act as a surefire public option -- only several years down the road.” (Fox News) The liberals’ complaint is specious because in the end they will accept anything that can be represented as “bipartisan health care reform.”

"If you say to the government bureaucracy, 'As long as you find it has failed, you get to build a brand-new bureaucracy,' you have a guarantee the trigger's going to go into effect. I mean, you're only delaying for four years what will become a 100-year problem," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said recently.

Howard Dean also voiced opposition:

"The problem is it won't work. It doesn't add anything. If you're going to do that, just do the insurance reform. So you know, I'm very hopeful that (Obama) will stick to his guns and that we'll have the reform we were promised in the campaign. If, for whatever reason, he chooses to go in a different direction, then I'd scale back the bill. I wouldn't spend five cents on it."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday acknowledged talks over the trigger option and seemed to speak approvingly of it. But hours later, she issued a statement reaffirming her commitment to a "strong public option." Dean suggested an all-or-nothing approach, urging Obama to "stay the course" on a public option.

"If you don't use your majorities, you lose your majorities," Dean said.

Very disheartening to conservatives is the apparent potential support for health care reform advocated by some Republicans. Senator Lamar Alexander, (R-Tenn.), and Gingrich suggested the administration take a more incremental approach to reform. Alexander said Obama should declare to the American people on Wednesday that it's time to "start over." It’s not clear what exactly Alexander means by his “incremental” comment but there are so many things wrong with any version of Obamacare out there that any suggestion to go with an incremental approach may still leave us without the health insurance coverage most Americans have now and favor.

For example, unless the appointed government board that decides who can receive health care on a cost effective basis, and what medical care can be given, is deleted, many Americans will be denied life-extending medical care. Furthermore the problem of more people insured than available medical care providers to render medical care will necessarily lead to rationing and long waits for service.

There are some issues about health insurance that likely should be addressed but they don’t need 1,000 pages to describe. Such things as coverage for pre-existing conditions and insurance portability are good candidates for reform but will likely increase not decrease insurance cost. On the other hand allowing insurance companies to compete nationally by removing state border limitations will decrease insurance costs. Furthermore the 47 or 50 million uninsured in the country used to garner support for “health care reform” is totally bogus as explained many times by writers addressing this subject. The truth is that there are probably 15 million or less unable to afford health insurance, although these people are not denied health care under the law. There are simple and less expensive ways to provide them with health insurance if indeed that is the goal and not expanding government and government control.

Right now we have the ridiculously entitled “earned income tax credit” which is not a credit at all but out-and-out government welfare checks given to people who pay no taxes. It would be far less costly and less damaging to our health care system to simply enroll these people in a private health insurance plan.

The huge backlash to all the proposed health care reform bills does not sway any of the dedicated socialists in congress nor the chief socialist in the White House because they don’t care what the public thinks or wants. As good socialists they know what’s best for us and by God they will give that to us come hell or high water. But the secret behind their dedication is that it is expanded government control they want (with them in charge) and not improving the country.

Obama is about to make a national speech about what he calls health care reform. You can be certain he will say all the right things as he always does but he won’t change his objective of government control of this one-sixth of our economy no matter how he wraps it.