Wah's Journal: Ending the Heath Care debate

It's been more than a few days since I shared my wondrous insights with my legions of fans here at /. (does two people count as a legion?), and there's been a bunch of back and forth on the health care debate so far, so insteadof doing some massive fact-laden post,we'll pick up this thing mid-stream and go with it (besides, the debate has devolved to the point where facts mean little, and are quickly ignored).

The quick point of this post...maybe it's time to quit even talking to Republicans about the problem and the proposed solution. As Senator Charles Grassley recently opined, it doesn't matter what's in the bill, this is about putting Obama in his place.

When NBC's Chuck Todd, in a follow-up question on the show,asked the Iowa Republican if he'd vote against what Grassley might consider to be a "good deal" -- i.e., gets everything he asks for from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D) -- Grassley replied, "It isn't a good deal if I can't sell my product to more Republicans."

There reaches a point in any debate when it becomes clear that one party of the other is actually arguing about something else. Once this point is reached, it's time to just make a decision.

So far we've seen very prominent and unemployed Republicans opine about how the terrorist-lovin' Obama (he pals around with them, I hear) is working to institute a fascist/socialist/Hitlerist program in this country , where he will be killing old people and pushing abortion on everyone. He's going to take the guns away and blot out the Sun, from what I hear. Sure, none of this has anything to do with having a modern health care system, but that's the point.

When folks are talking about what health care is really like here, no one says that the system we have is beyond reproach. I've personally talked to folks, after the calm down and quit frothing at the mouth, that make suggestions for health care reform *that are already in the bill*.

When one side is saying that we need to reform a health care system that is currently rationed out to the point where 1 out of 7 red-blooded Americans get nothing, and the other side is carrying around high powered assault rifles to rallies, it's time to end the debate and bring it to a vote.

The Democrats have the votes needed to pass legislation. The Republicans have made this a proxy fight against Obama himself (very little they say, and their media motormouths repeat, has anything to do with the legislation as proposed).

Bring it to a vote and do the job the majority of Americans elected you to do.

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[originally published at the Examiner]