"To pass or not to pass?

Yes, I know I shouldn't be obsessing about this. But otherwise I'm just waiting for a cistern to fill and laundry to dry, so it's not out of my way.

Over at Big Government is a pretty good analysis by Mike Flynn on the current state of the healthcare trainwreck. It's a great read, makes some fair points...

What they don’t realize is that today’s vote isn’t the end, but just a new beginning in the debate over health care. Buckle up, because if they manage to cobble together enough votes to pass the Senate Health Bill today, we’re set for weeks and perhaps months of a constitutional and political crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.

In a matter of hours after House passage of the Senate Bill, the state of Virginia will file suit in federal court. The Commonwealth will be joined in the suit by a dozen other states. I expect a flood of additional lawsuits. The suits will be based on the provision that requires every American to purchase health insurance. (This is how the Dems ‘crack down’ on the insurance industry; by requiring everyone to buy its product?) Because this is an individual mandate, virtually every American has standing to file suit against this provision. Also, it is in direct conflict with state law in at least two states, Idaho and Virginia.

While the legal battles wage on, expect an enormous public back-lash against the Democrats. Longtime political observers will recall the backlash after Democrats passed a “catastrophic health care” bill in the 80s. That event pales in comparison to what is brewing. Yesterday, around 30,000 people protested on the steps of the Capitol, an event that was organized in just a little over 24 hours. In cities throughout the country, protests and rallies broke out, each attended by hundreds of citizens with only a few hours notice. This kind of spontaneous public outcry has never happened in any of our lifetimes. Today, many of these protesters are buoyed by a faith that reason will prevail and the Democrats will stand down from their position of willful disdain for the American people. If that doesn’t happen tonight, then we will have fallen into totally unchartered territory. It is without hyperbole that I say I am at times afraid of what may ensue.

...But then he comes to an argument I've read before, and I just can't disagree enough...

That said, the political animal in me is hoping they find 216 votes. A victory for ObamaCare tonight, It will spark a public revolt that will wipe clean the progressive agenda for at least a generation. In battle, it is critically important to have clarity; to understand the fight you are in. If the Democrats pass ObamaCare tonight no one will have any doubts about the battle ahead. So, my political instincts say, “Bring it On. Let’s sort this out once and for all.”

...To which I must reply, in battle it is also critically important to have someone on your side. It gets lonely otherwise.

It's true that the republicans have sat giggling through this whole debacle, letting the democrats hang themselves since they seem so intent on doing it. Apparently there isn't a single republican "yea" vote out there. But nobody should take that as a sign that the republicans have somehow become friends of the American people. Flynn says "I don’t fully trust that the GOP will repeal every last provision," and I find that charmingly naive. I don't expect that the GOP will repeal any of it. When have they ever? Did they repeal social security? Medicare? The "Great Society" welfare state? The Department of Education was passed virtually moments before Ronald Reagan was elected, and he swore his first official act would be to dismantle it. That was thirty years ago, and Reagan is dead. I think we can stop waiting.

Republicans are politicians, and politicians are evil, power-hungry parasites. Anything that increases the power and grasp of government works to their benefit, and the healthcare bill is the biggest power grab in memory. Oh, sure, they're loving it that the democrats own this horrible bill. But that doesn't mean they have any dimmest plan to repeal it, once they get back in power.

So to those who think the nasty democrats should go ahead and pass their bill, because the noble republicans will save us in the ensuing war between good and evil, I suggest you step away from the crack pipe and look at a little history. As George Potter said recently, the enemy of my enemy isn't my friend ... if he's my enemy. And the republicans, like the democrats, are our enemies.