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In a recent post, Gherald highlights an example of Meghan McArdle spinning her wheels dissecting Republican vs. Democratic talking points on health care reform (which drips with the snide, thinly veiled contempt for the Democrats that one would expect from McArdle; e.g., “Ted Kennedy sure was a swell guy, wasn’t he? He’d be proud of every dang one of us today.”).
What I think is interesting about this is McArdle’s (and the mainstream media’s) obsession with talking points over substance.
Leaving aside the nitty gritty details for a minute (because I’m busy), let’s cast away the talking points and look at the fundamental goals of the Republican and Democratic sides of the aisle.
- Republican goal and outcome: Goal: Damage the Democrats by killing health care reform and leaving in place the broken system we have today. Outcome: Zero reform and tens of thousands of people dying due to lack of quality health coverage. Millions of people remain uninsured and many tens of millions left prey to abusive insurance company practices.
- Democratic goal and outcome: Goal: Pass a comprehensive health reform package in order to improve the health of the American people and save lives. Outcome: Millions of people will have insurance coverage and egregious health insurance company practices such as rescission and denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions will be eliminated.
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We are contemptuous of both Republicans and Democrats (and more generally, of almost all politicians), so I don't see why you are characterizing Megan's contempt as for the Democrats in particular.
To call her "obsessed with talking points" when most of her posts are anything but is just absurd. This post (which I recommend you read in full) just happens to be one about Saturday's incoherent Senate "debate"; one I thought useful for those who didn't watch it on C-SPAN (myself included).
Substantively, we are contemptuous of Republicans who only seek to damage Democrats (it's just more politics as usual). At the same time we don't think some of the "comprehensive health reforms" Democrats are trying to pass will actually improve the system.
In particular, we think these bills do a lot to subsidize coverage (a goal we don't share) but little to reform the market and delivery system (the central economic problems with US health care).
Oh, just a sample comparison of a couple dem/rep talking points from McArdle's post -- which sounds more contemptuous to you?
"-- Medicare costs too much, and also, shouldn't be cut.
-- The Republicans favor "real reform" which mostly seems to consist of liability caps."
vs.
"--Insurance companies are evil institutions which deny everyone any care that costs more than a pack of Freedent gum.
--Ted Kennedy sure was a swell guy, wasn't he? He'd be proud of every dang one of us today. "
yeah, perfectly comparable contempt.
as for obsessed and McArdle, I was focused on her post, which came, in her own words after spending "eight hours this weekend watching the Senate debate on whether to proceed with debating on whether to pass a health care bill" and, it would seem, taking lots of notes on talking points. i can't really say whether she's perpetually obsessed with talking points or it was just a passing thing (can't stomach more than a post or two a month).
from the blessedly little i've read of mcardle, the notion that she is equally contemptuous of republicans as democrats is ludicrous. but i defer to you as an avid reader of her blog.
as for the final point, i'm not sure where that gets us. its all well and good to point out bits and bobs in bills that could be done better, or should be taken out, etc.
but if the ultimate agenda that is being served is to simply kill health care reform and leave us with the painfully destructive system we have now, what was the good of all that?
long story short: however imperfect (which it will be), if the democrats get their way, the just and moral thing will have been done and people will eventually be given greater security and healthier lives as a result. if the republicans get their way, the system we have now will bankrupt us and millions of people will die.
Politicians on both sides are taking enormous profits from the Health Care Reform attempt, the Republicans are just more blatant about how much they are taking to stop any reform so that they can blame the Democrats.