I Am Not Anti-Government

In fact, there are some things that government does fairly well. Reigning in excessive or rapacious capitalism is an example. I generally have no problem with Social Security as a program-- I think it is a good thing. I think having the government regulate health insurance better, and make sure everyone is covered by health insurance is a good thing. Thankfully I have health insurance. But I know lots of people don't, for various reasons including lack of a job. And there is no doubt that the health insurance system in this country is pretty screwed up-- it is not geared so much towards helping people as to making a profit for the company. So I welcome any real attempt at health care reform. My main worry is that Congress won't go far enough in controlling the health insurance industry and making them more competitive.

But really, is there anyone more clueless about health care reform than rank-and-file conservatives? Talk about willfully ignorant. The propaganda against this reform is just way too obvious, and too obviously funded by health insurers, conservatives who are only looking to stop progress for their own gain, and other bad actors. I'm tempted to just say that conservatives get what they deserve, if they succeed in ruining health care reform. But that would screw over lots of decent people who need insurance badly, people who aren't so ignorant.

The Democrats have a golden opportunity to do this thing, given their overwhelming advantage in Congress and control of the White House. The main problem right now is it still isn't clear what kind of reform the Democrat leadership is going for-- they have been painfully disorganized on this issue, not too surprisingly. But this is something that needs to be done, and now is the best time. I can only hope the Dems get their fucking act together because health care reform is a GOOD thing government can do.