Posted by
Sgt.Stryker on Thursday, August 27, 2009 6:23:54 AM
The reasons to sink the newly-minted Kennedy-Care are myriad. They've been parsed, hashed and re-hashed ad-nauseum here at TH and all over the blogosphere and on talk radio. We all know why it's a bad idea. And no, I don't think it's improper to be discussing the issue while Ted's still having the flotsam and jetsam vacuumed out of his body.
Fraud, waste, and abuse seem to be the watchwords when anyone starts talking about reforming the medical profession. And let's be honest, it is the whole medical profession that is under fire. When the president is accusing doctors of financial motivation driving amputations and tonsilectomies, it's not just about health care or insurance. Of course, it should be no surprise, as his oft-stated goal is to "transform America". And, like it or not, all of us along with the medical profession fall under that umbrella. And we all know that whatever system is infiltrated by the tentacles of government falls prey to varying degrees of fraud, waste and abuse. If only we could attack those three demons and root them out...
Well, here comes Harry Waxman (D-CA) to the rescue. According to
this piece in the NYTimes (h/t to Hot Air), Waxman is seeking to undo the deal struck by Obama and Billy Tauzin that enlisted PhRma in the effort to tout Obama/Kennedycare on the airwaves in a quid pro quo for what is essentially an $80 billion price control on prescription drugs.
""You not only break the deal, but you break the bank for us,” said
Billy Tauzin."
"“We want it back,” Mr. Waxman said in an recent interview. “We want to make sure the windfall for the drug companies does not continue, and we want to recover the money that has been a windfall.” "
Read the rest of the article for the policy details if you like, but what is most interesting to me is the dominos that will fall around this scenario. If Obama DOESN'T have a deal with Tauzin because Waxman has torpedoed their plan, how do Obama and Tauzin react? Tauzin can take his ball and go home, and what is already looking like a failed effort to ram any kind of reform through takes another punch to the mouth. Do Obama and Waxman go toe-to-toe in public or via the media? Does Obama tell Nan to rein in Waxman? And would he even listen if she did? Or does he fold up like a cheap Wal-mart lawn chair? Which side does "Stretch" Pelosi take? Make no mistake, she is stuck right in the middle, and that alone makes this whole thing delicious. Does Tauzin turn his ire and air time against Obama and/or Waxman or the reform effort in general?
This whole thing is unraveling just as sure as someone pulling the thread out of a cheap sweater. If the passing of "Chappaquidick Ted" has "re-energized" the left to get this done, this drama can (and should) de-energize it. When you don't have the truth or reality on your side, getting anything done has to be more difficult than herding cats. The disparate interests at work here are legion, and self-interested to boot.
For the life of me, though, I can't bring myself to cheer on Henry Waxman. However, I can easily cheer on the defeat of the effort by the left to get their Holy Grail, socialized medicine.
I think I see a white flag on the horizon.