*"In America, we don't allow one man to roll the dice with our entire nation. We do not allow one political leader to risk our health care system and our entire economy."
This is messed up on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start. First of all, Michael Steels may have noticed that America has presidential elections every four years, Congressional elections every two years. In 2006 and 2008, Americans voted to put Democrats in charge of Congress and Barack Obama in charge of the Executive Branch. Democratic Congressional candidates and Barack Obama were very clear about their plans for health care when they were running. For instance, in October 2008, Obama said, "I think [health care] should be a right for every American." Obama also said:
...You know, my mother died of ovarian cancer when she was 53 years old. And I remember in the last month of her life, she wasn’t thinking about how to get well, she wasn’t thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality, she was thinking about whether or not insurance was going to cover the medical bills and whether our family would be bankrupt as a consequence. That is morally wrong. It’s objectionable. That’s why I put forward a comprehensive legislation for universal health care so that all people could get coverage. My attitude is, that since you are paying my salary as taxpayers, you should have health care that is at least as good as mine. And the key to that is not only a good plan, but we’ve also got to overcome the drug & insurance company lobbies, that spent $1 billion over the last 10 years to block reform. As president, I am going to take them on.The American people heard that loud and clear, electing Barack Obama by a nearly 10-million-vote margin to do just that. Any further questions on that front, Mr. Steele?
Second, regarding the "we don't allow one man to roll the dice" quote, that demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of how the U.S. political system works. Either that, or pure demagoguery. The fact is, we've got a Congress and a President, duly elected by "we, the people." We've also got the judicial branch, up to and including the Supreme Court. Finally, we've got interest groups, lobbyists, and advocates of all kinds, making their case in the media and in the halls of Congress. That's far from "one man...roll[ing] the dice."
Finally, I'd just point out that our current health care system is a disgrace, dominated by a for-profit model that is great if you can afford it, terrible if you can't. Talk about "roll[ing] the dice"; in America today, you are often a job loss or major illness away from financial calamity, even if you've always done things right and "played by the rules." It's simply the way this for-profit health care system is set up. And it needs to change.
*"We do not allow one political group to gamble with the fate of generations. We have never allowed one political party to experiment with the future of our country, that is until now."
Uh, Mr. Steele, may I please remind you of the Reagan Administration, when "one political group" - conservative Republicans, in that case - gambled on their theory of "supply side/trickle down" economics, the end result of which was huge deficits and a debt that was passed on to all of us? May I please remind you of the Bush Administration, when "one group" - neocons, Tom DeLay Republicans, etc. - gambled on their theories of deregulation, tax cuts for rich people, and nation building in Iraq, the end result of which was calamity on all fronts? And they did all of that, by the way, after losing the popular vote in 2000, then having a Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court hand them the election. Perhaps that's what you meant to refer to?
*"This type of experimentation is not what America voted for."
See my response to your first comment. Again, America did vote for this (among other things), by a 10-million-vote margin. Perhaps you missed that little thing known as a "landslide victory for Barack Obama in November 2008?"
*"Many Democrats outside of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi/Waxman cabal know that voters won't stand for these kinds of foolish prescriptions for our health care or for ourselves."
Actually, Mr. Steele, the vast majority of Democrats do support health care reform. Unlike your party, though, Democrats actually - gasp! - think for themselves, so there are naturally disagreements on exactly how to get there. But if you think that this is just some "cabal" - like Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc., perhaps? - you're sorely mistaken.
In short, Mr. Steele, you are a liar and a demagogue on health care. And pretty much everything else, too, but we'll just stick with that issue for right now.
UPDATE: Chris Cillizza says this is all "anxiety politics," designed to play into "worries and fears." Let's make sure it doesn't work.
