Centrist Nuggets
by digby
Via Greg Sargent, I see this Matt Miller op-ed beseeching the Supreme Court to validate the individual mandate. Greg cites this "nugget":
If the GOP succeeds in invalidating the one way to use private health plans to achieve universal coverage, frustrated Americans will eventually say, “Just give us single-payer and be done with it.” I can’t say whether that tipping point comes at 60 million uninsured or 70 million. But it will happen.
Oh No!
I think this is the card carrying centrist's way of demagogueing an issue. I find it mildly hilarious myself. If he's trying to pry away liberal support for the mandate there isn't a better way to do it.
And needless to say conservatives don't want the mandate or single payer and they'll be happy to wait until there are 70 million people uninsured to have the fight again. They want people to barter with their doctors with chickens and shop around for cut-rate angioplasties. Basically, they think that people who can't afford expensive health care don't deserve health care.
But it's certainly telling that Mr Centrist is fearmongering liberal policies in order to preserve the individual mandate. It's one of the better illustrations of upfront centrist politics (as opposed to policy) we've seen in a while. It's strangely refreshing.
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