One of these days, God willing, we won’t have health care to kick around any more. But hold the champagne. No matter the out come in Congress, the final vote won’t be the end of the raging national conflict.
In fact, get ready for the sequel. And Part III and probably Part IV as well.
That’s because the battle over health care is merely a front in a larger war. Thanks to President Obama’s statist agenda, America’s new civil war is, at heart, the mother of all culture wars.
It’s the showdown between Americans who want bigger government and those who want smaller government. And it won’t be over anytime soon.
Not only does it encompass and include other wedge issues, such as abortion, taxing and spending, but the war over the size of government goes to the heart of the concept of American exceptionalism.
Either you believe America is different and should play a unique role in expanding individual liberty, or you believe we should trim our freedoms to fit international norms, as embodied by centralized authorities and global organizations like the United Nations.
It’s clear where Obama stands.
As he said in response to a question in Europe nearly a year ago, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I imagine that Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism and the British believe in British exceptionalism.”
Though he said he was proud of his country, the answer was unmistakably no, he’s not a believer. On that day and so many others — remember his apologies and bows to foreign potentates — he demonstrates he doesn’t subscribe in the tradition of his predecessors and most of his countrymen.
His health-care obsession, with industry tentacles reaching 17 percent of the economy, reveals his vision. There is little dispute the industry has big flaws, yet Obama passed up a bipartisan chance to fix most of them.
He opted for a sweeping expansion and takeover that would put Washington in charge of every aspect, from levels of care, to cost, to mandates, to jobs and taxes.
Ultimately, no American will be able to escape its centralizing impact, which is why opponents are so ferocious and frightened. While Obama tries to blame Republicans, most of the country, especially independent voters, is running away from his plan even though some components are popular.
It’s the sheer size — the expensive big government grab — that is stoking anti-takeover passion.
Pass or fail, the issue will move off center stage. But there will be no rest for a weary nation.
A huge immigration bill is waiting in the wings, and Obama & Co. label it “comprehensive.” Translation: It will be intrusive, expensive and infuriating because Washington will pick winners and losers.
Next it’s probably back to cap-and-trade, an energy takeover that would affect every light switch, gas tank, thermostat and factory in America. Translation: higher prices, more boondoggles, more subsidies for favored interests.
Or education could jump the line, with the feds aiming to run everything from curriculum to funding. Their vision is to gradually erode local control and shift power to Washington.
As with health care, parts of each issue make practical sense. Reducing our reliance on foreign oil, for example, is a goal most Americans share.
But what they object to, and will continue to resist, is the animating impulse that gives Washington more control over our daily lives. That is the definition of a statist, and it’s what Obama is.
He is not troubled by the bribery for votes and the manipulated process because, to him, the end justifies the means.
Not surprisingly, he refuses to grasp why a clear majority of America now opposes his health care takeover.
“People have lost faith in government,” he said at a recent rally in St. Louis. “They had lost faith in government before I ran, and it has been getting worse.”
Actually, people haven’t lost faith in government. They just don’t think bigger is better. And the bigger he wants to make it, the less faith they have in him.
BLOOMY DOES A ‘HACK’ JOB
THE cabby meter scam has been going on for years, involves 35,000 drivers, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission blew a chance to stop it in 2008.
That year rings a bell. Oh, yes, right, Mayor Bloomberg spent much of it trying to become president or vice president or anything except mayor.
Yet somehow he’s not responsible for the pathetic performance of his agency on his watch. Stuff just happens, I guess.
Levy adds guts & clout to weak GOP
Some top New York Republicans — that’s an oxymoron, actually — have their knickers in a twist over Democrat Steve Levy’s attempt to become their nominee for governor. They should relax, open their eyes and realize their first pick, former Rep. Rick Lazio, is not electable on a statewide basis.
So GOP leaders can surrender the election now, or open their ballot line to a challenge. At least Levy, the brash Suffolk County executive, brings credibility and management experience to the fight.
He is also hitting the erogenous zones of true fiscal conservatives.
“We need to stop spending, stop taxing, stop delaying and start cutting,” he said in announcing his plan to switch parties.
It’s not a giant leap. He was cross-endorsed by the GOP and Conservative Party in 2007 because he mostly practices what he preaches on spending restraint. That record could be a drawing card for independent voters and moderate Dems fed up with the state’s ballooning taxes and debt.
Most attractive, he’s willing to take on the public unions. He correctly says they are bleeding New York dry and nobody in Albany has the guts to say no to them.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic nominee-in-waiting, has said similar things, though not as directly. Having them match wits and plans could make for a fascinating race and give the winner a powerful mandate for reform.
Hallelujah. Bring it on.
Icy chill of Hill
I understated the attachment when I wrote how Hillary’s jihad on Israel helped make her bones with the Obama family. A gushy New York Times piece on their relationship says she held a 45-minute meeting with the president — after learning hubby Bubba was rushed to the hospital with heart problems. That’s not loyalty. It’s ice water in the veins.
Daffy Dave moves in mysterious ways
GOV. Paterson is weird and getting worse. He told John Gambling on WOR radio that he himself was the source for media reports saying he phoned a woman who filed a domestic-violence charge against a top aide. Reporters who wrote the article say it’s not true. I believe them, and I also believe it’s a waste of time trying to understand why Daffy Dave would make a false confession. Only a shrink can figure him out.
‘Chart’ a new course
SO, the UFT’s own charter school is lagging. That’s easy: Fire the union!