Someone I know is a high-ranking dude at Americans For Prosperity, which Rolling Stone tells me is responsible for killing any meaningful health care reform. As someone who has to pay for my own health insurance, I'm a little chaffed at him for taking away my public option. He came by over the weekend, and gave me the story of how they're doing it, and why.
This dude is a good guy - doesn't park in handicapped spots, great with pets and children. He's very intelligent and understands that much of what he's doing is ludicrous. For example, he knows that cheering against the US Olympic bid is just blind hating on Obama, and he knows that there really aren't any Americans Against Prosperity. But he sincerely believes that Obama's health care bill must die, along with the public option.
Why:
A public option may lower my insurance premiums, but I'll end up paying much more for it in higher taxes. It's a way for the government to take over health care, and they can't do it right. Costs will soar out of control, and quality of care will diminish.
It will destroy medical innovation, as private companies will have no incentive to research new cures and treatments. This is what's happening in Canada, where they have to go to the United States to get state-of-the-art, lifesaving care.
Speaking of Canada, they are not allowed to go off the grid and get private medical care. This will happen here, but we'll screw up the public care worse.
Obama wants to change everything at once, which will surely lead to disaster. In taking on something of this magnitude, it's better to do it in small steps: first streamline the paperwork, then work on tort reform, etc. If we do it incrementally, we'll be able to see what works and adapt in a rational manner. Tearing it down completely and trying to build from the ground up is just too hard and way too disruptive.
How:
If what Jon Stewart tells me is correct, a majority of Americans want a public option and there's broad support for sweeping health care reform. There's also that democratic supermajority. It should be an easy victory, but it's not, thanks to the ingenuity of Americans For Prosperity.
Even the least populated states have 2 senators who want to get re-elected. While most Americans do want the public option, in states like North Dakota and Wyoming, there's a distrust of government and they don't want it. So, if you can mobilize enough people in these states to convince their Democratic senators to vote against the bill, there goes the supermajority, and you get some nice news footage along the way.
Enter the "Hot Air Tour," where our prosperity-loving friends flew a hot air balloon across the midwest, gathering plenty of media attention and stirring up trouble for health care legislation. The senators heard the chatter and are reacting to the will of their people by taking a stand against Obama's plan.
That, folks, is how you kill health care.