An American Lion

Fat Cats, here’s your reward

Ah, that’s what this has been about since day one:

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs strongly hit back at former DNC Chairman Howard Dean for criticizing the Senate health care bill, suggesting, at one point, that Dean was being irrational and didn’t understand the contents of the legislation.

“I don’t know what piece of legislation he is reading,” said Gibbs.

“I would ask Dr. Dean, how better do you address those who don’t have insurance: passing a bill that will cover 30 million who don’t currently have it or killing the bill?” he added. “I don’t think any rational person would say killing the bill makes a whole lot of sense at this point.”

Asked if Dean was acting irrationally, Gibbs replied: “I can’t tell what his motives are, to be honest with you.”

A prominent champion of the public plan, Dean has strongly criticized the recent round of compromises made by Senate Democratic leadership, in which the public option was axed and a provision to expand Medicare was also sacrificed. The former Vermont governor has called the current incarnation a give-away to the insurance industry because it won’t effectively control the cost of premiums and would not create additional competition for the private market. Gibbs went through a list of Dean’s complaints, rebutting them one by one. He also insisted that, during his run for the White House in 2004, Dean ran on a platform that resembled the current Senate bill.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t this more effort, more anger, more rhetoric being directed at a man who does not hold public office, who has no political power other than the ability to rally a small number of followers, and who simply has a legitimate claim to being a qualified critic? Isn’t this the persuasive trashing that might have gotten health care reform enacted in the first place? Strange way to use the bully pulpit. Democrats, I have to hand it to you. You really know how to trash the people who speak truth to power in your midst.

So if this White House can trash Governor Dean, and not say boo about Joe Lieberman and his ilk, that should tell you that scuttling real health care reform was a foregone conclusion and that the liberal wing of the Democrat Party has been sold down the river, once again, by a President who knows how to triangulate the issues, get what he wants, and deliver a huge payoff to the special interests.

Time for a pretty speech, time for some money to slosh around, time to stop dreaming of good government.