POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

The Devil wears…Bauer?

 

A Trifecfta of Trifling Trickstering Twits (Click to enlarge)

Ol' Nick must be lacing 'em up right now, 'cuz there will surely be a lot of ice skating going on in hell tonight.  Why? Because on this day I find myself to be in agreement with not only one, but two of the demi-gods of the nutroot left; Howard Dean and Keith Olbermann, and surely that must mean that Hell is freezing over!  The Devil you say!?! No, that would be the guy who'll be leading the all skate...

What in Heavens the world would I be  in agreement with Messers Dean and Olbermann over?   Why, Obamacare of course.  Sit a spell, while I explain this extraordinary confluence of opinions on what the Senate's course of action should be; after all, the Devil is in the details.

Last night during his Speshul KKKomment segment Keith Olbermann declared that he'd  go to jail before complying with any federal mandate to buy health insurance:

“We must not buy federally-mandated insurance, if this cheesy counterfeit of reform is all we can buy. No single payer, no sale. No public option, no sale. No Medicare buy-in, no sale. I am one of the self-insured, albeit by choice, and I hereby pledge that I will not buy this perversion of health-care reform.”

I am one of the self-insured, albeit by choice. And I hereby pledge that I will not buy this perversion of health-care reform.  Pass this at your peril, senators. And sign it at yours, Mr. President. I will not buy this insurance. Brand me a law-breaker if you choose.  Fine me if you will.  Jail me if you must.

Ooooooooh, how edgy and bad-boy of modern day Murrow; I'm sure that'll get him a load of chicks at the Daily KKKos KKKafe.  After reading this quote, Cap'n Ed shrewdly observed:

What Olbermann says here is that while he’s self-insured by choice now, he doesn’t think that’s a choice other Americans should be able to make if the federal government offers a public plan along with the mandate. Does that make any sense at all? Would Olbermann dump his self-insurance, presumably taking advantage of HSAs and market-based competition for his health-care dollars, in favor of a Medicare buy-in or a public option? After all, Olbermann seems blessed with good health, and withholding himself from the risk pools could be arguably skewing costs upwards (infinitesimally) for other Americans. And if that seems like a silly argument, well, that’s the argument for insisting on a mandate in the first place.

[emphasis-ed.]

By itself, this far-left flagellant's declaration of opposition to Obamacare alone would be enough to schedule a 4 hour program of "So You Think You Can Ice Dance With Beelzebub", but the addition of MarKKKos and former Presidential candidate, darling of the fightin' nutroots, Howard Dean to the kvetching chorus is enough to buy at least another few episodes.  From Dean's Washington Post op-ed:

If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill.  (...) In Washington, when major bills near final passage, an inside-the-Beltway mentality takes hold. Any bill becomes a victory. Clear thinking is thrown out the window for political calculus. In the heat of battle, decisions are being made that set an irreversible course for how future health reform is done. The result is legislation that has been crafted to get votes, not to reform health care.

Can you hear her singing? (Click to enlarge)

This is all just too good to check.  But wait! There's more!  Not only has this touched off a low level, but high intensity, war between the White House, "face" work provided by spokes-tool Robert Gibbs, and the "Dean" of the nutroots, but as ACE reports, it now comes complete with it's own "Dean is just bitter over Obama snubbing" meta-narrative.  That's not all though, today on "Morning Joe" Josef Goebbles David Axelrod said that those on the left who wanted to kill this bill were "insane"; well at least he's got Dean pegged right.  What a bargain!  Better than Sham-Wow!

In spite of how sweet all of this schadenfreude tastes, don't forget about all of the tasty side dishes, one being the major labor union's absence at a major Obamacare rally and instead holding an "emergency meeting" to decide their position on the bill; a development AllahP likened to, "the Kiss army turning on Gene Simmons".  Another would have to be both Howard Dean and the leader of the Congressional progressives, Lynn Woolsey,  vowing to not only oppose the bill but to also sit on their hands in 2010 and 2012!   I wonder if the legacy media will be as interested in the Democrats civil war as they were with the Republican "purity" tests?  Don't. Make. Me. Laugh...

But I can't help it really.  Don't these idiots remember recent history?  This is the analogue of the formula that killed the immigration amnesty bill in 2007; just enough of the far-left opposing the bill because "it didn't go far enough!1!1!!eleventy" joined with the Republicans to defeat the President's bill.  And all of the Sanders/Olbermann/Dean/MarKKKos drama doesn't even take into account Ben Nelsons declaration this afternoon that the compromise language on Abortion didn't go far enough; a sure signal for other blue dogs, who are looking for guidance, that it will be safe for them to vote against Obamacare too.  If Reid compromises further with conservatives in order to get the blue dog votes, he will certainly lose any of the far left that are willing to grit their teeth and vote for a bill with no public option in both the Senate and the house.  Add to all of this the President's, and the health care bull's, deflating poll numbers, and with that it seems that the stalemate is set.

I never expected to be relying on guys like these as purely political allies.  And I wonder if it's safe to think of them like members of Wellington's army, lying on the unseen far side of rolling terrain, waiting to spring a surprise attack on Obama L'empereur just when he thought he was winning the day.  Whatever role they're playing is unimportant really, as long as they're playing on our side; and adding their sway in the effort to see OPERATION WATERLOO through to it's successful conclusion.

So stay strong, remember to do your part to make your voice heard and fan this firestorm.  Call your representatives and tell them to vote NO! on this bill; if they're liberal tell them it's due to the lack of public option, if they're conservative tell them you oppose it's lack of free market mechanisms.  In either case, tell them that should they vote for this abomination, not only will you not vote for them in the next election, but will actively and tirelessly work to oppose their re-election.

Although we now have a few of the big guns of the far-left joining the call to kill this bill, only you can ensure that OPERATION WATERLOO is a success through your continued pressure on the politicians.  Stay strong, and stay vigilant, stay vocal, stay committed, and stay active because they may be trying to sneak a vote through on Christmas Eve!

Rocketman