Analysis for Critical Thinkers

With the impending vote looming over so-called health care reform, there is a scramble to bribe any Democrat who still needs bribing. Republicans were written off long ago by the controlling party for being too partisan. But the party that has held the majority in the House and the Senate for the last 15 months is really not so partisan at all or else this would have passed by now. In all that time that they had control of Congress along with a President who seems willing to sign anything that has “Health Care” in the title, we are finally approaching a vote, presumably. Some of this controlling majority party are still undecided as to the bill — or at least holding out for some sort of payola. By various accounts, they either have enough votes to pass the bill or they do not. One interesting idea would be to actually vote and see for sure.

Now we hear that there may not even be a vote at all. Through some interpretation by some nameless entity, it is said that through a certain procedure, Congress can simply “deem” that the bill has passed without the need for a cumbersome vote. Voting can be so unfair sometimes! Plus, if you do vote as a member of Congress, there is a record of what your vote was. You will go down in history forever as the one who voted for or against this bill — or you could simply vote “present” as was the strategy for once-Senator Obama. What is good about “deeming” and not having a record of your vote is that — when things go bad– you can then claim “I was always against this (b)ill from the start!”

As Vice President Biden explained today on ABC news, “You know we’re going to control the insurance companies.” Yet people insist that this is not a Big Government takeover. “The health care system is broken” said President Obama, and he is going to “fix” it. Supporters of this fiasco claim that the only reason that most Americans oppose this noble bill is because they do not understand how wonderful it is — yet they fail to explain how wonderful it is. Instead we see the bribing of public officials on matters unrelated in order to buy their votes with the money of those that oppose the bill in the first place. As Speaker Pelosi says, “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy”. Nice strategy. If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he’d be turning over in his grave!

No one really knows what is really being voted on – if it will be voted on at all. Apparently, certain portions can be added and voted on separately or not. The unwashed masses such as I cannot grasp the simple civics that certain last minute revisions can be attached to the bill unless of course they simply adopt the Senate version as-is — along with some amendments – or not, or something. The bill can just be deemed to have passed and we can pretend that it was voted on.Pseudo-intellectuals will argue that this sort of thing goes on all of the time in Washington — with both parties — and they can cite various cases and procedural interpretation with bumper-sticker like sloganism.

But this of course, is the point exactly. There is no place fo such bureacracy in the running of my life. It is true that Big Government Health Care is a bad idea. But good or bad, it is not the role of Big Government to run our lives like they try to do.

Recent headlines have featured various politicians involved in one scandal or another. We see members of Congress being investigated for one ethical issue or another. We read about Governors who allegedly did some questionable deed or some improper act. There is talk about bribery taking place in both the Senate and the House — and even the President himself has been accused of trying to sway key votes with promises of political and monetary favors to those who will sell themselves.

Interestingly, all of these news items and discussions will invariably lead to the announcement of the party affiliation of the politician involved. While this is certainly a fact that should be included in the report, it often becomes the sole focus of the story rather than the misdeed itself.

For people who have a moral sense of right and wrong, it is the misdeed itself that is discussed and investigated. For people who have legal knowledge, it is the alleged violation that must be looked into and perhaps condemned. But for people who treat politics as just another spectator sport, we find that it is often all reduced to mere rooting for your team.

Being neither a Democrat or a Republican, the only team that I have to root for is a moral and legal United States of America. It is of no interest to me what “team” a politician plays for. It is my own personal sense of right and wrong that judges the actions of people who have become elected officials. I may agree or disagree with particular positions and policies of politicians, but a forum exists in our country in which we can discuss and debate our differences. This can and should lead to analysis and critical thinking on an issue where both sides can learn, grow, understand — and possibly even have one’s opinion changed in light of the discussion.

Sadly, such interesting logical exchanges seldom occur. If a Democrat politician is accused of something, it is quite likely that a Democrat friend of yours will point out some Republican politician who has done the same thing or something worse. If you disagree with a policy of a Democrat President, your helpful friend will supply you with “facts” that prove that some Republican President did the same thing in the past.

YOU: “I think that it is wrong for President Obama to spend taxpayer (my) money to bail out failing businesses.”
YOUR FRIEND: “So? Bush did the same exact thing!”

Your friend has unfortunately missed the point that you were trying to make. Or perhaps he sees your point but has nothing to add toward what could have been an interesting discussion about economics and personal responsibility. Let’s talk about the issue of a President wasting my money!Even more puzzling though is the question as to the logical path that your friend has chosen to go down. What possible response does he expect back from you with his line of reasoning?

YOU: “Really? I did not know that. I suppose that it is okay to waste my money then if Republicans do it too.”

Another example of this “Go Team” sort of logic that is so prevalent:

YOU: “I am appalled that secret backroom deals are being made where Congressmen and Senators are being bribed with taxpayer (my) money in order to vote a certain way.”
YOUR FRIEND: “You didn’t say anything about that when Republicans did the same thing in the past.”

It is interesting here to note that your friend naturally assumed that you were talking about Democrat politicians but you may also point out that he has no idea what you may have said if and when any Republicans did the same thing in the past.

Regular visitors to the wesite will know that one of the pet peeves of critical thinkers is avoiding an issue by the use of slogans and bumper stickers. It is vital to continue to have a sense of right and wrong and to defend your position. Remember, we may agree to disagree but at least we explored the issue objectively and logically.