True North

It isn't a stretch to say that Democrats are in disarray on the health care issue. I wrote about their disarray in this post. That's why I'm skeptical when the duncely duo of Harry Reid and Speaker Pelosi said that they have the votes to pass sweeping health care reform.

The Democrats' factions are already fighting with each other. There's a mini-feud between President Obama and Speaker Pelosi. There's an outright brawl between Speaker Pelosi and Steny Hoyer. That's before we talk about the fight between Blue Dog Democrats and the Progressive Caucus. Now there's rumors that Howard Dean might mount a primary challenge to President Obama in 2012.

I don't doubt that the circular firing squads are forming as we speak. That's the next thing to watch for during the Democrats' downward spiral.

Even Dear Leader is losing his poise. Taking a shot at Sarah Palin isn't smart for anyone. Taking a shot at Sarah Palin during a nationally televised speech is downright foolish. Here's Sarah Palin's reply:

In his speech the President directly responded to concerns I've raised about unelected bureaucrats being given power to make decisions affecting life or death health care matters. He called these concerns "bogus," "irresponsible," and "a lie", so much for civility. After all the name-calling, though, what he did not do is respond to the arguments we've made, arguments even some of his own supporters have agreed have merit.

In fact, after promising to "make sure that no government bureaucrat...gets between you and the health care you need," the President repeated his call for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council, an unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats charged with containing Medicare costs. He did not disavow his own statement that such a group, working outside of "normal political channels," should guide decisions regarding that "huge driver of cost...the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives..." He did not disavow the statements of his health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and continuing to pay his salary with taxpayer dollars proves a commitment to his beliefs. The President can keep making unsupported assertions, but until he directly responds to the arguments I've made, I'm going to call him out too.

The inescapable truth is that the IMAC, if created, would be unaccountable to people. They'd have the authority to ration care. Rationed care would inevitably lead to people dying of breast cancer or other or heart disease or other life-ending diseases.

The other inescapable truth in all this is that Sarah Palin has gotten under President Obama's skin. She keeps exposing his empty rhetoric and he keeps getting irritated by her rebuttals.

Make no mistake about it, either. She's staying after him like a pitbull on this issue. I suspect that it'll stay that way until President Obama and Speaker Pelosi break. I suspect that there won't be health care reform until they take Sarah Palin's and the House Republicans' proposals seriously.

That might be a while. By that time, the Democrats might really be in disarray.

Comments welcome at LFR.