Bill Saracino, writing in the Political Vanguard has an article about the Democrats and their drive to oblivion.
For one thing, the interests of re-electing Obama in 2012 might in fact be served by having a Republican-controlled congress as a foil in 2011 and 2012– more on this in a future column. Be that as it may, the opportunity for leftists to socialize 17% of the American economy does not come around often. To the true-believing socialists in Ms. Pelosi’s caucus and Mr. Obama’s White House – and there are many – such an achievement is worth sacrificing individual political careers, especially since most of the casualties will be among the less liberal members of the Democrat caucuses. Their thinking is that even a small step forward on health care will be the camel’s nose under the tent – irreversible in the future and certain to grow, as is the history of virtually all government entitlement programs of the past.
Sadly that may be true, and as such is bad news in the long run, but likely very good news in the short run for Republicans. President Obama and Ms. Pelosi appear content to treat Democrat members of Congress as the famed British Light Brigade of the Crimean War was treated by their commanders. The Light Brigade (cavalry) was ordered by incompetent officers to attack entrenched Russian and Turkish artillery. The result was a predictable slaughter of the cavalry.
Alfred Lord Tennyson immortalized the charge of the Light Brigade in his eponymous poem. Reading it again, it is difficult not to see recalcitrant Democrats in Congress in the poem’s stanzas, being ordered by their commanders onward, ever onward, to attack the entrenched artillery of vehement voter resistance to Obamacare.
“Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, into the valley of death rode the six hundred. Forward the Light Brigade, was there a man dismayed, not though the soldiers knew, someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do or die, into the valley of death rode the six hundred.”
There are currently 314 — not 600 — Democrat members of Congress. Those who have not drunk the Pelosi/Obama Kool-Aid will shortly have to decide if they want to follow orders, vote for Obamacare and thereby ride into the valley of death that the voters will prepare for them this November. It will be fascinating to watch. Enough Democrats to defeat Obamacare know it is fatally flawed, know that “someone has blundered,” those someones being the President and Madame Speaker.
If those Democrats decide that the time has come to “make reply” and “to reason why,” they will stand firm and Obamacare will lose in the House. If, howeverb they decide that theirs is “but to do or die,” some form of Obamacare will pass, and the Democrat congressional majority will likely ride into the valley of death this November.
BEAR TO THE RIGHT 