COMPROMISE AND CONSEQUENCES by T. Edwin Perry
The word of the day is COMPROMISE, which is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “1a: a settlement by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions; b: something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things; 2: a concession to something derogatory or prejudicial <a compromise of principles>.” Wow, what a great word.
I love the #2 definition: a concession to something derogatory (ie: detracting from the character or standing of something). Right now, the President of the United States and the Democrats in Congress are demanding a compromise FROM the Republicans in Congress, and yesterday’s “summit” at the Blair House proves beyond argument that they don’t understand the word “Compromise.” They don’t want “a settlement by arbitration,” but a one-sided “concession to something derogatory or prejudicial.” At least, that’s how I see it.
Keep in mind, I don’t trust the Republicans any farther than I could throw them, but at least, in this one regard, they’ve been standing firm to their “principles” regarding “Healthcare Reform.” They went to the summit, as requested, and argued their positions on the aspects of the proposed legislation from the White House, which the President wanted to use as a “jumping off point.” They did exactly what was requested. Start with the bill and discuss the issues. The response?
Well, it wasn’t compromise, and that’s for certain. President Obama couldn’t help himself from pointing out to John McCain that the “campaign is over” and that “I’m the President.” Democrat representatives spent their time at the podium demanding that the Republicans stop being “obstructionists” or calling them names. Really? That’s a compromise? Isn’t that what’s been going on for the past 13 months on this subject?
When challenged about TORT Reform, the punitive damages awarded from civil trials, the Democrat side argued that this type of reform would be pointless, as it only accounts for “2% of the healthcare costs.” When suggested that reducing restrictions on existing private insurance companies would permit more competition, the Democrats leaped to the argument that “CREATING AN INSURANCE EXCHANGE” would do the same thing. (My question is, “sure, but at what cost?”) When argued that the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid would create unsustainable burdens on the State and Federal Budgets, both of which are overstretched already, the response went back to name calling and accusations of being obstructionist.
So, where is the compromise? Look, I’ve discussed that, technically speaking, the President doesn’t have the authority to write law and introduce it to Congress. It has to be sponsored by Members of Congress, discussed, voted upon and passed, and THEN approved by the President before it becomes a law, so the entire point of this Summit was a farce to begin with. Still, it happened, and one thing has been made clear: there will be no Compromise, at least not between the Democrats and the Republicans.
Personally, I’m glad that the Republicans are sticking to their guns on this matter. They are, for once, swaying toward their Conservative Principals rather than their “Moderate Beliefs,” but the fact of the matter is that if the Democrats were to compromise on things like Tort Reform and Private Insurance Restrictions, a large number of Republicans WOULD be willing to compromise on the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid, or the creation of a Public Insurance Exchange. So, I’m also glad that the Democrats aren’t willing to compromise, either.
When the bill is passed though the backdoor “Reconciliation” being threatened by the President and Democrats of Congress, and I believe it will get passed at this point, the blame will fall squarely on one side of the aisle. In my opinion, the Consequences of their actions will be destruction the Democrat Party for decades, possibly long enough to have some of the bad legislation of the past 20 years repealed and establish at least some restoration of what our Founders intended with our Constitution. At least, that might happen so long as the Republicans don’t screw it up with the same mistakes of the Democrats. (Oh, yeah, we’re screwed….)
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