Posted by
Laura L. Hollis, JD on Thursday, August 13, 2009 3:35:37 PM
One of the President's chief advisors on Obamacare
wants his position clarified. Fair enough. But here's what they
aren't saying: The provisions of the Obamacare proposal that are legitimately frightening people give a handful of bureaucrats the
power to make life-and-death decisions for the American public. So let's take Ezekiel Emanuel at his word and believe that
he personally would not order people to accept painkillers instead of life-saving treatment. That only means that
someone else could.
The American system of government was originally set up so that it was the
system itself that protected us; we were not at the mercy of whoever happened to occupy a particular position.
What Obama and far too many other political leaders are constantly arguing for is the elimination of those procedural protections, in exchange for which they
promise they will take care of us, and not abuse their power.
First, I don't believe them. But even if they
are telling the truth, making the changes they ask for leaves us at the mercy of the next megalomaniacal slob whose motivations may not be so charitable.
When people like me sound the alarm about Obamacare and myriad other government programs, we are accused about lying about Obama's motivations. To be perfectly clear, I don't give a d@mn about Obama's motivations. I care about the things his plans would allow to happen, whether he personally wants them or not.
Think of it this way: what if a politician suggested that we eliminate all of the traffic lights, arguing that he (or she) had no intentions of speeding? You might well believe him or her, but would you support getting rid of all traffic lights? Most people would say 'no,' understanding that not everyone would be so circumspect in their driving.