Herbert: Stalking the Giant Chicken Coop

[Snellius]

On July 30, 1965, Lyndon Johnson flew to Independence, Mo., and in the presence of a smiling Harry Truman, signed the bill that created Medicare.

"No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine," said Johnson.
...
Johnson's biographer, Robert Dallek, recalled that Ronald Reagan "saw Medicare as the advance wave of socialism, which would `invade every area of freedom in this country.' "

"Reagan," wrote Mr. Dallek, "predicted that Medicare would compel Americans to spend their `sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was like in America when men were free.' "
...
Drug company stock prices soared with the passage of the Medicare bill, a sign that another government vault had been blown open and the big Medicare money was in play. The Republicans are not subtle about these matters. The bill, for example, specifically prohibits the government from negotiating discounts or lower drug prices, and bars the importation of cheaper drugs from abroad.

And then there's the "demonstration" project, to begin in 2010, in which Medicare will be forced in several cities to compete against private, profit-making health plans. It will be a rigged competition in that, among other things, the private plans will be heavily subsidized by Medicare money and will be able to cherry-pick the healthiest patients.

As one Capitol Hill staffer told me last week: "This is more than the camel's nose under the tent. This is like the head, the hump and everything else."

Harry Truman would be beside himself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/08/opinion/08HERB.html

[acmavm]

1. Put in plain, simple to understand language, what a bunch of bastards

the republicans in Washington are.

[Wetzelbill]

2. Bob is one damn good columnist