myerstownherald.com

The Obama administration’s attacks on Fox News likely stem from a combination of many factors, but this week, they appear to be a diversionary tactic. Democrats are trying to slip a government-run health insurance company into the so-called health-care reform legislation. By attacking Fox News in a ridiculous manner, some attention is being deflected from this Democratic legislative effort.
Diversion likely will be needed, or at least will be helpful, if the Democrats want to pass a bill that creates a public-run health insurance company. Out of all the bloviating done over health-insurance reform, a public-run health insurance company is perhaps the only portion of the debate that makes sense to people. Conservatives, regardless of their political affiliation, oppose the government running health care and making choices about treatments and doctors.
Moderates and independents likely also would be leery of the government running health care. The tea party protests were fueled most strongly by the opposition to a government health insurance company.
In Congress, Democrats from conservative states and liberal Republicans will be very reluctant to support a public health insurance company because of the possible backlash. For instance, Sen. Olympia Snowe, a liberal Republican from Maine, agreed to let a health-care reform bill out of committee because it did not have the public option. Now that Democrats are talking about putting the public option in the bill, Snowe has said she is against this move.
Obama has tried to get around this problem by saying opponents are using scare tactics, such as saying the government would be choosing doctors and treatments, and that private health insurance would be driven out of business. Obama contends that people will be able to choose their own doctors, and that private insurance will still exist. Moreover, Obama has tried to say a public health insurance company would not drive up costs and cause the deficit to balloon out of control.
The problem for Obama is that few people find these arguments plausible. Once the government has its own health-care company, nobody will be able to stop it from spending billions, telling people what treatments they can receive, and undercutting the private insurance market by charging whatever rates it wishes. The government does not run things cost effectively or efficiently.
Obama’s other tact has been to deemphasize his own support for a public option at times. But these statements also remain unconvincing. Why would Obama expend vast amounts of his political capital to possibly save a few dollars on health insurance reform that no one understands? The answer is that Obama probably does not want scaled down health-care reform. Liberals want the government to run the health-care industry, and Obama likely is fighting as hard as he is because he wants to achieve this goal.
With his health-care arguments flopping, Obama is trying to shift the focus by attacking Fox News. It does not seem to be a coincidence that just when the verbal war with Fox News is at its height that the public option has slipped back into the discussion. People should retain their focus on the health-care reform, which will cost billions, if not trillions of dollars, and most likely will lessen the quality of health care. They must continue to protest Obama’s plans for health-care reform.