I was watching "The View" this morning as I was tooling around the house, chasing after Harrison and making sure he kept all foreign objects out of his mouth, and naturally the ladies on "The View" were talking about yesterday's Senatorial vote yesterday in Massachusetts. (In case you don't know, our candidate lost.) The discussion that the ladies were having was centered at first on how handsome the winner of the election, Scott Brown, is (I don't see it, but whatever), but then the topic shifted and the ladies discussed other issues dealing with this vote. Yes, this is a big deal and it changes the whole health care debate's landscape. We all agree on that. What angered me to the point of stomping my foot like a petulant child was how Elisabeth Hasselbeck kept proclaiming things like, "The people are outraged and they have spoken!" and "We're tired of Obamacare being shoved down our throats!" and "We won't stand for deals being made behind closed doors!"
Um, what?
First off, this is not the first time the people have spoken. In fact, if you recall, they also spoke out about a year ago and we kicked YOUR people out of office. Don't act like this was a huge new revolution. And as far as things being shoved down our throats, I seem to remember our country being mired in not one but TWO wars, one of which shouldn't have been started at all. Who shoved that down our throats? Oh yeah, it was YOUR guy. Also, I'm pretty sure the Republicans under Bush and Karl Rove wrote the book on making deals behind closed doors. I remember reading an article by Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi a couple of years ago that discussed how Republicans in Congress under Bush would change committee meeting sites at the last minute and not tell their Democratic counterparts so the Democrats wouldn't be able to show up.
I'm not saying that any of this is fair or right. What I am saying is that the selective amnesia of some people just friggin' ASTOUNDS me. Don't sit up on your high horse and prattle on about revolt and being outraged, because I'm still pissed off about the entire eight years Bush was in office.
Also, this whole election makes me sad, because it's going to set health care reform back. We need health care reform, people, and I believe that reform needs to include a public option. What kind of country is this where a lot of our citizens don't care that there are kids who don't have health insurance? For God's sake, you can keep your fabulous insurance if you're fortunate enough to have it, but let's step up and make sure that those can't get insurance are able to. It just confounds me that anyone could think that's a bad idea.
A while back, one of the other members of my church was speaking at a church service and said something like, "People call us Liberals, but I say we are just doing the right thing." Amen, brother. That sentiment stuck with me.
Anyway, after Elisabeth finished with her little tirade, I had to shut the TV off. Wouldn't want to throw the remote, now would I?
