Never turn your back to a dog and run away. The dog’s natural instinct is to chase and catch its prey. The same admonition is appropriate now that the President is saying that the “public option” is off the table. It may simply be a clever move to quiet down the vocal opposition to his single payer strategy.

        Voices of opposition must continue. The Democrats are on the run. Pursue them with added vigor until the balance in Congress is once again restored, and we have a conservative president sitting in the Oval Office.

        I have no doubt that the Democrats will hire, with taxpayer dollars, public relations agencies to flood the airwaves with propaganda in support of their cause. The FDR administration used stimulus money to hire photographers, film producers, artists, and journalists to publically support New Deal programs.

        Anyone who has studied political history knows that BHO is using the playbook written by Roosevelt. Even if a return to the public option is not possible, the Democrats will attempt to put into place a massive non-profit cooperative. They are already talking about funding it initially. That should set off a few red flags.

        Funding is how the Feds dig their claws into private enterprise and rip out its heart. Already the Democrats are assuring us that the initial funding for the cooperative will not have any strings attached. There are no stings attached to conservative arms and legs, and only a puppet would dance to that song. Of course there will be strings!

        Insist on no federal funding and see how fast the Democrats form a defensive line to protect their true intentions. Since when do the Democrats want to do anything out of the goodness of their hearts? There is always a quid-pro-quo.  They can’t control cooperatives, because they can’t control a private corporation yet, unless - they use the tax code, as FDR did, or use federal funding as FDR also did in the 1930’s. If you recall he took over providing electric power via the TVA and put private power companies out of business.

        The conservative approach has to be to stay on purpose. Instead of more government plans, we want less government. Less government means we open the insurance market so that any insurance company in the country can accept an application and insure any legal permanent resident of the United States. Force the argument into providing tax free private medical savings plans. Force the Democrats to deny tax credits to Americans for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Put them on the defensive!

        Defend the insurance companies and doctors. High insurance rates satisfy state regulators who impose mandates on insurance companies. There is no free market in insurance. There are only government policies even though they are being sold by private insurance companies.

        With all due respect to the President, doctors do not perform unnecessary surgeries for the money.  If a doctor takes out a perfectly good gallbladder, the doctor is likely to meet the patient’s malpractice attorney, and it will be a much better case than if the doctor had not ordered an MRI and missed the correct diagnosis. Once the gallbladder is out, the damage is done. Often missing an MRI has no consequences at all.

        While we are on the subject of malpractice, it is easier to vilify lawyers than it is insurance companies who pay to save lives. Lawyers probably loose more malpractice claims than they win. Yet in the course of a frivolous lawsuit, doctors are removed from doing what they are trained to do. Patients take second place to a court ordered deposition or trial. If the patient looses, then he or she had very bad legal advice. Make the lawyer pay the doctor’s legal fees, court costs and pay for the doctor’s time he lost from his practice. Then see how many lawsuits are filed! I think the answer is obvious.

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