Nancy Pelosi Puts Lipstick on the Pig

The most hated part of the health insurance reform proposals for many is the so-called "public option," the democrat's now passé term for government-run healthcare. The world watched as congress went home to discuss health care with their constituents in August and received an earful. Town Hall meetings across the nation drew hundreds of thousands coming to voice their opinion that they simply did not want government-run health care.

With every word of the lengthy house version HR3200 being read by the public when their own representatives were not reading the bill, citizens were able to ask honest and important questions about what their congress had in mind for health care reform. After returning from their August recess, however, the democratic caucus decided to be stealthier and keep newer proposals out the reach of the public, who might read and decipher their plans and make another public stink about the plans being hammered out behind closed doors.

But, the fact remains that by and large, Americans do not want government-run health care. They do not want the government involved in the most intimate details of their lives. They do not want to be forced into end of life counseling to encourage less expensive treatment options. Many still clearly remember Obama telling the daughter of an elderly woman on ABC News, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the pain killer." They remember and they know for certain they do not want the president, the president's appointees or congress making healthcare decisions via legislation for their families.

Earlier this week, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that a government-run health insurance plan would be included in the Senate version of the health care reform package. Apparently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't confer with Harry before he made his announcement. Mrs. Pelosi has decided that changing the moniker for the public option might make government-run health care more palatable to Americans.

"It's not really a public option, it's a consumer option," Pelosi said. "As we're mandating that people buy insurance we are saying to them, you have leverage, you have another choice. This is your consumer option."

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) agreed wholeheartedly with Pelosi saying, "She's absolutely right, a consumer option."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), appearing with Pelosi, also concurred with Pelosi's assessment that a name change was needed. Wasserman Schultz used the term "competitive option." Wasserman Schultz, referring to Pelosi, said "I think she's going to go up and test-drive it when she goes back to Washington. It might stick."

Pelosi and the democrats can put lipstick on the pig called government-run healthcare. They would be wise to remember, however, that you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Sources:

cbsnews.com

breitbart.com