Lick of Sense

How is this wrong?

Is it possible to be a partial slave? 10% enslaved?

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[OK, I got the first public response. Anyone want to respond to this response?]

Shawn,

Like many, I read your articles and watch your videos quite often. I highly respect your poltical opinion, especially as I disagree on many things. Also, like you, I do put my money where my mouth is. I canvass, phonebank, and I was even a Field Organizer in 2008. Normally I read your political articles, and leave it at that, but this time I felt I could contribute something. In this partisan atmosphere, it's becoming increasingly difficult to understand 'the other side', so I though I'd offer some insight of a different point of view.

Judge Napolitano makes a very strong point, and though I consider myself progressive (even a liberal) I agree that healthcare is not a right. However, two questions still remain in my mind.

The first is that though the Constitution does not implicitly demand that the government provide healthcare, it does not implicitly say that the government cannot provide it either. To me, healthcare is not a question of constitutionality, but of a value. Some people value providing healthcare to those who cannot afford it, others value people taking care of themselves more. With this in mind, I still do not agree on the constitutionality argument. How is it unconstitutional to want to offer welfare in the form of healthcare? Why was medicare and medicaid never challenged as passionately and aggressively if the government being involved in healthcare is inherantly bad?

My second question is more of a concern. I understand completely if people do not like healthcare, but by the end the speaker began using words like thievery and slavery. I feel those terms are a bit too emotional for my taste, and suggest something more sinister is at play than it really is. The intent of healthcare is that it is the 'right' thing to do to not let someone die who cannot afford it, or who cannot be covered under the current system. Though govenrment control may be a biproduct of healthcare reform, at the very least the intent is genuine. Once the debate no longer becomes about what we should do, and becomes more focused on claiming the other side is criminal, it no longer becomes a debate. I feel as if his strong arguments at the beginning of the video were wasted by what he said at the end. Calling people thieves and slave owners to me seems inappropriate in a political setting. It is far more likely to create resentment than encourage discussion. How can we hope for any progress, whether for ,or against Healthcare, when such language is being used?

When it comes to healthcare, the thing that I generally point out is that Barack Obama continually said he was going to reform healthcare throughout his campaign for the Presidency, and once he was elected, did the very thing he claimed he would do regarding Healthcare. Though healthcare was not necessarily the reason he was elected, it was part of the package deal. It was not some scam or lie, but something that was seen coming a long way away.

Thank you for providing the link though. It did make me reconsider the Healthcare debate.

Sincerely,

Matt