Health Care Tyranny by 13 Obstructionists

For those still clinging to quaint
notions of the American ideal, these have been a faith-shaking 10
years. Just as evolutionary science once got in the way of
creationists' catechism, so has politics now undermined patriots' naive
belief that the United States is a functioning democracy.

The 21st century opened with a handful of
Supreme Court puppets appointing George W. Bush president after he lost
the popular vote--and we all know the costs in blood and treasure that
insult wrought. Now, the decade closes with another cabal of stooges
assaulting the "one person, one vote" principle--and potentially
bringing about another disaster.

Here we have a major congressional push
to fix a health care system that leaves one-sixth of the country
without coverage. Here we have 535 House and Senate delegates elected
to give all 300 million of us a voice in the solution. And here we have
just 13 of those delegates holding the initiative hostage.

In the Senate, both parties have
outsourced health care legislation to six Finance Committee lawmakers:
Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Mike
Enzi, R-Wyo.; Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. The
group recently announced it is rejecting essential provisions like a
public insurance option that surveys show the public supports.
Meanwhile, seven mostly Southern House Democrats have been threatening
to use their Commerce Committee votes to gut any health care bill,
regardless of what the American majority wants.

This, however, isn't about the majority.
These lawmakers, hailing mostly from small states and rural areas,
together represent only 13 million people, meaning those speaking for
just 4 percent of America are maneuvering to impose their health care
will on the other 96 percent of us.

Census figures show that the poverty
rates are far higher and per capita incomes far lower in the 13
legislators' specific districts than in the nation as a whole. Put
another way, these politicians represent exactly the kinds of districts
whose constituents would most benefit from universal health care. So
why are they leading the fight to stop--rather than pass--reform?

Because when tyranny mixes with legalized bribery, constituents' economic concerns stop mattering.

Thanks to our undemocratic system and our
corrupt campaign finance laws, the health care industry doesn't have to
fight a 50-state battle. It can simply buy a tiny group of
congresspeople, which is what it's done. According to the Center for
Responsive Politics, health interests have given these 13 members of
Congress $12 million in campaign contributions--a massive sum further
enhanced by geography.

Remember, politicians trade favors for
re-election support--and the best way to ensure re-election is to raise
money for TV airtime (read: commercials). In rural America, that
airtime is comparatively cheap because the audience is relatively
small. Thus, campaign contributions to rural politicians like these 13
buy more commercials--and, consequently, more political loyalty.

The end result is an amplifier of
tyranny: Precisely because the undemocratic system unduly empowers
legislators from sparsely populated (and hence cheap) media markets,
industry cash can more easily purchase tyrannical obstruction from
those same legislators. In this case, that means congresspeople
blocking health care reform that would most help their own voters.

Of course, there is talk of circumventing
the 13 obstructionists and forcing a vote of the full Congress that
cannot be filibustered. Inside the Washington palace, the media court
jesters and political aides-de-camp have reacted to such plans by
raising predictable charges of improper procedure, poor manners, bad
etiquette and other Versailles transgressions.

But the real crime would be letting the tyrants block that vote, trample democracy and kill health care reform in the process.