| Why did MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty agree to a compromise to 'save' GAMC? The deal would essentially put much of the cost on hospitals and clinics, which would then presumably have to raise fees on everyone. In the Milton Friedman fantasyland that the likes of TBag inhabit, this is an example of using 'the invisible hand of the market' to produce 'greater efficiency.' Even after the last thirty years...some idiots don't ever learn.
But the question is why he even agreed to this much. GAMC is, after all, what righties call 'socialized medicine,' and it's anathema to the teabagger types Gutshot has been seeking, so assiduously, to woo.
I ponder, at greater length, below the fold. |
| - He may be frightened of a backlash, given all of those, especially religious leaders, who've lambasted him for going after a health care plan for the most disadvantaged. But this poll (question #5) certainly doesn't support that. Eliminating GAMC is at 42/50 approve/disapprove overall, hardly a mega-concern for a pol. who's ostentatiously indifferent to MN's citizenry where his presidential aspirations are concerned.
- He's actually developed compassion and empathy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... OK, let's move on.
- He wants to demonstrate that he is capable of 'creative, bipartisan solutions.' I think this one's most likely, but it still doesn't really add up. The way it looks now, the Repug. presidential nomination will be won at the extreme, not the 'center.' At least not this time around - is he looking to position himself for elections beyond 2012, when demographic realities may have forced the GOP to moderate somewhat?
I'll be honest, I don't really get it. I thought I had him pretty well pegged, but...I suppose this 'deal' is better than nothing, but it's certainly worse than a veto override would have been. As for not unalloting key safety net programs in the first place, that will take a Dem. governor.
From 19th-century English antiquarian Sir Richard Colt Hoare: Conjecture may wonder over its wild and spacious domains but will never bring home with it either truth or conviction. |
