On ignoring the people.

Having watched politics for so long, I have to admit, I've never seen anything like what the Democrats are doing with health care. To use the most overused word of 2009 - it strikes me as unprecedented. With every controversial issue in my lifetime the views of the population were taken into account. Enough of us were massaged, convinced, or convincingly lied to before leaders made a move. Even when the goal was duplicitous, politicians labored under the conceit that citizens mattered. With health care - convincing the country has been abandoned. It does not matter.

If something like the Senate version finally becomes law it will be a tragic, watershed moment. Government by the people - even the idea of it - will be lethally damaged. This is so obviously and openly a gift to a small elite of voracious companies one can only conclude that the operating assumption with Obama and the Democratic leadership is fuck the people. It's not sneaky earmarks, it's not quietly inserted political payoffs - it's blatant commandeering of the process to benefit the few. There isn't even a pretense that the governed matter.

Why? Of course, money is a main factor. This is obvious as Louisiana and Nebraska get pay days. Health care insurance companies get a forced revenue stream. Still we should not take the power of money as the ultimate lesson here. The Rubicon being crossed is more essential. Two branches of our government have decided that even pretending we matter is irrelevant. We're past Bush and Rove massaging us with hysterical lies. The oligarchy is now openly and shamelessly dictating. And why shouldn't they? Since 2000 they've gotten whatever they demanded. War, wiretaps, TARP to name some biggies....there does come a point when the pretense of democracy is tiresome. Corralling an entire population for a single group of corporations is hard work. Who has time to take the people into account? Effort is better spent bribing senators.

We have moved into uncharted waters. I don't know how people will react when the full scope of this new law becomes commonly known. That those who created the law don't give a damn what we think is obvious already.

Finally, there is one other reason this pile of horseshit is being shoved down our throats...one man's fragile ego. He's got a big speech to make next month after all - that's more important than us.