Health Care Reform Is Wingnut Existentialism

The corporate shills and talk radio loudmouths that have convinced the wingers that the health care reform fight is really an existential battle for the very fabric of America must be having a great time watching the chaos unfolding over August.

The millions of folks that believe Obama isn't an American citizen,that believe he isn't even legitimately our President, also seemingly believe he is preparing to euthanize the elderly, weak and infirm in a new genocide. The spread of these beliefs have been wildly successful, fueled by Limbaugh, Beck, Savage and Hannity and FOX News, feeding a segment of the populace simply unable to accept a minority President. But the Village columnists have their part to play too, and that bring me to today's screed by Mark Steyn.

DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTI… No, wait, that bumper sticker expired January 20th. Under the stimulus bill, there's a new $1.3 trillion bills-for-bumpers program whereby, if you peel off old slogans now recognized as environmentally harmful ("QUESTION AUTHORITY"), you can trade them in for a new "CELEBRATE CONFORMITY" sticker, complete with a holographic image of President Obama that never takes his eyes off you.

"The right-wing extremist Republican base is back!" warns the Democratic National Committee. These right-wing extremists have been given their marching orders by their masters: They've been directed to show up at "thousands of events," told to "organize," "knock on doors" …

No, wait. My mistake. That's the e-mail I got from Mitch Stewart, Director of "Organizing for America" at BarackObama.com. But that's the good kind of "organizing." Obama's a community organizer. We're the community. He organizes us. What part of that don't you get?

When the community starts organizing against the organizer, the whole rigmarole goes to hell. Not that these extremists showing up at town hall meetings are real members of the "community." Have you noticed how tailored they are? Dissent is now the haut est form of coutur ism. Senator Barbara Boxer has denounced dissenters from Obama's health care proposals as too "well-dressed" to be genuine. Only the Emperor has new clothes. Everyone knows that.

Steyn goes on like this for another several graphs, describing the Obama administration as a comically bad "kinder, gentler" fascist regime, which is apparently very funny if you're Mark Steyn. You see how silly it is to compare dissent to fascism, libs? Not so funny now, is it?

The funny thing is there are plenty of folks out there who believe that America will soon be at this point, and they're not laughing at all. They're deadly serious.

I wasn’t a proponent of street violence then, nor am I now. I abhor it. And, just let any one of the Democrat thugs try to physically attack me or silence me or anyone nearby and they better stand the f*ck by for a real thumping. At 61, I still fit in my Marine Corps uniform, and know well how to defend myself. I’m just one member of a rapidly expanding, reluctant force of ordinary Americans who will. Those who have spent their lives cloistered in ivy and Congress have never met our resistance before, are shocked, and are in for more rueful surprises if they keep on their vile attacks on our democracy, peace and prosperity.

The problem with this level of manipulation is that the logical endpoint of these beliefs is that Barack Obama must be stopped by any means necessary, legal or otherwise, in order to save the country. "The Tree Of Liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." We've been seeing the justification build for this type of action for quite some time now, but it has especially become prevalent in the last month.

They see themselves as the victims here of a coming fascist regime, where the only possible result of a universal coverage health care plan is Obama's secret police kicking down doors to drag conservatives out into the deep night, never to been heard from again. Where the practical upshot of a public health care option is that Americans over 65 will be put to death en masse. Where the promise of affordable health insurance must lead to the eugenic culling of the sick, weak, and infirm.

Barack Obama is apparently an unthinkable monster for trying to reform health care. And why? What is at the heart of this lunacy? Fear of loss of power, as most of these movements are. Fear that America is no longer a center-right country controlled by white men. Fear that thirty years of Reaganism is coming to an end. Fear of change.

For this, the President is demonized, dehumanized, and designated a target. Worse still, those who have empowered Barack Obama are the real traitors to the cause, those who have put Obama in the White House and the hated, evil Liberals into power need to be dealt with, purged, and removed from society.

Very few of these folks believe Mark Steyn's is being absurdist here. They think he is reporting from the grim near future.