Enemy, Mine

At what point do Democrats admit the health insurers are the bad guys in this fight?

A top lobbyist for the major private insurance industry trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), urged Congressional Republicans to not even consider helping Democrats pass health care reform lest they aid an "enemy who is down."

Steve Champlin, a lobbyist for the Duberstein Group who represents AHIP, declared that the road to a bipartisan health care reform bill was, essentially, dead. And he urged GOP members to keep it that way.

"There is absolutely no interest, no reason Republicans should ever vote for this thing. They have gone from a party that got killed 11 months ago to a party that is rising today. And they are rising up on the turmoil of health care," said Champlin. "So when they vote for a health care reform bill, whatever it is, they are giving comfort to the enemy who is down."

"Long before the Republicans discovered that the House bill was a strategy to kill seniors and all that kind of stuff the plan was already unpopular," he added, underscoring why Republicans shouldn't attach themselves to the legislation.

Because gosh, the Republicans and the health insurers seem to sure as hell consider Obama and the Democrats as the enemy. They are trying to destroy the Dems by destroying Obamacare. I've been saying this for going on a year now, guys.

What will it take to give up this bi-partisan idiocy and pass laws that need to be passed? The Republicans don't want any part of governing. They only want to obstruct. That's it, that's all, period.

Kick them to the curb. If the other party has abdicated all responsibility, then yes, we have a de facto one-party system. Proceed accordingly.

[UPDATE 12:58 PM] And yes, this means Olympia Snowe. After all, she's not going to vote for any plan with a public option, nor will she allow one to proceed to the Senate Floor. She's only there to ruin the bill.

Time to give them the boot, boys.

[UPDATE 1:04 PM] Steve Benen has a damn good point:

Reading this, though, I'm reminded of the Republican Meme of the Week. If the White House criticizes AHIP, and tries to leverage the industry's antics to rally support for reform, the administration, we're told, must be creating an "enemies list." If Obama criticizes insurers, he resembles, we're told, be a modern-day Nixon.

In other words, AHIP can try to derail reform, pressure Republicans to vote in lock-step against improving the broken system, and characterize the majority as "the enemy," but if the White House pushes back, it's the president and his team who are being outrageous.

Our discourse can be awfully frustrating sometimes.

It's Okay If You're A Republican. If Obama does it, it's Nixonian fascism.