"War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength" -- Slogan of the ruling party in George Orwell's "1984"
With the health care proposal she is about to introduce, Hillary Clinton adds another spooky non sequitur to the list: Compulsory Coverage is Choice. Will the MSM take notice?
Clinton cagily calls her proposal "American Health Choices Plan." But according to this AP article, it requires everyone to carry health insurance [emphasis added]:
The centerpiece of Clinton's plan is the so-called "individual mandate," requiring everyone to have health insurance — just as most states require drivers to purchase auto insurance. Rival John Edwards has also offered a plan that includes an individual mandate, while the proposal outlined by Barack Obama does not.
"It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs," Neera Tanden, Clinton's top policy adviser, told The Associated Press. "If you like the plan you have, you keep it. If you're one of tens of millions of Americans without coverage or don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and you'll get tax credits to help pay for it."
Observe how the AP already begins to provide cover for Clinton's plan, noting that most states require auto insurance. True, but that is the result of an affirmative decision people make to drive. What's the equivalent here? Breathing?
Hillary's plan denies Americans the most fundamental choice of all: that of choosing no coverage. For millions of young, healthy people, or affluent ones who prefer not to deal with the insurance bureaucracy, that can be a very rational decision. In any case, it's their choice to make. Her spokesman claims that "if you like the plan you have, you keep it." That is simply untrue if your plan is to pay as you go.
But in Hillary's Orwellian world, forcing people to participate in a government program is choice.
Will the MSM pick up on the contradiction inherent in Hillary's plan? Don't bet on it.
