Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Refuting the Healthcare Bill Killers

What was it I was saying about ideology?
Oh yeah, it's bad, no matter if it comes from the left or the right. Ideology means an unbending mind, one that can't see facts and evidence when they're presented. Ideology means defending what you believe, not because it's right but because you've staked your reputation on it. Having an ideology means a smaller world view, one that often misses subtleties and often the big picture at the same time.
Which leaves us with FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher, a kill biller or bill killer, sulking because the bill doesn't have a public option or exactly what she thinks it's supposed to have.
Fivethirtyeight answers back with 20 questions for those who say he bill should be killed.
18. Was the public option ever an attainable near-term political goal?

19. How many of the arguments that you might be making against the bill would you still be making if a public option were included (but in fact have little to do with the public option)?

20. How many of the arguments that you might be making against the bill are being made out of anger, frustration, or a desire to ring Joe Lieberman by his scruffy, no-good, backstabbing neck?
Ezra Klein also sends kill billers on their way, refuting Hamsher's claims.