Who Do They Think They Are Fooling?

I am talking about the 39 Democrats who voted NOE last night, one of whom was our own Frank Kratovil. Do they really expect their constituents to believe that they voted against Speaker Peolsi because they considered the bill to be an affront to our Constitutional form of government and a threat to what is without a doubt the best healthcare system in the known universe?

By the way for excellent coverage of the vote and other recent political matters you could do worse than checking with the TCOT Report.

Do they really think their constituents are that stupid? I can't wait to hear how these same liberal Democrats who regularly nod their heads when Michael Moore and Al Gore tell us how good the Cuban people have it healthcare-wise and how badly the United States is polluting the Earth, explain how they suddenly had reservations about all the bad affects on their constituents' this bill, a bill they could never have read, would have.

I can't wait to read how the hard-hitting newshounds at the Annapolis Kapital ask Kratovil to explain why, really, he decided to vote against Pelosi-care. Here's how I think that interview would go:

Kapital News Hound: Congressman, what exactly in the bill led you to vote against it last night when the vast majority of the Democratic caucus voted to approve it?
Kratovil: Well, the concept of the federal government micromanaging the health care decisions of the voters in my district just turns my stomach. I believe it was my duty to vote against this bill and protect my constituents from such an expansion of the federal government's intrusion into their lives.
KNH: But Congressman, with all due respect, we never really heard much in the way of your opposition to the bill until just a few days before the vote.
Kratovil: Well maybe that's because you never asked...
KNH: How do you answer your critics who could be forgiven for thinking that you voted against the Bill for purely political reasons?
Kratovil: I would say this, that it was my duty to represent the interests of the voters of my district who have made it clear that they did not favor this bill.
KNH: So we can assume, then Congressman, that District 1 voters did approve of the $800 billion stimulus law and the Cap and Trade legislation, both of which will adversely impact the federal deficit and the economy?
Kratovil: Yes.
KNH: What did you do, other than cast a vote you knew would not cause the defeat of the bill, to oppose the effort by the rest of the Democrats to expand the scope of government to an unprecendented degree in a free society?
Kratovil: Ummmmm....
KNH: Did you read the bill?
Kratovil: .....ummmm....

Well, you get the idea. Perhaps one of those enlightened "Rockfish Republicans" out there would care to explain how they feel about their man in Washington's playing them for the saps that they are.

And we can all thank the District 1 Libertarians who could have sent Andy Harris to Congress last year instead of Kratovil. Harris would have voted NOE for principled reasons in a vote that actually would have made a difference. But no, 8,000 Libertarians thought their candidate had a snowball's chance in Hell, when, time after time, election after election has proven otherwise. Gee, maybe the 2010 election will be different! What is the definition of insanity?