"Massive" (or not) Independence Institute Rally Against Health Care

by: ParkHill

Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 14:05:53 PM MDT

The Independence Institute and American's for Prosperity invite you to attend a rally against government controlled health care. Hands Off My Healthcare

Lobbyists, unions, and politicians in Washington are trying to seize control of our health care. Patients like us have been left out. We can't sit by and let this happen, or else we lose:
* Our choice of doctors
* All control of our health insurance options
* Timely access to quality health care
* Money by paying for a government takeover

Finally, someone (and I do mean one: as of noon Monday, only one person Jim Frye, LPAC Treasurer had committed to attend) is standing up to demand that the Government get out of health care. From the signup list, it appears that the rally has three "maybes": Orson, Jeff and Esther Cook.  

The issue is much bigger than the Democratic Party's efforts to create a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurance. Libertarians are not just opposed to expanding government health insurance, they are opposed to ALL government health spending and health insurance programs. But, we're not just talking about the anarchist fringe: Insurance companies, the Republican Party, and Conservative Democrats are facing their biggest challenge yet, their very survival may be at stake.

Although popular support is running 2-1 in favor of a major health insurance reform, Republicans are calling health care "Obama's Waterloo". Obviously, this is pure projection; look at the converse: if Obama succeeds, the Democrats will be winning elections for the next two generation. Insurance companies know that private enterprise can't compete on a level playing field with government insurance, so if they can't Trojan Horse the reform plan, they will face a slippery slope to single payer. As for "Blue Dog" Democrats, they are opposed to any program that would impact insurance companies, that provide a rich gravy train of campaign funding.

Given this threat, Libertarians, Republicans, Insurance Companies and Blue Dogs have only one day to build excitement and get boots in the street.

It's time for the Denver Post to pull out all the stops. Vincent Carroll is a card carrying Movement Conservative and needs no pushing to write another anti-healthcare reform article, but some of the other Denver Post staff may need Dean Singleton pull another "George Bush Endorsement" editorial board meeting. And, why is Gunny Bob AWOL on the Rally!?

However, a bipartisan rally will be insufficient to stop the popular, Health Insurance Reform freight train. Libertarians and Republicans should do Obama one better and seek tri-partisan support by inviting members of the majority Democratic Party, especially the few who are trying to delay the reform and have signaled that they are on the side of the insurance companies. Despite the high percentage of uninsured, underinsured, farmers and small business owners in his district who would benefit from health insurance reform, John Salazar has caucused with the Blue Dogs to hold up the health insurance reform bill. Think of the press notice for the rally if Representative John Salazar were the keynote speaker.

I am imagining the possibilites at the Capitol tomorrow:

If this rally captures the hearts of the Libertarian masses, we could see a sea of signs protesting against the scourge of Medicare, the yoke of Medicaid, the burden of the Veterans Administration, the insult of Denver Health. With the private insurance industry facing a threat to its profits, maybe we'll see a crowd of insurance agents demanding government mandates to buy private health insurance. With the Denver Post in the pocket, and the private insurance industry putting their advertising dollar muscle into Harry and Louise ads, maybe the rally will get a snowball of popular support. We just might see thousands of elderly marching, demanding that Congress eliminate their free, government provided health insurance.