To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
Claire Berlinski ·
Jul 8, 2010 at 4:51am
This ranks right up there with deeming a non-budget into existence and deeming it passed. Anyone notice this? Here's Dr. Donald M. Bermick, your new head of Medicare and Medicaid. He was appointed during a recess, according to President Obama, because otherwise Congress might have had some objections. Why might they have had some objections? Couldn't be because he holds views like this, could it?
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
Yes, it costs a lot of money to keep petty politics out of health care decisions, but it's worth it.
Jun '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
I've been teaching government and economics for nine years in a public charter school. Trying to explain complex ideologies to adolescents usually requires a distillation of the concepts followed by a demonstration. I offer my kids the following definition of socialism: a system whereby government attempts to create social and economic equality using taxation as the means. It all sounds real nice until I socialize the classroom grades. D and F students are all for it because they get a free ride. C students are content as long as they don't have to work too hard. It's the A and B students who immediately see the flaws and refuse to cooperate. That's right, kiddies, socialism is for slackers.
Jul '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
Who can blame Obama for not wanting to put this man in the spotlight? You have to go back to Lenin and that crowd to see such a display of smug certitude. For every one of these ideologues who come to public notice there are scores and even hundreds burrowing into the federal infrastructure where they are bending policy and personnel in ways that will be almost impossible to undo.
May '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
I've seen this happening in the Department of Education in spades. Unelected, unconfirmed, left-wing ideologues re-writing law through the regulatory process, daring anyone to try stop them in court. The public posture is toward post-partisan moderation, but down in the weeds where it matters, there is sweeping change taking place.
Jun '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
Trace Urdan
I've seen this happening in the Department of Education in spades. Unelected, unconfirmed, left-wing ideologues re-writing law through the regulatory process, daring anyone to try stop them in court. The public posture is toward post-partisan moderation, but down in the weeds where it matters, there is sweeping change taking place. · Jul 8 at 6:33am
There are three types of liberal "educators." Utopians: the kind of people who put Obama's photo in the classroom and decorate it like a shrine. Apparatchiks: failed classroom teachers who move into the bureaucracy. Bolsheviks: people into education for power even if it means destroying good schools as long as they are allowed to rule the wreckage.
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
What creeps me out perhaps most of all is that Obama appears to have absolutely no fear of radicalizing moderate, independent, and conservative voters, regardless of whom they supported for President, who weren't certain Obama was a threat to the Republic in 2008. The anecdotal evidence I have so far suggests strongly to me that this is exactly what is happening. He really does not care; he really feels no need to even attempt to justify that for which he refuses to be held accountable. Whatever else happens, younger voters -- and, given the times, I mean the under-40 set -- will not, as a group, amount to Obama Zombies next time around. Over to Phil Klein:
The Constitution?! To quote Nancy Pelosi: "Are you kidding? Are you kidding?"
Klein has more on Berwick here and here.
Edited on Jul 8, 2010 at 8:15amMay '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
What boggles my mind is his assumption--too obviously true to be worth elaborating, apparently!--that government is inherently transparent and accountable, while the market is shrouded in "darkness."
May '10
Re: To hell with Congress, here's your new Medicare director
"Excellent healthcare is, by definition, redistributional." ??? What's his argument? What are his premises? Its easy to simply assert conclusions; proving them is a different story.