See Nancy .... Pole Vault?

Apparently, Nancy Pelosi thinks that health care reform is an Olympic sport, rather than a very serious reorganization of 1/6th of the economy.

'“It means, we will move on many fronts, any front we can,” Ms. Pelosi said. “We’ll go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, we’ll go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole-vault in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people, for their own personal health and economic security, and for the important role that it will play in reducing the deficit.”'

The two fences she has to surmount are general public opposition, and more specific concerns by various Democratic factions. Even rah-rah cheerleader, Mary Landrieu, took at shot at the president today. Perhaps if the president were to get serious about bipartisanship, they'd have a way forward, but short of that, it seems unlikely that either the Senate or the House bill can pass as written. The latest proposals center around breaking the bills up into manageable pieces, but as Pelosi's first-up piece has nothing to do with decreasing costs or increasing competitiveness, it's difficult to take her seriously.

'Aides said that a first candidate for a stand-alone measure could be the proposal to eliminate the exemption from federal antitrust law that health insurance companies have long enjoyed. Such a proposal was incorporated in the larger House health care bill.'

I wonder which event Pelosi is competing in?

Fearing fear

The oaths are over, and today's inauguration was indeed majestic. As Michael Reagan just said on ABC, it's President Obama's day, and he's earned it. Well, he's certainly earned the day. I don't know that I like the concept that he's 'earned' a $170M day secured by 40,000 personnel. That seems incredibly excessive, but at least the Inaugural Commission has promised to release donor names for those who gave more than $200.00.
I find myself thinking of Fred Barnes article in the Weekly Standard, titled "The Only Thing We Have to Fear." The article focuses on the big concerns that many of us have with the policy proposals that came out during the Obama campaign and subsequently. The first 'thing to fear' caught and held my attention throughout the rest of the article; we're afraid he doesn't know what he's talking about. Not in a general sense - he's a smart person and an excellent speaker. No, we are worried that he doesn't understand the fiscal and policy fallout that will occur if he enacts all he has said, and that he doesn't even have a solid plan in place (witnessed by the many changes to numbers of jobs, financing of the stimulus plan, tax rates, etc.). The rest of the article continued to ring true for me.
However, the main concept in the article; that we should be afraid; is not helpful and is unhealthy. It's our job as conservatives of all stripes to respect the office (and the man if possible), and provide opposition and challenge. Letting ourselves become paralyzed with fear will not help the party to rebuild, will not help advance our cause, and will make us seem like whiners, rather than an intelligent opposition. So don't be afraid, but be wary, cautious and willing to see if just maybe some of our worst fears are ungrounded.