It is literally a fight to the death.

[Are_grits_groceries]

When I hear Republican congressmen and cable gasbags cast doubt on Obama's natural-born citizenship, I know that they don't really believe the "birther" argument, just as they don't really believe the euthanasia argument. They're just playing to the base.

The problem is that the base doesn't know it's just being played.

To the demagogues in Congress, it's all a game, an act. They've already got health insurance. It doesn't matter whether 46 million uninsured Americans get it; what matters is whether they get re-elected.

To the media bloviators, it's a play, a piece of political theater. Their job isn't to cry foul, or to explain really complicated things; their job is to review the politicos' performances, and to hold the audience's attention so they stick around through the commercials.

Of course it's not at all a sport or a spectacle to the drug industry, the insurance industry, the hospital industry or any of the other stakeholders with hundreds of billions of dollars at risk. For them, it's a fight to the death.

Unfortunately, it's also a fight to the death for many of the Americans who can't afford premiums, can't afford drugs, and can't get insured. For them, it's not The Truman Show; it's a horror show.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/smile-youre-on-emdeather_b_255803.html

That's why it matters so much. In addition, the number who have no insurance grows, and those who do may not be able to pay what the insurance won't cover at all or completely.

[Glorfindel]

1. You're right. Sadly, Democrats believe in bipartisanship and cooperation

They are wrong. The 'pukes will never, ever give an inch. They are playing for keeps and they intend to win, no matter what. Dear Lord, where's LBJ when he's needed?