FANATICISM – AT 8:30 A.M. ET:  Although the president has invited Republican lawmakers to a televised meeting on health-care legislation, to be held Febuary 25th, apparently it's little more than a show.  Mr. Obama, despite widespread public opposition, has his own plan:

President Obama is working on health care legislation intended to reconcile differences between House and Senate Democrats that could be attached to a budget bill and avoid a Republican filibuster, according to a published report.

The president's proposal, which is still being written, will be posted on the Internet by Monday morning, senior administration officials and Congressional aides told the New York Times.

By piggybacking the legislation onto a budget bill, Democrats would be able to advance the bill with a simple majority of just 51 votes, averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

The White House signaled Thursday that an aggressive, all-Democratic strategy for overhauling the nation's health system remains a serious option, even as Obama invites Republicans to next week's televised summit to seek possible compromises.

"It will be a reconciliation bill," the Times quoted a Democratic aide as saying. "If Republicans don't come with any substantial offers, this is what we would do."

The administration's stance could set the stage for a political showdown, with Democrats struggling to enact the president's top domestic priority and Republicans trying to block what many conservatives see as government overreach.

COMMENT:  The cynicism is overwhelming, and the contempt for the public is stunning.  It is typical of the arrogant crowd running the government these days.  They've learned nothing from recent election setbacks, from polls, from clear expressions of public rejection.  They know what's good for us.

This is the left wing of the Democratic Party at work.  It will stop at nothing.  It wants control of the nation's health care.  Its masters understand that, once that control is written into law, it will be very hard to reverse it. 

The dream, of course, is to make America more like Europe, which the left considers superior to the vulgar, imperialist, expansionist, militaristic, racist, misogynistic, homophobic and meat-eating nation they live in. 

The Republican strategy is still evolving.  Republicans should recall the admonition of General Douglas MacArthur, that all defeats begin with two words:  Too late.  The GOP must present its health-care ideas to the American people, and they've got to be good and convincing.  Otherwise, the Dems will go crazy and pass their monstrosity.

February 19, 2010