The Trojan Horse of Healthcare

The legend of the Trojan horse was brought to life in Homer’s “Iliad”. The Mycenaean Greeks laid siege to the City of Troy to reclaim the wife of Menelaus of Sparta who had been abducted by Paris of Troy. Troy was surrounded by an impenetrable wall that resisted all attempts by the Greeks to force entry into the city. In the tenth year of the siege, the Greeks constructed a large hollow statue of a horse and feigned a retreat, leaving the horse in plain view of the city. The horse, being a sacred symbol to the Trojans, was retrieved and brought within the city in celebration of their triumph over the Greek army.

What the Trojans did not know was that a small contingent of Greek soldiers lie hidden within the wooden horse. As night fell and the celebrations continued, the Greek soldiers crept from their hiding place and opened the gates of the walled city. The waiting Greek army poured through the open gates By morning, the city had been looted and razed to the ground. Since then, the Trojan horse has been symbolic of any attempt to achieve a hidden goal through subterfuge.

So is the public option or what is now being called, healthcare cooperative, a Trojan horse to trick an unwilling nation onto a path that will eventually lead to socialized healthcare? That is not something you will find written into the pages of the healthcare bill nor is it something that government officials will willingly admit. After all, it wouldn’t be much of a Trojan horse if the ultimate goals were actually made public.

At this point, all we can do is look at the motives of the individuals that are driving this legislation. The President has made many conflicting statements on the subject of Universal Healthcare which raises the question “What are you actually saying?” Let’s examine his quotes. During a town hall meeting in August of 2009 the President said "I have not said that I was a single payer supporter." In a number of appearances he repeatedly assured Americans that if they have a healthcare plan that they like, under this bill they will be able to keep that plan; that the healthcare bill is not a Trojan horse that will bring about a massive government takeover of healthcare.

Curiously, when he spoke at an AFL-CIO function in 2003 he said “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we’ve got to take back the White House, we’ve got to take back the Senate, and we’ve got to take back the House.”

Ok, even though that was a pretty clear statement of his goals, in all fairness; that was a long time ago and maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he’s refined his position as he gained experience in what the nation actually requires from its healthcare system.

Well, in 2007, during an interview taped during his Presidential campaign he also said "...but I don't think we are going to be able to eliminate employer coverage immediately. There's gonna be potentially some transition process, I can envision a decade out or 15 years out or 20 years out..."

Recently, Senator Barney Frank was approached by advocates of a single payer healthcare system (socialized medicine) and was asked why the single payer system was “off the table”. His reply was “I wish it wasn’t but we don’t have the votes…. I think if we get a good public option it could lead to single payer and that’s the best way to get to single payer.”

In my opinion, the most disturbing quote I’ve found on the issue comes from Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives. She said “I think it is pretty clear that we want a strong public option in the legislation. Insurance companies full force carpet-bombing and shock and awe against the public option — so much so that the American people doubt the plan or are uncertain about it, until you tell them what is in it.”

Let’s play connect the dots. The President that says “he never said he supported a single payer system” is caught on film saying he supports a single payer system.

The same President that assures the American people that under this plan they will be able to retain their current healthcare insurance is then caught on camera saying that there will be a transition period before employer coverage can be eliminated in favor of a single payer healthcare system.

Barney Frank is at least honest about his support for the single payer system and his intention to use the public option to eventually get there whether you like it or not. If the other players in this argument were as honest as Mr. Frank is, there would be no mystery surrounding what this bill actually represents. It still wouldn’t pass muster with the American public but at least we would possess the clear reasons why.

Nancy Pelosi? I’m not even sure where to being on that. Those evil insurance companies have ruined everything because thanks to their negative ads, the American people are demanding to know what’s in the bill before it’s passed. I’m sorry to disturb your musings Ms. Pelosi but it didn’t take a television ad to convince me that I needed to know what is (and is not) in this bill before it is passed into law.

Call me silly but I like to know what I am getting before I buy anything. The statements regarding healthcare made by the President are full of conflicts and do not inspire me to believe that he is being at all honest about his intentions or his ultimate goal.

Regardless of what has been said or promised by this administration, the bare facts are that the Federal government is in deep financial trouble and their plan to fix it does not include scaling back any of the programs currently draining the budget. That thought process can only lead to one thing; a single payer, government controlled healthcare system.

I’ve laid out all of these facts and quotes, connected the dots and all I ended up with is one giant question mark. So I guess in the end, I really have only one question. Mr. President, please tell me that we are not using an endangered wood species to build your “Trojan horse”?

Tomorrow....Are there really "death panels" in the bill?

See you then,
Paul