The New Machine

Cheers rang out in Washington and across the country yesterday as Congress finally passed the health care reform bill after a year of bitter struggle. Obama will soon sign the bill into law. They have made their mark on history. Generations to come will look back on this moment, it is hoped, with admiration. Liberals, frustrated that they could not have been there for the New Deal or the March on Selma will proudly, and no doubt tediously, tell their grand kids that they were here for this. A great step was taken forward, at least as those who championed the bill assert. Government has been further ensconced as part of the nation's fabric. Tens of millions will be helped Obama said proudly. Perhaps. But billions will be spent.

Many on the left are downright giddy. They have a brand new tool with which to manipulate society. However what is lost amidst their glee is the realization that the government will not always be in their control. Sooner or later conservatives will get their hands on Washington and with it all the tools and levers liberals have worked so hard to put in place. They will use those tools and levers to very different purposes than liberals will like. Then it will be their turn to gnash their teeth and lament the danger and reach of big government.

The machine that was created yesterday belongs to the government, not to democrats and liberals. It will do what the government wants, not what democrats and liberals want. Those who welcome the new legislation with such satisfaction should be preparing for the day when the machine no longer belongs to them. That day could be coming as soon as this Fall. The time will come when liberals no longer embrace government but struggle against it. Then they will truly experience the monster they are working so hard to create. A key to evaluating policies and programs is to envision what your opponents would do with them if they in were charge. If that prospect is one that you find disturbing, you should reevaluate your support of that program or policy because, sooner or later, your opponents will be in charge.

In any event, millions of Americans will now be beholden to the federal government for their health care. That is just fine with Obama and Pelosi. The people didn't win yesterday. The government did.