Turn the meme around…

… love to hear discussion…

This silly idea is still being thrown around that Beacon Hill Democrats don’t want to give Romney a victory on health care because it would help him in his presidential race. That’s not just putting the cart before the horse, that’s a caravan. Here’s the kind of thing we’re hearing:

”Essentially, the math here is them saying, we better not do anythingfor the next year and a half because it might benefit him, whether ornot he chooses to run for reelection," said Representative Bradley H.Jones Jr. of North Reading, the House Republican leader. He called theapproach a mistake for Democrats who will need their ownaccomplishments to trumpet during campaigns.

Let’s just change places here for a minute: Would Romney sign a progressive, real-world  health care solution — even if it included a tax increase on smokes — or would he impose a huge unfunded mandate and let people go under-insured for the sake of his conservative cred and ambitions for higher office?

This is the problem with celebrity politics. I really don’t care about Mitt’s national ambitions, except insofar as it affects the decisions he makes as governor, here and now. If he signs an equitable health care bill that covers everyone (or a lot of people), funds it properly, and controls costs, then he should get credit for it. If he pushes an unrealistic bill that makes poor people poorer and unhealthier, the lege should stop it. Either way, he’s not the story here; the policy and the people affected are the story. But of course, it’s much harder for the press to cover that.

I’m perfectly happy to let the Guv have it our way, if he wants an accomplishment. The problem for him is that it may not be a conservative feather in his cap. Tough. You can’t have everything, can you?

Please share widely!

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