I promise I'm going somewhere with this.

[slowsculpture]

There's a great scene in Memento, where the main character, who can't form any new memories, is going back to hotel where he's been staying. The desk clerk shows him to his room, then, as soon as they step inside, stops. 'Wait', he says, 'this is the wrong room'. The main character, Leonard, asks 'then why is my stuff here?' And the clerk admits that he's been renting Leonard two rooms, and double-charging him, because he can't remember paying for the room long enough to catch on. 'Well, I appreciate you being honest.' Leonard says. And the clerk shrugs, and says, 'Hey - it's not like you're going to remember this conversation.' To which Leonard kind of flinches, and says 'You didn't have to be that honest.'

I think of that exchange when people say 'We need to pass this healthcare bill, even though it's worthless. The democrats need a victory to campaign on'. I understand that we are that stupid, as a group, but... well, that doesn't mean I like hearing it.

Does anybody see a silver lining in this, or is the first Democratic majority in years really blowing all of its political capital just to funnel more money to the health insurance industry?

Comments

[vlion]

I see the Democrats merrily burning political capital and fiddling as it goes down. How they expect to do anything significant in the next 3 years is beyond me. Perhaps they are relying on the stereotypical American political amnesia?

I wish there was comprehensive health care reform. Just not the current package.

[slowsculpture]

Yeah, I'm with you on that. It's a shame, isn't it?