These paragraphs from a New York Times story are breathtaking:
At the White House on Tuesday, President Obama tried once again to whip up public support for the legislation, which he says is his top domestic priority.
“I understand that some will try to delay action until the special interests can kill it, while others will simply focus on scoring political points,” Mr. Obama said before television cameras in the Rose Garden. “We’ve done that before.”
Alternatively, he said: “We can choose action over inaction. We can choose progress over the politics of the moment. We can build on the extraordinary common ground that’s been forged.”
The urgency is political. President Obama wants the bill rammed through Congress so that ordinary Americans don't have time to understand what it does. Why does he fear this? Because he knows that to understand the bill is to oppose it. This typifies the progressive mentality: Paternalize people. Do what you think is best for them, whether they want it or not. Beneficence trumps autonomy. So much for deliberative democracy. So much for participatory democracy. So much for transparency.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 