Political Irony

Washington Monthly has a scathing article about the hypocrisy of Republican politicians who unanimously oppose Obama’s health care reform bill, when most of them voted for Medicare Part D:

Let’s cut the nonsense. Republicans supported Medicare Part D (Karl Rove saw it as a way of creating a “permanent” GOP majority). It was the biggest expansion of government into the health care industry since Medicare. By any reasonable measure, it was a huge giveaway to private industries, and came with a price tag of at least $1 trillion — far more than this year’s Democratic health care reform plan. It was “complicated as hell,” and left a huge doughnut hole that screwed over millions of seniors. It included end-of-life counseling, which Republicans now consider “death panels.” The Republican bill, which passed under almost comically corrupt circumstances, was financed entirely — literally, 100% — through deficit spending, leaving future generations to pick up the tab.

And what do these exact same Republican lawmakers say now? That the Democratic reform plan increases government’s role in health care (check), costs too much (check), is too complicated (check), and passed under suspicious circumstances (check).

In a stunning example of being hypocritical about their own hypocrisy, the AP asked Republicans who had voted for the prescription drug farce about their apparent total flip-flop for brazen political purposes. The most hilarious quote is from Olympia Snowe (R-Maine):

Dredging up history is not the way to move forward.

Seriously? We are not supposed to learn from the past? And what the Party of No is doing now is “moving forward”?

Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) claims that six years ago “it was standard practice not to pay for things”. In other words, Republicans can spend money like drunken sailors, but Democrats can’t pass health care reform that actually reduces the deficit. Hatch further claims that his vote in 2003 has been vindicated because the prescription drug benefit “has done a lot of good”. Is he referring to the “good” money it poured into drug company profits or the “good” votes it bought for Republican politicians?

George Voinovich (R-Ohio) was the only one who responded to the question, saying that those who see hypocrisy “can legitimately raise that issue.” But he defended his current position, saying that the economy is in worse shape and Americans are more anxious. In other words, the Republicans wrecked the economy with their reckless spending, and Fox News has whipped the wing-nuts into screaming “socialism” 24/7.