And Reap The Whirlwind…

So, what should we make of the events of the past few days? So much uncertainty, so many lies, so little actually accomplished. And, in the end - since we all like to keep score on these things - who won and who lost?

Well, in one way, it’s really simple. President Trump lost. Bigly. Paul Ryan may have lost, but that’s not quite clear yet. Elderly Americans lost, although they may not realize it yet. And the Democrats likely lost - at least they lost an opportunity - by behaving very much the same way as Republicans acted toward them. Not a single idea of their own to show how to meet our latest crisis in government.

So, who won?

Insurance companies won, for sure. Anti-American rabble rousers in the Middle East won in a kind of an “I told you so” way. The United States Constitution won. And, if you look closely at a few green shoots of hope popping out of the ice and snow around Washington, the old, outmoded concept of bi-partisan cooperation may have scored a minor victory, although few in Congress dare speak that particular name.

As you can tell, I am a little overwhelmed and a little jaded at this point. Seen it before, done it before, and yet here it comes again. There’s an old saying about history repeating itself, first as a tragedy, then as a farce.

Let’s spell it out a bit.

First, President Obama did not order President-elect Trump’s tower - the one with his name on it in midtown Manhattan - to be wiretapped or “wire tapped.”

(As an aside, I have to add that President Trump, by arguing what the meaning of a quotation mark is, seems to be echoing Bill Clinton’s arguments about what “is” is. Just think, the two of them joined forever in a kind of lexicon of shame).

Second, the long list of lies by our current president seems to be sticking to him, kinda like the teflon wearing off. Maybe when our President - any president - says something, it should mean something.

Third, with all the sound and fury about his budget, his proposed cuts in the EPA and the State Department, and - of course - the wall and health insurance, nothing has actually happened yet. Except the price of tickets to Congressional Budget Hearings (this is only a metaphor, mind you) is going way up.

Now, who won?

Insurance companies. Does anyone of voting age in the United States actually think the government is going to put a limit on how much they can charge people. Well, they will, but allowing insurance companies to charge seven times their normal premium to the sick elderly really means they won’t charge anything, because no one will buy those policies.

Confusion won. We still believe there is a law that keeps insurance companies in one state from selling insurance in another state. Does anyone who buys an insurance policy through the AARP think there are 50 separate insurance companies selling those policies?