Of course

God bless our elected betters. As the Senate Finance Committee finalizes its millenia long process of actually voting on a health care bill, the rest of the Senate is already fighting hard to weaken it. Yes, weaken America's sad attempt to make the smallest possible improvement to our terrible health care system. What part is under attack? Why the only concrete method in the Baucus Bill of cutting costs and raising revenue to pay for the bill. Of course it is.

A proposed tax on high-cost, or “Cadillac,” health insurance plans has touched off a fierce clash between the Senate and the House as they wrestle over how to pay for legislation that would provide health benefits to millions of uninsured Americans.
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The tax, a provision of the bill to be voted on Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee, is one of the few remaining proposals under consideration by Congress that budget experts say could lead directly to a reduction in health care spending over the long term, by prompting employers and employees to buy cheaper insurance. Whether it remains in the bill is emerging as a test of the commitment by President Obama and his party to slowing the steep rise of medical expenses.

Surprisingly enough the problem isn't coming from the Senate this time. The House is the legislative body complaining about the measure. Why? Because unions and rich bitches complained that it would affect them. Mostly unions. So of course the one somewhat effective part of the Baucus bill is under "debate." By which I mean that everyone decides to ignore copious analysis, number crunching, and research showing that it'll do what it says it'll do in order to try to sandbag something for vague political purposes that are actually bad politics in the long run. My God, it's like a microcosm of the entire health debate!

Listen House, I know you're mad that it was decided that Max Baucus is the health care king, we must obey the concessions he made to get no Republican support, and his word is law. You're mad that your much better health care plan is going to get weakened in conference. You're mad that choosing any other health care bill out of a hat would result in a better plan than what Baucus shat out. But can we not go after the effective parts of Baucus' weak reform? Just for the sake of getting some incremental inch forward, instead of some reshuffled status quo? We all know you're smarter than the Senate, but they unfortunately have the power. Do what the rest of us did when we came to that horrible conclusion: drink. A lot. And never stop.