Morning Report, July 30: Obama Paranoia Syndrome (OPS), Executive Power, Abortion in Health Care Reform, Social Justice

Last updated on: July 30, 2009 at 12:28 pm by Timothy Dalrymple

Morning Report, July 30: Obama Paranoia Syndrome (OPS), Executive Power, Abortion in Health Care Reform, Social Justice 2009-07-30T12:28:12-04:00 Timothy Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

1. Yesterday I noted a YouTube video in which it is claimed that Jesus foretold the name of the Anti-Christ, and that name is “baraq ubama.” The video is so paranoid that one almost suspects it was made by someone who wanted to parody or humiliate Christians who are politically conservative. Some on the Left suggest that the rise of the “Birthers” (those who believe Obama was not born in the United States) and others like them are a sign of the disintegration and ultimately the doom of the Republican party.

But Obama Paranoia Syndrome (OPS) is not essentially unlike Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), and if people on the Left believe that the “birthers” are any crazier than the lefty “truthers” who believe that the Bush administration was behind the 9/11 attack, then they’re deceiving themselves. The rise of “truthers” did not presage the doom of the Democratic party, now did it? Besides, Republicans (having long been in the negative) are ahead of Democrats in a generic Congressional ballot, which essentially measures whether the American people want Republicans and their policies to prevail. The party in power will always take the brunt of the criticism when things are not going well, whether they deserve it or not.

Again we come to the inverse side of the motto of this blog: neither party has a monopoly on bad ideas or bad intentions.

2. One always has to hold the government (whichever government) accountable with its facts and figures. A good case in point. When we speak of jobs “created or saved” by the economic stimulus, we should not count “jobs” that last for 35 hours.

3. President Obama has given up on passing the health care reform bill before the August recess, and is now looking to complete the process in October. Mitt Romney, whose experience passing health care reform in Massachusetts is the most similar test-case to what the President is seeking to do, urges a more deliberative process.

4. The question of the power of the Executive branch is alive now just as it was during the Bush administration. As long as one is in Congress, one can rail against the expanding power of the executive and its end-runs around the legislature. As soon as one becomes, President, however, and faces the extraordinary responsibilities and expectations that come with that role, then expanded Executive power looks much more attractive. At least, that seems to be the lesson one can learn from Eric Cantor’s piece (though Cantor puts it in less sympathetic language) here.

5. Evidence of the Fall, Item #10: A couple who let their daughter die of diabetes, because they preferred to pray for her rather than treat her medically, is under trial right now in Wisconsin.

6. One question leading to some of the troubles in passing health care reform: whether a public option plan should fund abortion, meaning that Americans’ tax dollars would go to support what many Americans deepy and fundamentally abhor on a moral level.

7. Today’s Two-Sides. The Des Moines County Register calls for a public health care option. As they explain,

The private sector spends money on everything from lobbyists to high CEO salaries to lavish office buildings. Those are dollars that could be spent caring for people. The government isn’t beholden to stockholders, as some private insurers are. It’s beholden to taxpayers, who rightly expect government to do all it can to control health-care costs.

Ezra Klein opposes the “co-op” compromise, where, instead of a fully public option, the public and private markets cooperate to offer alternatives to fully private health care plans:

Liberals say that the private insurance market is a fatally flawed enterprise and it needs a strong, public competitor with entirely different incentives that can act, essentially, as an alternative. The idea is that the public plan introduces so much competitive pressure that it reshapes the insurance market or simply takes over. Conservatives, in contrast, say the private insurance market is, if not just fine, then simply in need of some tweaks, and we should continue to put our faith and trust and energy into it.

One of these arguments is correct…But the the co-op compromise takes two important and opposing arguments and refuses to choose between them.

On the other side, Karl Rove alleges that Obama has been exploiting the politics of fear. He concludes:

Mr. Obama’s problem is that nine out of 10 Americans would likely get worse health care if ObamaCare goes through. Of those who do not have insurance—and who therefore might be better off—approximately one-fifth are illegal aliens, nearly three-fifths make $50,000 or more a year and can afford insurance, and just under a third are probably eligible for Medicaid or other government programs already.

For the slice of the uninsured that is left—perhaps about 2% of all American citizens—Team Obama would dismantle the world’s greatest health-care system. That’s a losing proposition, which is why Mr. Obama is increasingly resorting to fear and misleading claims. It’s all the candidate of hope has left.

All the while, criticism of the Blue Dogs continues apace, though others defend them on the basis of the complications of electoral politics. Some in the media are questioning whether Obama can translate his eloquence into action. Michael Barone, one of the Deans of political commentary, says that Obama can’t quite move from his “aura” to effective legislating. Finally, Arnold King offers an interesting and brief counterpoint here.

8. Finally, an excellent article from Christianity Today on how to keep the current passion for “social justice” ministries from being a “passing fancy.”

Previous Post

July 29, 2009

Barack Obama the Antichrist?

Next Post

July 30, 2009 Is Harry Potter of the Devil? Bet on it!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abortion adoption Africa Aging AIDS America Worship American history Americolatry An Open Letter to a College Freshman animals Apologetics art Atheism Authors Barack Obama Bible Biblical Scholarship Billy Graham Blogging Bono Book Review Books That Change Lives Breakfast Links Bulletin Board Business Children Christian Approach to Politics Christian Media Christian Right Derangement Syndrome Christianity and Homosexuality Christians in Government Christmas Chuck Colson CLS v Martinez Comic Creation Creativity and the Arts Cross Examinations Cross Investigations Daily Fragment Daily Trinity Death debt Deep Thoughts on Fatherhood depression economy education Election 2012 entertainment Environment Epistemology Erik Campano Euthanasia Evangelicalism Evangelicals and Gays Everyday Transcendence evil evolution Facebook Jesus faith Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics faith and reason family Feminism foreign affairs Franklin Graham Future of Evangelicalism Galen D. gay marriage George W. Bush Guest Posts Guns Gymnastics Harold Camping Heaven Hell Holidays Hollywood Homosexuality iam2.org Illegal Immigration immigration Immigration Reform Injustice Inspiration Interviews Islam Jeremy Lin Jesus jesus christ John Mark Reynolds Johnnie Moore Judgment Day Just War Theory Killing Osama Link of the Day Lists of the Week Mark Goldblatt Marriage Military Missions Mitt Romney Modern Western Thought Monastic wisdom Mormonism Morning Hash Morning Report Motherhood Movies Obamacare Old Testament Orphan Care Palin Parenting Pastoral Resources Patheos Peace Between Religions PEPFAR Persecution Peter Wehner Peter Wehner Philosophy Political Quotes of the Day politics Politics and Economics Pornography Prejudice Prisoner Rape Question of the Week Race Radical Faith Rapture Ravi Zacharias Rick Santorum Russia Salvation Sarah Palin Scandals Science Science and Faith Separation of Church and State Series sex sex slavery social justice Social Justice Ministry Spiritual Disciplines sports Steven Tyler Suffering Suicide Sunday Funnies T. Dalrymple Tea Party Technology terrorism The Christian Media Files The Daily Trinity The Electorate The Ethics of Rhetoric The Future of Seminary Education The Middle East The Obama Presidency theological Theological Renewal Theology Uncategorized Understanding Evangelicalism Vocation war War and Peace With Distinction Word to the Wise Writers

Select a Month October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz