"Up with Chris Hayes" aired a video clip of Romney on CNN saying "I want liberal policies to fail. I want him to fail in trying to put in place a health care plan that takes away the private sector from health care." Much will be made about the "I want him to fail" part, which will be cherry-picking because he continues to say he hopes the economy recovers. What caught my attention was the phrase I emphasized - he wants the President to fail at taking away the private sector from health care. What a strange construct. Not, he objects to "growing the size of government." What he seems to be saying is that government-provided health care deprives "the market" of profit. Now, we've all been inundated with talk of "free market principles," but this is as close as I've heard anyone say that providing health care should always be subject to the profit motive, that profiting from illness and injury is somehow a "right" of corporations and shareholders. I find the notion of medical profitability almost as repugnant as the concept of health insurance. Seriously - I'm paying a for-profit company to pay my medical bills while maximizing profits for executives and shareholders - nothing could possibly interfere with my receiving the best possible care, could it?
So, when Mitt says that he hopes that the "liberal policies" that take away the private sector from health care fail, he really is espousing the gospels of vulture capitalism. Profot for profit's sake. Profit at all costs. All goods and services must profit someone all the time. Instead of "patients" and "providers," he wants us to be a nation of "buyers" and "sellers" and he comes down squarely on the side of the sellers. He wants to be President so he can push us even further down this road. And millions of low- and middle-income buyers are willing to hand him the power to do just that. What's wrong with this picture?
All together now: What do we want? Profit! When do we want it? Now!
/rant