First let me say that I like Bob Beckel. I disagree with almost everything that he believes but I like him. Why? Because Bob is an unapologetic ideologue. He doesn\u2019t piss on your leg with feel good rhetoric and tell you it\u2019s raining jelly beans and sunshine.<\/p>\n
Bob has said that he thought a little socialism would be a good thing. Note to Bob: There\u2019s no such thing as a little socialism.<\/p>\n
Last week he penned an article offering President Obama a guaranteed silver bullet to get the socialized medicine pushed through and more importantly get a big chunk of Republican support.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good read but here is the real meat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Universal healthcare has been our fight for 50 years. It is ingrained in our DNA and we are close. There are no guarantees, but Democrats offering tort reform will confound the Republicans, take away one of their most potent arguments, and put us back on the offensive. If that means throwing some trial lawyers under the bus, so be it.<\/p>\n Why haven’t we talked about tort reform during this entire debate? Because we haven’t wanted to bite one of the biggest hands that feed us. That substantial and legitimate disagreement over the effects of medical malpractice awards on health care costs is another. And there is our child-like fear the trail lawyers will abandon us.<\/p>\n On that last point let me be brutally pragmatic. The trial lawyers won’t abandon us because they have nowhere else to go. As a trail lawyer friend admitted to me, “I hate to lose medical malpractice, but there’s a whole lot of suing to do out there that has nothing to do with doctors”. And that’s the point. We’re not talking about massive tort reform. We’re not taking tobacco and asbestos of the table. We’re talking a cap on punitive damages.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Keep in mind that Bob\u2019s claim to fame was being the national campaign director for Walter Mondale and leading one of the most disastrous Democrat attempts in history. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t disagree with Bob\u2019s assertion that inserting tort reform would take the Republicans off message and could even possibly pick up a few squishy Republicans along the way.<\/p>\n So, why can\u2019t\/won\u2019t Obama heed his advice?<\/p>\n