Reunited, and it fees so bad*

After the funeral for Ted Kennedy, former President Bill Clinton and former Vice-president Al Gore spoke at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s annual Jackson Day dinner.  Inevitably, both men could not resist the lure of discussing health care reform.  Or is it health insurance reform.  Forgive me but I can’t keep it straight.

Clinton and Gore are leaping back into the spotlight to salvage President Barack Obama’s plans and try to preserve Democratic leads in Congress despite plummeting poll numbers.  What’s new is their concerted arguments using moral imperatives and, in Gore’s case, the Bible.

Deep into a typically long-winded speech, Clinton said the following:

“We need to pass a [health care reform] bill this year. Doing nothing is not only the worst thing we can do for the economy, it’s the worst thing we can do for the country. It’s also the worst thing we can do for the Democrats.”

Really?  It’s the worst thing we can do for the economy?  Worse than continuing to allow millions of illegal immigrants to stream over porous borders despite the best efforts of the Border Patrol and then paying for their health care through the reform bill? Worse than $9 trillion dollar deficits (that’s $9,000,000,000,000.00) and likely higher taxes on just about everyone who pays them?  Worse than promoting anti-growth policies and increased federal government intervention, involvement and ownership of private industry?  Worse than rising unemployment, a mess of a housing market, a hastening commercial real estate crash and massive credit crises?  Worse than appointing an unaccountable “Green Jobs Czar” who is (was?) a self-identified Communist?

By the way, exactly how does a Communist create jobs?

And it’s the worst thing we can do for the country?  Surely prosecuting intelligence officers for not playing nice with terror suspects might do a bit more harm than failing to pass Obama-care.  So does taxing the snot out of people and never, never, never reducing spending by any meaningful amount.

On the other hand, we can all agree with Clinton that a health care bill failure would be the worst thing for Democrats.  And there’s the only real reason to pass the bill, to wit: preserve Democrat power and continue to usher in the new socialism.  Sure, Clinton is rallying the troops but he also is tipping the party’s hand.

Gore took a different moral approach to reach the same conclusion.  In addition to arguing that Democrats should pass the bill to “give President Obama the victory our country needs”—thereby further tipping their hand—Gore invoked Jesus.

It’s no surprise to hear politicians use scripture to support their positions.  Republicans and conservatives have long referenced the Bible as a basis for taking stands on various issues and policies from abortion to taxes.  And they have been roundly criticized as Bible-thumping, “moral majority” neanderthal hypocrites by the Left for doing so.

That didn’t stop Gore.  As reported by the Politico, “Playing off the focus of the Kennedy funeral on the Gospel of Matthew’s parable of Jesus taking care of ‘the least of us,’ Gore thundered that the country has ‘a moral duty to pass health care reform. This year.’”

Funny, I don’t hear any cacophonous howls from the Left or the State Run Media directed at Gore.

I’m not a theologian, but I am a Christian and I can read.  According to the New International Version of the Bible, Gore is referencing the parable Jesus told about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25.  At judgment, the Lord will separate the righteous (sheep) from the unrighteous (goats) and will bless the righteous with their inheritance for feeding the hungry and thirsty, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned.  The righteous will ask the Lord when they did these things for Him because they did not recall seeing Him, and He will reply “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  The unrighteous, who did none of these things, will be condemned to eternal punishment.

By any fair reading of the parable Gore references, Jesus is talking to the people, not their government.  He is not saying that the way to do things “for the least of us” is to give the Democrats in government more of your money so they can pick and choose which organization, interest group or underprivileged individuals are worthy to receive largess.  He is saying you do these things.  You make the effort.  You take your time, resources and money to help and bless others.

These days, it is becoming much harder to give any of these things to others.  Although unemployment is high and rising, those with jobs are working harder and often finding second and third jobs to make ends meet, taking time that could be put toward charitable activities.  The dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to and with taxes likely to rise, people will have less money to give.  Moreover, while a charitable tax deduction shouldn’t be the rationale behind giving, it does provide an additional incentive, yet Obama has already proposed curtailing the deduction.  And there’s always the “gift tax” that allows the government to tax you simply for the “privilege” of giving.

I don’t think this is what Jesus had in mind.

If Democrats truly believe health care reform is necessary for us to care for “the least of us,” they should be willing to reduce our taxes so we can use more of our money to help each other.  That way, you can choose to keep your dollars in your community, help your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and fellow church goers directly, or give to local organizations.  They should make dramatic cuts in federal spending, and return to restraints the Constitution placed upon them that they so freely flout, so they don't need as much of our money.  They should enact market-based reforms to allow for greater competition to bring down costs while maintaining a small safety net for the truly needy. 

Or maybe they just want to preserve and increase their power.  It sounds like that’s what Clinton and Gore are really saying.

I don't see any moral imperative, biblical or otherwise, in that goal.

*My apologies to Peaches & Herb.