By expanding government control over health care, the Democrats have created a moment of clarity:  everything will now become the government’s fault.  That may not be strictly accurate in a policy sense, but it should become the case in a political sense.  Critics of the system blamed every dropped policy and denied treatment on nonexistent free markets.  Now it really will be a government-controlled system, and every dropped policy and denied treatment can be placed at the doorstep of the federal government.

Uncle Sam will be forcing us to purchase from a reduced number of policies, deciding on what benefits must be included and many (like Health Savings Accounts) which can’t be, enriching insurers, doctors, and drugmakers by making more people buy insurance, deciding on “comparative effectiveness” and ultimately likely turning those assessments into mandatory national standards, cutting back on Medicare payments, forcing reductions in Medicare coverage, hunting down people who don’t buy insurance, raising taxes, and more.

Our job will be to point out every negative consequence.  Lose your HSA?  Thank Barack Obama.  Face higher Medicare levies (sorry, I mean”contributions”)?  Thank Nancy Pelosi.  Have a harder time finding a doctor for Medicare?  Thank Harry Reid.

Drugmaker profits increase?  Thank the Democrats.  Treatment options no longer available?  Thank Health and Human Services.  Health insurance premiums going up?  Thank Uncle Sam.  Health care costs going up faster than before?   Thank President Obama & Co.

We need to make this point at every opportunity.  Every new tax.  Every new benefit cut.  Every lost policy.  Every inadequate treatment.  Place the blame where it belongs, on Washington.

Moreover, as costs rush skyward and Congress inevitably debates how to cut costs, Republicans should allow industries which backed this monstrosity to receive their just desserts.  No doubt, the Democrats will quickly dump their PhRMA allies–who spent $100 million on advertising to enlist government to force the rest of us to buy more pills–overboard in a desperate search for revenue.  Republicans should stand back and enjoy the action.  Those who helped create a government-controlled system should be forced to bear the full consequences of doing so.