Centrism Defined - Pacific Research Institute

Centrism Defined

It will be interesting to see how the CBO scores whatever bill emerges on the Senate floor if it contains this little bag of Halloween treats. In any event, two points: First, am I wrong to think that the prospects of health-care socialism in the Senate are a good deal worse than advertised? Why else would we be seeing such proposals as this one, and such shell games as the proposed physician fix now lying in state at the local landfill?

Second, and more amusingly: The Politico article describes Jim Kessler as the “vice president for policy at the centrist [emphasis added] Third Way,” and then quotes him as follows: “Democrats will be the party that passed health care reform, and Republicans will be the party that tries to repeal it.”

So there we have it. “Centrism” is the ability to describe health-care socialism as “reform” while referring to efforts to resist vote-buying in pursuit of it as a repeal of such “reform.” It’s truly amazing.

Benjamin Zycher is a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute.

This blog post originally appeared on National Review’s Critical Condition.

Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.

Scroll to Top