by Bill Wilson.jpg)
Move over Psychic Friends Network. Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson just became the latest contender for the infomercial throne. He’s pitching his own brand of healthcare snake oil. And, he’s sealing the sale in truest infomercial pitchman form, with the bogus guarantee: “Remember, folks, it’s not run by government.”
Even the infamous PFN was never so shameless. At least they always added the caveat: “For entertainment purposes only.” Ben Nelson, of course, can’t do that – because his infomercial is no more entertaining that it is honest.
After having voted to saddle every citizen of Nebraska (as well as the nation at large) with government run health care, Nelson saw his popularity plummet. A late-breaking telephone survey of 500 Nebraskans, conducted Monday, indicated that were the November Senate election held today, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman would defeat Nelson by a stunning 61-30 margin.
So, Nelson is taking to the airwaves with his best Dionne Warwick imitation to convince Nebraskans not to believe what they – and he – know to be true: the government health care bill for which Nelson cast the deciding vote places the health care industry squarely in the hands of government bureaucrats. And it hands them the unprecedented power to make life and death decisions for hundreds of millions of Americans.
“I listened to you and took a common sense approach to improve the bill,” a folksy Nelson tells viewers, donning a down home sweater and casting aside the carefully tailored suit and tie he normally wears when wining and dining with his fellow politicians.
“I’m convinced this is right for Nebraskans,” he adds – despite the fact a whopping 64% of Nebraskans have told him in no uncertain terms, they don’t share that Washington insider predilection. So much for representative government and constituent services.
But wait, there’s more! This man is a carnival barker par excellence. Warming to his task, Ben stares straight into the camera, lowers his voice to an intimate level, and offers up his closing pitch. “And it’s not run by the government,” he guarantees. And one almost expects him to add, “Or, double your money back. No questions asked.”
The problem for Ben Nelson is that everyone – including Ben Nelson – knows that the health care plan for which he is shilling is, indeed, “run by government.” And government will run it, as it does everything else, straight into the ground.
Of course, Nelson and his fellow politicians are doing all in their power to convince voters that the government mandated “public option” will not be in the bill (a claim which has yet to be proved). But, the fact is, the bill contains at least three other major provisions that will make certain health care is “run by government,” lock, stock, and barrel. As the leftwing website Openleft.com has enthusiastically detailed, the bill includes (and we quote):
- Medicaid expansion. Both the House and the Senate bills are projected by the CBO to cover 15 million more Americans with Medicaid or CHIP than current law … Both Medicaid and CHIP are public health insurance options, and the fight to expand them is ongoing.
- Community health center expansion. In exchange for his vote on cloture, Senator Bernie Sanders secured funding in the Senate bill that will double the number of community health centers in America… Going beyond public health insurance, this is public health care.
- Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Program. The CLASS provisions in the health care bill are a government-run program that will provide individuals long-term disability care.
So, those are the facts – as Ben Nelson well knows. All of which makes his new infomercial nothing more, or less, than a cynical attempt to deceive his constituents and save his seat.
There is a saying in the infomercial industry, “If the public isn’t buying, add more air to the ice cream.” In means, quite simply, tell more lies. As of today, Ben Nelson has become the Psychic Friends Network “air” apparent. And one suspects that no amount of air in the ice cream will sell this bogus product to the people of Nebraska.
Bill Wilson is the president of Americans for Limited Government and a Liberty Features Syndicated writer.
