Camille Paglia Reveals More Than Flaws In President Obama’s Handling Of Healthcare

August 12, 2009 / 1:42 pm • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Is there such thing as a skeptical liberal? It seems not. Or they’re as rare as white tigers which is why the get displayed like exotic zoo animals.

That Camille Paglia is always so noteworthy simply reveals how the Left marches in ideological lock-step. There should be lots of thinking people on the Left pointing out shortcomings here and there, but no. So the always interesting Ms. Paglia says:

You can keep your doctor; you can keep your insurance, if you’re happy with it, Obama keeps assuring us in soothing, lullaby tones. Oh, really? And what if my doctor is not the one appointed by the new government medical boards for ruling on my access to tests and specialists? And what if my insurance company goes belly up because of undercutting by its government-bankrolled competitor? Face it: Virtually all nationalized health systems, neither nourished nor updated by profit-driven private investment, eventually lead to rationing.

I just don’t get it. Why the insane rush to pass a bill, any bill, in three weeks? And why such an abject failure by the Obama administration to present the issues to the public in a rational, detailed, informational way? The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would be Byzantine beyond belief and would vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy.

Pardon me, but that’s rather obvious criticism and the only place we’re hearing it is on the Right. Why?

Do thinkers on the left have no intellectual integrity? Are they incapable of criticizing their own ideas? Have they no compunction to question?

That’s what is really interesting about Camille Paglia. She seems to be a rare breed of cat. That’s too bad.

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  • http://www.politicaljules.com political jules

    The article is good, I just wish you would have given her more credit for standing up against obamacare. I would have passed this on, but you seem to attack her a little too much for my taste. We need to embrace them when they start to see the light. Not beat them down.

  • http://www.cpringov.com WayneB

    I don’t see any evidence of beating down. On the contrary, Melissa’s point is that Ms. Paglia is a rare oasis of intellectual honesty on the Left.

  • http://melissaclouthier.com Dr. Melissa Clouthier

    I’m a Camille Paglia fan. Still, that she is a lone voice is the problem. On the conservative side, there’s critics a-plenty. About ideas, candidates, etc.

    The Left cares about one thing: power. They will sell their souls on the alter of expedience. They will approve of absolutely ridiculous legislation without question. Anyone with a functioning frontal lobe is asking questions at this point.

    Camille should be in a chorus of concern, but she’s not.

  • Spinbalance

    Ms. Paglia may write like a rational and intelligent person, and I do enjoy her wit and insight, but never forget her comments leading up to the election.

    To paraphrase, “I will squawk, and pick and niggle at Barry’s shortcomings, but regardless of what he says or does, I will ALWAYS vote Democrat”.

    Sound like “intellectual integrity” to you?

    It speaks more of the imbalance of thought presented to America that we would find her writing fairly reasoned.