I am so dang frustrated with how the healthcare "debate" went. Our healthcare system is completely dysfunctional. Anyone who complains that Obama wants to "ration" healthcare is living in an alternate universe. Healthcare is already rationed: people who have money get healthcare. People who don't have money avoid going to the doctor until their condition becomes critical and they end up in the emergency room because they know the ER has to treat them, leaving the hospitals with insurmountable debts.

Conservatives (and I am grouping both establishment Republicans and "rebellious" tea partiers) had not just had an opportunity, but a responsibility to influence the creation of this historic piece of legislation. But no. Instead of addressing issues such as reducing the actual cost of providing basic healthcare in order to give more people better access to it, the supposed leaders of the conservative movement chose to inflame people's fear by shouting "Socialism! Baby-killers! Death panels!"

And this helped our country... how?