Trust me

The president is telling the American people, “Trust me. Expanding the size and scope of the federal government by a couple of trillion dollars over the next 10 years is good for the federal deficit.” 

The president is telling the Democrats in the House, “Trust me. I will get the Senate to pass your request list through reconciliation. I will even send old Joe Biden to the upper chamber to overrule the parliamentarian if I have to, so we can get that thing done.” 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is telling her colleagues: “Trust me. This parliamentary maneuver to deem and enact is done all the time. Nothing to see here. Don’t worry about it.” 

The Congressional Budget Office is telling the Blue Dogs, “Trust us. We are scoring this bill as a net reduction in the deficit. Trust us, because we trust you. We know that in about 10 years, you will vote to dramatically increase the taxes on union healthcare plans. We know that in 10 years, you will dramatically decrease Medicare subsidies. We trust you to do these politically unpopular things in a decade, so you can trust us that this score is absolutely correct.” 

The Senate majority leader is telling House Democrats, “Trust me. We will go through all kinds of contortions to change our rules and pass your so-called ‘reconciliation sidecar’ because we so hated our own work-product, and so adore the lower chamber and think that it is so smart, that we will go ahead and pass your bill, at some point in time, but well after the president signs our far superior bill. Yep, you should trust us, because we are the Senate and we are trustworthy.” 

The president is telling his most vulnerable allies in the House: “Trust me. You are screwed either way. You vote for this bill and you are going to lose. You vote against this bill and you are going to lose. I will take care of you once you lose. No worries.” 

The president is telling pro-life Democrats in the House: “Trust me. I share your pro-life views. I know that I have been aggressively pro-abortion throughout my career, and I know that many of my most ardent pro-abortion supporters secretly think that the Senate abortion language is actually a huge victory for them, and I know that you are very ambivalent because you think that the Senate bill really can’t be changed in reconciliation, because, well, the rules don’t work that way, but trust me, because I will fight to pass your so-called ‘Stupak amendment’ (even thought I think, off the record, that the Stupak language is stupid language) in the Senate sometime down the line. Trust me.” 

The president is telling progressive voters out in the country, “Trust me. This is the best we can do. Next time, we will get the public option. And the next time after that, we will get government-run healthcare. And trust me. I was just kidding about tort reform and all that other moderate stuff that I mention on occasion. Trust me. I am really with you.” 

And the president is saying to the American people: “Trust me. I am from the federal government and I am here to help. Sure, I understand how healthcare is in crisis not because of the marketplace, but because of government intrusion. I understand how you might not really love a bigger government presence in your life. I get it. I understand how you might be a little frustrated. Maybe a little angry. I understand how you might have some trust issues. But on this one, you have to trust me. Because I am Barack Obama. And I am the change you can believe in.”

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