Cardin and the Crazies So much for rational debate.

According to the Baltimore Sun’s report of Senator Ben Cardin’s Town Hall meeting earlier this week, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbray wore a pin that said “Euthanasia”. The assumption behind her message is that the healthcare bill supports euthanasia when it provides funds for end of life counseling – a view that even the Republican sponsor of this provision in the Senate described as “nutty”.

But she could just as easily have been referring to Ben Cardin’s Town Hall meeting and the rude protests that greeted the Senator and killed any possibility of rational debate, which is a shame.

There are legitimate concerns - and I share them - about the various healthcare proposals being hashed out in Washington. But you wouldn’t know it from the nonsense spewed at these town “mauls” as they have been referred to. The antics of the protesters which have become a daily occurrence this August are beyond tiresome and ultimately stifle citizen input that is necessary.

And let’s not dignify these protestors by saying these are just passionate folks worried about losing their healthcare and exercising their rights as citizens. These groups have more in common with the angry mobs that stood at the steps of school houses in the south trying to prevent desegregation than the patriots who dumped tea into Boston Harbor. At best, they act like four-year-olds having a temper tantrum.

The hysteria is often generated by misinformation from politicians and talk show bloviators who should know better - like Sarah Palin who wrote recently that the Obama reforms will create “death panels” that supposedly will make end of life decisions for you and your loved ones.

The fear they generate with this nonsense is misplaced.

What they really ought to fear is the fact that the cost explosion in healthcare is the biggest threat we all face. It is bankrupting Medicare and is a huge financial burden on businesses and individuals. They should worry that the United States spends far more on healthcare than other western countries that provide better if not complete access to health care for their citizens, with no better health outcomes.

The more the protestors shout down diligent moderate senators like Ben Cardin, the more they undermine the airing of legitimate concerns about where the healthcare legislation in Congress is heading.

And there are a lot of concerns about whether the various plans will go far enough to control costs; and whether in the goal to create universal coverage, they may place additional cost burdens on small business struggling in this economy.

But despite the craziness of the town hall protestors, the element of mistrust they express towards Congress and their lobbyist benefactors shouldn’t be ignored. The push for healthcare reform highlights the need to reform how Congress does business.

And, not surprisingly it is business as usual on Capitol Hill. Insurance and drug companies are actively lobbying Congress and giving generously. As Frank Rick wrote in this past Sunday’s New York Times, industry groups contributed $1.8 million over the first six months of 2009 to 18 House members of both parties directing health care reforms, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Maryland’s Steny Hoyer.

The insiders tell us this is how the “system” works, but most of us are sick of it. The whiff of corruption creates a legitimate sense that the people are going to get screwed in the process.

If this sense becomes pervasive – from liberals that the plan doesn’t go far enough in taking on the insurance and drug companies and from the right that the government is going to control your lives – then the various healthcare plans being debated in Congress are heading for intensive care.

The healthcare system is immensely complex and confusing to everyone. The stakes to individuals and to our economy are huge. There are tough choices that need to be made, and sacrifices that are going to be required. But unless everyone feels that the sacrifice is both necessary and the burden evenly distributed, the euthanasia Ellen Sauerbray fears may be applied to healthcare reform.

That would not only be a shame, it may be a disaster for the long-term fiscal and medical health of our country.  10:59 AM •