The irony of the Obama administration

The central irony of the Obama administration is the fact that Barack Obama the man had devoted his intellectual life to the anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist dogma of the Left, but that Barack Obama the president has devoted his first term in office to a domestic policy that is essentially internal colonialism.

You, the peasant of red-state America, will devote your life to supplying raw materials -- primarily tax dollars and carbon offsets -- to your government. In exchange, you'll get whatever suite of services the government feels is necessary for maintaining your lifestyle of stark utilitarian efficiency. In the case of the Senate's health care bill, Lefties are freely admitting that a lot of people are going to end up getting totally hosed by it:

As it is this bill places a huge financial burden on a lot of people who can not afford it. Don't expect a lot of gratitude from them for “solving” their health insurance problem.

On the other hand, the bill is bad for the "natives" but still cool for the "Colonial Office", so some Lefties are still willing to back it:

So what about the question in the title of this post [Should the Senate health care bill be killed]? My answer is no. In the end, as awful as this bill is, I have to side with Krugman and Reich. The argument I find most convincing is that you have to pass something to get your foot in the door for future reforms. If the bill dies, that is it for health care reform for a good long time. Pass the bill, which does do some good things along with its more deplorable parts, and you establish the basic idea of universal health insurance. It will be pretty hard for future Republican majorities to take it away.

Red State gets it (author's boldface):

The world will understand America has changed. Our country is now run by elites who are printing money, debasing our currency to throw at massive new spending and deficit creating programs — and actually believe they are both moral and politically smart. Just 19% of the public believes this plan will not increase the deficit.

What comes next is very discomforting to think about. But we have now crossed that line from what our country was into something else, and that something else has nothing whatsoever with the country being a Republic. There will be a reckoning for this, and it will not be pleasant — not for anyone.