How Not to Create a Consensus

David Sirota vents on health care. Private providers have signed on to President Obama's laudable desire to cut health care costs, pledging to cut future increases in costs to save $2 Trillion over the next ten year. The details are vague, but one would think that working together to cut costs and decrease inefficiencies would be a good thing. Especially as health care providers have opposed previous attempts at universal coverage, one would think that working together with Obama on what seems to be his primary focus, reining in health care costs, should be praised as "bipartisanship" or "cooperation" or "progress". Some do.

One official described the participation of the private sector as a "game changer" in the discussion of health care reform.
...
AARP believes the agreement of providers to slow the skyrocketing cost of health care is critical for the health reform we are all working toward.

What does Sirota think? He thinks this is proof that the health industry was planning to "pilfer $2 trillion from Americans". They are "thieves", "plotting to fleece consumers" and engage in "grotesque profiteering". He then goes on to rant against Obama for negotiating with these private interests.

Clearly, Sirota is yet another far-leftist who will never be satisfied with anything coming from private business. If they were not cooperating with Obama, surely he'd be lambasting them as negative, standing in the way of the common people, working with the party of "no", etc. But when they do cooperate with Obama, they earn no praise, instead, they prove that they are profiteering thieves.

Note to Sirota: without cost containment, there will be no affordable universal health care for Americans. This is a necessary step towards what you want. Be happy. Be an optimist. Your side is winning! Will the hard left will ever be happy? Don't think so - I'm more and more convinced that they are somehow just programmed to see the worst in everything.

Instead of supporting something that helps universal health care, he'd rather vilify private health providers. He'd rather make political points than actually help Americans.

(followup added after original posing)
Jason Rosenbaum at Huff Post also rants, bringing totally fake controversy as to when these reductions will be made. the health industry follows up with the exact same vague promises and targets from the original press conference. They clarify that they expect an instant 1.5% savings, just that, over 10 years, they target that. That seems to be the only dispute. Seems pretty reasonable - who could expect an instant 1.5% cost reduction? Maybe the health industry is backing off of the initial promise, but, eventually, they support the cost containments.

What's most clear is the attitude of the far left, they just will not be happy that they are winning concessions that will help all Americans, instead, more political points and a refusal to gracefully accept concessions (dare I call it "bipartisanship"?) from their enemies. Instead, Jason writes:

"They're liars. They're cheats. They're greedy"