Thug Democrats Threaten Insurance Industry With Attacks On Profits And More Regulation

Because, you see, the insurance industry has been pointing out that maybe this whole government health care thing isn’t such a great idea. And now the insurance industry must be beaten into submission for daring to question the wisdom of our politicians.
First, in the Washington Post:

As the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a 10-year, $829 billion bill to remake the health-care system, Obama’s top advisers and the insurers moved into a more intense stage of conflict.
“The insurance industry has decided to lead the charge against health reform, and everyone recognizes their motives: profits,” said White House deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “We are going to make sure they can’t sink this effort at the last minute.”

Then in Politico:

The long-simmering tension between insurers and congressional Democrats is erupting into open warfare, with lawmakers stepping up their push to revoke a key federal protection for the insurance industry.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called for an amendment to the health care reform bill that would remove the long-standing antitrust exemption for insurers, echoing a push by other Democrats to crack down on the industry.
“The health insurance’s antitrust exemption is one of the worst accidents of American history,” Schumer said. “It deserves a lot of the blame for the huge rise in premiums that has made health insurance so unaffordable. It is time to end this special status and bring true competition to the health insurance industry.” …
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) added his support to repealing the exemption at the Leahy hearing. “It’s something that should have been done a long time ago,” Reid said.
As for insurance companies, “There isn’t anything we could do to satisfy them in this health care bill. Nothing,” Reid said. “They are so anti-competitive. Why? Because they make more money than any other business in America today. . . .What a sweet deal they have.”

However you feel health care reform, these brutish retaliations by Democrats should be unacceptable. Things like regulations and taxes don’t exist as levers for politicians to pull to get their way. They’re to raise the necessary revenue for government and enforce the law.
No individual or group of individuals whether they be organized into an advocacy group, a political party or a business/industry should fear government retribution for speaking out. This retaliation is no better than someone getting tax audited after giving a speech at a political rally.
And the implication that the health insurance industry is somehow unregulated because they have an anti-trust exemption from the federal government is laughable. The states regulate the insurance companies a great deal, to varying levels of severity. There is no pressing need for regulation outside of a desire by liberals like Schumer to bring the insurance industry under their control as payback for daring to oppose their policies.
If anything we need less regulation of insurance. Right now we can’t buy health insurance across state lines. We’re forced by government to buy coverage we don’t need through insurance mandates. Allowing employer plan premiums to be deducted from income pre-tax has subsidized the third-party insurance status quo that has contributed so much to out of control health care prices (which drive out of control health insurance prices).
I’ve said all along that government health care is power government power grab than government rescue. This abuse of government power, using it as a club to try and silence dissent, is just more evidence of it.