Yes, it’s a moment of unabashed stupidity from the least-watched man on cable news, but what’s really sad is that Schultz’s blathering is actually the Democrat strategy for selling government health care in a nutshell.  They’re out to convince Americans that they’ll get “free” health care while somebody else (preferably someone they don’t like such as Cheney or “the rich”) pays for it.

Here’s a transcript, video here:

ED SCHULTZ: Once again, Republicans are lyin’.  Doggone it, we catch ‘em every time, don’t we?  This time again it’s on health care.  They’re trying to scare the American people on health care reform. They’re saying your taxes are going to be going up. Well that’s only half true. You see, the Democrats want a surtax to pay for health care.  That would affect 1.2% of the population who earn money in this country.

That’s right: 1.2%, the richest Americans, would pay more. Now, by my math, 98.8% of Americans would not have to pay an additional dime. Now, the highest surtax would be 5.4%. That would be paid by people making over $1 million a year.  You know, people like Dick Cheney, George Bush, Paris Hilton. Maybe the guys who were playing in the All-Star game last night, they’re going to have to pay more, the Hollywood crowd, they’ve been willing to pay more all along to get health care.

So the question you need to ask at home tonight folks is: do you really care if Dick Cheney and the rest of that crowd has to pay a little bit more so we can have health care in this country?  The sum total of this is, personally, I don’t believe that the American people care if 1.2% of the American people have to pay more so we can get health care in this country.

That sounds nice, and if people watched Schultz’s show I’m sure at least some of them (the sort who believe everything they see on TV, e.g. Obama voters) are totally convinced that this is a good deal.  But the idea that we can pay for a massive new health care entitlement in this country by taxing just 1.2% of the population, even if it is the richest 1.2%, is ludicrous.  The math simply doesn’t work.

What’s more, we’ll all still pay for government health care.  Money taken out of the economy by the government is money out of all our pockets.  Perhaps not directly, but once that richest 1.2% is hit with the bigger taxes and begins to cut back on their economic activity a lot of people who aren’t in the 1.2% are going to lose money and jobs.

What I don’t understand is, why shouldn’t all Americans pay for government health care?  It’s something we’re all going to get, shouldn’t we all pay for at least some of it if we’re going to have it?  There was a time in this country when getting something from the government that other people paid for was called welfare, and it wasn’t something to be proud of.

Of course, the problem Democrats have with that is if government health care comes before the taxpayers with a big, fat tax bill attached to it they simply won’t support it.  Democrats must trick Americans into thinking that this is going to be “free.”