They're a different kind of Christian, that's for sure.
Reading about their smug get-together on Capitol Hill with Michele Bachmann and other wingnut VIP's, I wonder just which of the Ten Commandments these middle-class American "Christians" manage to keep. We've seen them with their lust and envy problems. It's increasingly evident that "love thy neighbor as thyself" is way beyond their personal horizons. Above all, these brothers can't spare a dime -- though they have enough to "have come to Washington from all across the country – Texas, Ohio, Oregon and the greater Washington area."
They all seem to be middle-aged, have jobs and plenty of insurance -- and no thought for those who don't. Economist James Galbraith must have them in mind when he says:
We've come through a generation where we have really denied the existence of a common good or a public purpose. And I think we've recognized that that path leads to collapse, the collapse that we've seen. And that the way out is to somehow reestablish for ourselves this vision of what we really could be.
One of the protesters told the New York Times reporter that he has "a professional background in health care finance." I'm guessing his income is at least triple digit, no? So when he cites his own good luck, you have to wonder whether he's given a thought to anyone else. "As for controlling medical costs," this professional "did not have any ready solutions. He said that last December, his wife, Jennifer, had a heart transplant at the Cleveland Clinic. But he said he had no idea what it had cost. Her insurance coverage has an annual deductible of $4,000. After that, he said, everything was covered '100 percent.'"
Now there's an Christian who takes care of Number One. And (apparently) only Number One.
Meanwhile, the AARP and AMA have now officially been recognized by the White House as having endorsed the "current health care plan being considered in Congress." Actually, I believe the AARP specifically endorsed the more comprehensive plan emerging from the House.
