Watershed week for the U.S.

It's hardly news that this is the week Obama and congressional Democrats (well, some of them; the only bipartisan coalition in Washington is in opposition to ObamaCare considering that 39 House Democrats voted against it in the first go-round) will do everything they can, including buying votes with your money, to get something that can be called health-care reform passed. In some ways, however, it's even bigger than that. As this Register editorial from Sunday explains (Pardon me, that's another and I don't know how to de-link; here's the correct link.) It could mark a virtually irreversible step toward a European-style welfare state. It's hardly a secret that that's what a significant number of American "progressives" really want. The traditional Constitution-fearing limited government that kept the U.S. in good stead is simply unbearable to them. It seriously frustrates the impulse to have government do more -- much more -- for us -- and to us.

If health care passes, it will be almost impossible to eliminate even if the Reps take back Congress in November. Obama would veto a repeal of course, and before long, like most entitlements it would be part of the landscape, fiercely defended by recipients even as they complained that it didn't deliver enough or deliver it well. Mark Steyn explains much of the process in this recent column.