Freedom > socialism?

Andrew Sullivan in a post titled Texas vs. Massachusetts:

They are poles apart on the numbers of uninsured. Perry’s Texas has 27.2 percent of its population without health insurance – the worst record in America. Massachusetts has an uninsured rate of 5.2 percent – the best. And yet Romney is still apologizing for this achievement.

Tell me: is it actually a Republican goal that people cannot have decent access to healthcare? Do they have any proposals to help? So far, the examples seem to be yes and no.

Ahh, what Sullivan fails to mention that tis better to have freedom and die from an untreated infection than live under the socialist tyranny of being required to have health insurance.

Why the media love Huntsman

Damn that Jon Huntsman is a handsome man:

I don’t think, however, that that’s enough to explain the media’s fascination with a candidate who’s pulling about 1% in the polls.  I think Matt Yglesias hits exactly what the appeal is, though.  Basically, journalists love a candidate who criticizes their own party.

In general, it’s important to appreciate that intra-party conflict plays a very special role in the American media. Operating in a kind of truth-free zone where there’s no objective reality, the closest thing to a “fact” is when all members of one party and some members of the other party agree on something. Consequently, there’s never a greater media darling than a member of congress from a contested district who’s willing to take time out of his busy day of legislating and winning re-election to go whine about the party leadership to a reporter from Roll Call or Politico. When someone does it in the course of a national political campaign, it’s an even bigger deal!

Love that line, “the closest thing to a “fact” is when all members of one party and some members of the other party agree on something.”  That’s exactly the problem.   Sometime there’s bipartisan agreement on something that makes no sense.  And, yes, sometimes one party is completely opposed by the other party, but they’re right anyway (i.e., health care, imperfect, but right).  Ah, if only journalists could just call out facts and lies as they are, regardless of where the parties stand.