Is Gregoire Naive, or Does She Think We Are?

KING5 Up Front did a story on health care reform this weekend, and featured a portion of an interview with Governor Christine Gregoire.

In between sophomoric catchphrases like "it's a sick system, not a health care system," she was asked by reporter Meg Coyle about Obama's public health option running out of money, and Gregoire responded that the public option would be paid for only by those who subscribe to it, and not taxpayers' dollars.

She actually said this. Not only does it deny what Obama says in his own plan -- Obama would give tax credits to pay for the health insurance plan for people who can't pay for themselves, which is effectively the same as paying for it out of the general fund -- but it defies common sense anyway. No sane and intelligent person can believe that this won't continue to be expanded to include every person who wants it and can't pay for it. Just like every other government program, it will inevitably become a welfare program. That's the whole point.

Gregoire said in the interview that some critics say government can't do it. "If government can't do it, what's everybody afraid of?" She said if it doesn't work, it doesn't work; that people are afraid it WILL work, and that's the source of their criticism.

But we know for a fact (because he said so himself) that the ultimate Obama plan is single-payer health care: any deficiencies in the system will just be an excuse to further expand the scope of the system. And once we are in single-payer, it will be almost impossible to go back, even if it isn't working.