In an editorial today (Civic lessons from the Supreme Court) The Washington Post produces a “journalism” lesson as it’s practiced today.  The WaPo editors wrote  about the debate before the Supreme Court and more broadly about a lack of political will:

“None of the politicians wanted to acknowledge the costs.

“The pols love to bash insurance companies that exclude anyone with preexisting conditions. They demand that the companies charge less for old people than the actuarial tables would dictate. They want to give insurance to poor people who can’t afford it. But they, like their voters, don’t want to pay for the subsidies implied by any of those rules. When President Obama was running in 2008, he insisted he could deliver universal coverage without a mandate. Once in office, he found that wasn’t true. But he still didn’t want to use the word “tax,” and neither did anyone in Congress.”

The WaPo Editorial Board lacks the courage to identify the “pols” as Democrats, each and every one.  They, the Democrats “who didn’t want to acknowledge the costs” still lie about the costs of the bill and who will ultimately pay.  The still celebrate unsustainable gimmicks and devices used to pass the bill, including, but not limited to, the “Cornhusker Kickback,” the “Louisiana Purchase,” and the colossal nonsense about finding a half trillion dollars in Medicare “savings.” Coupled with six years of benefits paid for with the first ten years of revenue, it is all a fraud, no matter how laudable the goal.

The Republicans had the courage to oppose this charade and the once venerable Washington Post heaped scorn and derision on them, only now finding the courage to acknowledge the vital flaws, yet lacking the courage to say, “Gee, maybe the critics had some valid concerns and we were wrong at the time to treat them like troglodytes.”

And, by the way, Republicans, for their courage unrecognized by WaPo Editors, won a historic victory in Congress . . . The people made a judgment in spite of a dishonest WaPo Editorial Board.