Progressive nightmare

By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 16, 2011

• Cut DIRIGO HEALTH SUBSIDIES. Some of these proposals, says Dudley of Engage Maine, suggest that their champions are "willfully blind to how Dirigo positioned Maine so well to take on the role of the insurance exchanges contemplated in the Affordable Care Act. It seems at times that their attempts to attack Dirigo are ideological and impervious to how Dirigo is going to put Maine in a great position in terms of establishing these exchanges" — which will be the law of the land in 2014.

It's no coincidence that these proposals seem to attack not just Maine's health-care system, but the underpinnings of so-called ObamaCare as well. "So many conservative folks have beat up on federal health care that they feel like they need to have their own ideas on how to make health care more affordable," Chin hypothesizes.

Phew. It's a lot to absorb, and the same could be said in every issue area. Put 'em together and what have you got? Here's Russell's take: "This is a multi-faceted attack, but it's part of a national playbook. This is not just a progressive issue. This is really an issue for all working- and middle-class families."

Deirdre Fulton can be reached at dfulton@phx.com.

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