The Washington Cartel


Why I haven’t seen this video before, and why it has not gone viral, is beyond me.  Listening to this speech, I feel as relieved as I did listening to Reagan in the late 1970s explaining calmly and clearly to the American people how we were being hoodwinked by politicians who promised to protect us if only we would send them more money, more power, more steps toward socialized medicine.

Senator Cruz describes, in plain language, the machinations of what he terms “the Washington Cartel” of K Street lobbyists and politicians. (The speech lasts about 40 minutes, but keep listening for his superb answer to why we might expect him to keep his word).  It’s easy to see why establishment Republicans — and Donald Trump, by the way — might not want you to hear this.

Incidentally, he mentions insurance companies.  Insurance companies are the tip of the iceberg.  We know that hospitals and professional organizations and others are in on the game too.  And the game isn’t only about greed, as the consumerists would have you believe.  Often the objective is ideological — the misguided desire to fundamentally transform society; to take a health care system that is malfunctioning largely because of government meddling, and try to “fix it” with more meddling.

Here are a few of my picks for the Washington Cartel Hall of Fame:

Please listen to Cruz’s speech, and share it with a friend.