Why Are Elitists So Dumb?

Rationing and Rationality in the National Review has set off quite the little web war. Stacy McCain thinks that Rich Lowry should be fired:

Accusing Sarah Palin (and her supporters) of "hysteria" over health care?
Once again, as I said two weeks ago, National Review contributes more evidence for the prosecution in the continuing case of Why Rich Lowry Should Have Been Fired No Later Than 2001.

Riehl World View:

NRO: Palin Is Hysterical

I suppose the boy Editor will eventually argue, "Well, it was only her words, you see". As if the childish looking dupe could ever pull off a decent Buckley imitation.

What is it going to take for conservatives to finally accept that William F. is dead, the heirs to the throne, with too few exceptions, are a bunch of 2nd and 3rd generation elitist brats who belong to the Inside the Beltway set? They are not a part of the conservative movement that must re-define American politics, just as Reagan did, if there is to be anything like conservatism going forward in the nation's political discourse.

And from Andrew McCarthy:

I did indeed say, "few people worried about death panels think the process will be anything so crude" as what the editorial describes as "deciding whose life has sufficient value to be saved." From this, you conclude that, "in other words," I agree with the editorial that the death panels won't be "literal death panels." That's just wrong. I most certainly do not agree that the editorial's narrow description of a death panel's function — namely, "deciding whose life has sufficient value to be saved" — establishes the "literal" definition of what a death panel is.

I am getting the feeling that Rich Lowry is what my mother calls “an educated idiot.” He really shouldn’t write about things that he obviously knows nothing of. Nobody is saying that there will be a government team whose sole purpose will be to travel from hospital to hospital pulling the plug on Grannie. However, it is reasonable that a public option will lead to rationing. Rationing will lead to certain care being allowed or disallowed. As a result of these decisions, under a government plan some people will not receive treatment which could reasonably result in death.

Let me break it down. Let’s say that I earn forty thousand dollars a year. Based on the resources at my disposal I make decisions, ration, my housing, food intake, vehicle usage and my medical care. I can choose not to ration and live off of my credit cards but at some point the deficit in my budget will catch up with me.

The government has no real money of its own. Therefore, its resources are limited and it must make decisions, ration, how those resources are spent. When medical dollars are limited, it is reasonable that available dollars will be spent on the most productive members of society. That is reality and denying it is either delusional or disingenuous.

Sarah Palin was right. Is that simple enough for you Mr. Lowry?