I also got to agree with Todd on this one. The republicans talk about rationing, but give no solution. What rationing means to me is that that there is a limited supply and someone must decide to how to distribut it out to who needs it most or to ensure that everyone gets an equal supply. If we need rationing and don't have it, doesnt that mean that there are lots of people out there who need it and cannot obtain it?

In maoist theory, in a capitalistic society there will come point where the gap between the rich and poor will be come so great the poor will raise up and take from the rich and distribute to all equally. He felt it was a natural progression. If the republicans are so scared of socialism, maybe they should consider this. The denial of basic needs, such as heath care, is one of those things that can drive a society to socialism. Step over to Machiavellian theory and we can assume the best way to stop this move would be to control access to these basic needs in such a way that the population is sated. The drive to socialized health care is there because of the fact that many Americans cannot afford it. Faced with the prospect of not having any way to care for themselves, they are rising up and demanding that society share the costs and supply evenly. If the republicans want to stop the socialization of medicine, they need find a way to provide it at an affordable cost and in a way that the middle and lower class feel they have access to at least decent care. The prospect of being sent away from a hospital to die while some rich hollywood actress is getting another boob job or face lift is a sure fire way to get the have not's to rise up against the haves.
In some ways we learned this long ago with welfare, minimum wage, work place safety standards and other forms of socialized legislation. If you want to eat your steak safely, don't do it in front of 10 starving people.