i guess harry doesn't know what the word "public" means.
it kind of bizarre to see the relatively recent and very american ideology that says government is always worse than private. it really is an ideology too. you can't challenge it with evidence. it's like arguing with a true believer in a religion. and it's so pervasive, even moderate democrats like harry reid buy into it, or at least feel pressured to kowtow to it.
it's also interesting that while much of the american right subscribes to the cult of private industry, the opposite cult doesn't really exist on the opposite side of the political spectrum. at least not in any significant way. i personally believe that there are things that government does better than the private sector and things that the private sector does better than government. deciding which is better for a particular problem involves looking at the evidence, how other governments have dealt with it and whether they have been more or less successful. that seems to be how most lefties that i know think. it's more pragmatism than ideology. no doubt there is someone out there who believes that liberalism means the end of all things private, but whoever they are they are so marginal to debate on any issue they'll all but invisible.
except as a straw man in discussions with conservatives, of course. that's another interesting thing. when i argue with conservatives, many imagine a left dominated by a dedication to government that is equal and opposite to their own cult of private industry. they (at least several that i have talked to) seem to believe with all their hearts that liberals are ideologically committed to using government to solve every problem.
as an actual liberal, this strikes me as insane. it's another example of conservatives assuring me that they know more about what i believe than i do. it's also seems to be a deeply rooted belief on the other side. so long as they're not open to considering evidence to the contrary, i'm not sure if they can ever be talked out of it.
