Too Smart for Us

Michelle Malkin said that liberals who disagree with her about SCHIP "wouldn't know a good-faith argument if it bit them in the lip." So Ezra Klein said he'd be willing to step up and argue the SCHIP policy merits with Malkin. So she said: "'Debate' Ezra Klein? What a perverse distraction and a laughable waste of time that would be. And that's what they really want, isn't it? To distract and waste time so they can foist their agenda on the country unimpeded." Which is a long-winded set-up for Jon Chait's joke:

Yes, that was the plan. And now that she's on to it, I might as well confess our scheme: Dispatch Klein to tie up Malkin for an hour or so, and while she's distracted, push universal health insurance through Congress. Indeed, we've used similar tactics in the past, such as 1993, when we passed the Clinton tax hike after luring Rush Limbaugh to an all-you-can-eat buffet for much of the afternoon. Next time we'll have to be even smarter.

It's a little-known fact, but the entire New Deal was passed into law because the conservative coalition in congress was distracted by Will Rogers cracking a bunch of jokes.