The other evening when the President was pitching his health legislation, his biggest ovation – from both sides – came when he threw medical malpractice trial lawyers under the bus in an effort to get a few republican votes. It was not much of a surprise. Lawyers have been hated throughout the ages. In Shakespeare’s ”Henry VI,” Part II, Act IV, Scene II, Line 73, Dick the Butcher stated: ”The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
The US Chamber of Commerce is not quite so direct – well, at least less violent:
We know from our own polling that 9 out every 10 Americans believe that there are too many frivolous or unfair lawsuits. We know that 84% of all Americans say that meritless lawsuits are clogging our courts, denying justice to those who truly have been hurt. And, we know that 75% of all Americans think that the current lawsuit system benefits lawyers the most, while only 6% think that it helps the victims. 83% percent of voters said the number of frivolous lawsuits was a serious problem, including 77% of Democrats; 80% of Independents; and 92% of Republicans.
The “bottom line” is that Congress and the President can do something good by passing comprehensive food safety legislation. Not only will it protect consumers from unsafe food, but it will protect society from at least one of those damn trial lawyers – a win, win. I am thinking of selling the below on Marlerblog on t-shirts: