Jared Polis is using the Democrats' Evil Rich surtax plan for medical care to ingratiate himself to his wealthy Boulder and Summit County supporters. Last week, he and a few other Congressional newbies came out in opposition to this 5.4% surtax. Their faux bravery won't actually impact the Democrat's plans, since Colorado isn't very important, but he gets to look daring, standing up for his wealthy campaign donors, like a virtual cowboy.

Polis' district is famous for a culture of healthy eating and fitness. Now the healthy and wealthy of Boulder County are going to be paying thousands, possibly millions, more in taxes to pay for medical care for obese people in other important states, who just can't be bothered to take responsibility for their own health. Small comfort for Boulderites, but they're not alone. People like Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong and others who are famous for personal attention to fitness, like Democrat-supporting Hollywood celebrities, will be subsidizing the astronomical costs of preventable chronic diseases. It's deliciously ironic.

The Democrats are rushing this tax proposal because of a supposed health care crisis. Oxymoron Alert!! Healthy people don't need care. What we really have is a medical care demand crisis. And we have it because obesity is driving medical care costs and insurance premiums.New data just yesterday puts the cost at$147 billion per year to treat the symptoms of preventable diseases: Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, reflux, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gall stones, gout and many cancers (notably breast and colon). More irony: recent reports noted that swine flu affects obese people much more severely than normal weight people. Imagine if obesity and all those expensive diseases disappeared tomorrow. Demand for medical care would plummet.There would be no crisis, no need for new, inefficient government bureaucracies. Resources could be directed at medical conditions like childhood cancers, brain tumors, genetic diseases and catastrophic injuries. You'd think decreasing the demand side of this equation would make sense.

But noooooo. The Democrats aren't interested in decreasing demand. Mid-term elections are a short year away, and a quickie socialized medicine plan is guaranteed to buy votes for the nice Democrats, who are handing out free drugs for lifestyle diseases. People who are enmeshed in a medical care system that rewards their unhealthy lifestyle choices with free care are not likely to vote against the politicians who created the entitlement. Wealthy Colorado Democrats can think of it this way: it's not a tax really; it's more like a campaign contribution to buy votes of people who take no responsibility for their own health. Surely you'll have a few bucks left over to buy organic food and new running shoes.

Of course, the Democrats have to hope the system doesn't start to self-destruct until after the 2012 election. A system that makes obesity and chronic disease the cheap, easy path is a system that will quickly cause more and worse disease. The Democrats may feel empowered by the medical demands of obesity at the moment. But once the insatiable demand for care overruns capacity and funding, obesity could be their downfall. At what point will Polis' wealthy supporters finally see the light? An 8% surtax? 10%? Someday we'll probably find out, because 5.4% will never be enough.