Time to jump to the high side

Well said Jay (0.00 / 0)

Americans have been struggling to keep their heads above the whitewater for 20 years since last time we tried this (and well before).  Finally, we get a president supportive of health care reform and 60 Dems in the Senate, providing a bit of calm water in which to regroup and plan for the future.  Unfortunately, instead of working for the public a small group of Senators are f*****g around on the boat, wasting valuable time.  

In an even worse scenario, the passage of a bad bill essentially allows the insurance companies to dig a waterfall at the end of the line.  With the help of milquetoast insurance reform (read: mandate), 46 million new customers are pushed into regional co-ops that are rife with mismanagement, corruption and a distinct lack of interest in the actual health of the patient.  What do Dems get?  The opportunity to declare a Pyrrhic victory, and a few $ million more for a small handful of Senators who probably can't even remember what it's like to feel electoral pressure.  

Last time we tried a weak patch approach to opening up the health insurance market by helping a quasi-private organization, we ended up with Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  Most of Montana knows how great that worked out. Not to mention the fact that these capitulating Dems are splitting the party in the process.  I've never seen many of my friends (and I mean friends who write checks, volunteer and even work for Democratic campaigns) so disgusted with their own party.  

Sure, there'll be lots of talk about throwing these rats overboard, but what's the point when a lot of us will have drowned by the time they're up again?  

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by: Nick Domitrovich @ Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 15:20:20 PM CDT

Here's some fodder for your musings, Jay... (0.00 / 0)

Great opinion piece in The Nation's Aug 31st edition, entitled "Blue Dog Daze":

"Washington's August humidity seems to have induced political stupefaction among White House operatives, whose sluggish reasoning has led them to denounce progressives for criticizing any Congressional Democrat in the healthcare debate. There's a war on, they argue, and we have limited ammunition--save it for the real enemy...

The White House call for progressives to ignore these Democratic obstructionists [Blue Dogs] is not much different from Lyndon Johnson telling Martin Luther King Jr. to halt civil rights demonstrations in a South ruled by segregationist Democrats. Change never comes from following such advice.

What the country needs--what Obama needs, whether he realizes it or not--is an independent, mobilized, progressive citizens' movement that takes on the corporate lobbies, from Big Pharma to Big Oil to Wall Street; challenges the legislators who are in their pockets; and demands affordable national healthcare, renewable energy, empowerment of workers, regulation of Wall Street and more. That movement should go after the conservatives and the compromised in both parties--anyone who stands in the way of reform."

Progressives need to stop being dems and apologists (like where Craig Moore is trying to drag us), and start being... Progressive!

I've always been more motivated by issues and policy than any loyalty to an individual politician or a party. Progressives need to wake up and ditch the faux loyalty that is being demanded by party, ignore the calls to be apologists, attack the obstructionists, vilify teabaggism, and advocate their issues.

At least if we go down, we know that we went down swinging.

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by: JC @ Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 16:53:18 PM CDT

JC, I think Weiner is fishing for an apology (0.00 / 0)

from Obama.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit...

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Weiner indicated that some in the president's own party feel betrayed after supporting him on health care reform and then taking lumps from constituents.

"Some of us who have gotten roughed up pretty good at town hall meetings and stuck in there because we believe in this, now kind of feel like we have a tire track on our chest where the bus that rolled over us is," Weiner said.

A government-run public health insurance option has long been a centerpiece of President Obama's plans for health care reform. Two months ago Obama indicated that it would be in the final health care legislation he signs into law.
++++++++++++++++++++++

Now do you support Weiner and how he feelings of betrayal, or do you support O-Forked-Tongue and his claim of consistency on the public option, and insist that Weiner owes O-Forked-Tongue an apology?

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by: Craig Moore @ Tue Aug 18, 2009 at 16:58:51 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Politics is rough and tumble (0.00 / 0)

Obama needs the progressive wing of the party riled up, and he succeeded in doing so.

I could care less what Weiner says publicly. If he demands and gets an apology, it would be a private one.

Either way, I don't really care. There's a lot of feinting going on right now. Seems that you've been faked out once again.

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by: JC @ Tue Aug 18, 2009 at 17:42:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Don't think so (0.00 / 0)

JC, I go by this perspective when listening to politicians.

A politician is a person who smiles pretty, shakes your hand, and pees on your shoe all at the same time, then swears he didn't do that. Did you hear Gibb's today?

Actually, Obama needs to find a spine to stand up straight to lead.  He needs broad shoulders to carry HIS message, not the congressional gaggle as substitute.  He needs to admit where he is changing course and not swear he is consistent. He needs to convince people he is trustworthy. NOT reinforce feelings of distrust with parsing, half-truths and worse.

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by: Craig Moore @ Tue Aug 18, 2009 at 17:55:42 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Info War (0.00 / 0)

The Obama folks listened to the Clintonites too much.  Too hands off.  They got out-messaged.  That and the Senators who didn't even take the boat through the rapids.  They're doing a portage instead.

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by: Kilgore @ Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 20:47:24 PM CDT