| Nice speech last night, eh? The prez nailed it, talked to us like grownups, explained - very clearly - the concepts and morals of health care reform, righteously struck down the nay-sayers and trouble-makers.
The president's support for the public option was a little...ambiguous...to say the least, but it was support. Remember, it's the Progressive House Caucus that decides whether the public option gets into the bill, not the president, not Max Baucus. I think this speech aids them, and I'm more optimistic today about the public option than I was yesterday.
Thoughts...yes, we all know about Joe Wilson's outburst (which would have gotten him suspended from Britain's parliament), but the general boorish behavior of the Republicans would have been laughable if some of these *sshats weren't actively trying to derail reform that will protect Americans from insurers' predatory practices that drive many Americans into bankruptcy and often even death. What got me was when Obama decried the lie of the death panels, and the Republicans sat on their hands glumly, while the rest of the room stood and cheered wildly.
What? This is what they cherish? This is what they make a very public stand for? Lies and calumny?
This, in contrast, is what I stand for:
You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, and the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter - that at that point we don't merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.
I also was amused by the sight of a very dour Max Baucus during Obama's points on the public option. He, like his Republican peers, also refused to rise and cheer when Obama reiterated the importance of the public option.
(Quick note. FactCheck.org debunks Wilson's accusation; the language of HB 3200 reads, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." Odious, yes. But true. So why the fuss? From what I can tell - and it ain't easy wading through the morass -- conservatives are angry that illegal immigrants aren't prohibited by the bill from buying any kind of health insurance, without government assistance. Which doesn't go far enough by half, I'm guessing. Why do we let those pesky Mexicans even buy food?)
But the best part of the speech was that it worked. Those that saw it, liked what he had to say. Which just goes to show that if you're a public figure, and you're forceful enough about the reform, and clear enough in explaining it - working hard to strip away the lies - people will support it. |
