Now that the Senate has just passed it's version of health insurance reform, I need to address the many on my side that are pissed off at the compromises that had to be made to get this done.
I don't like it either. I wish they could have just rammed through either a single payer system or a Swiss Style system that TAO advocates. But it doesn't work that way.
We Democrats and Progressives do have things going our way now. The right is divided. Here in our blogging community we see many sharp right leaning members that won't describe themselves as "republicans" anymore. The rise of the tea party movement is not being filled with pissed off Democrats. It's pissed off former republicans that are filling much of it's rolls.
And just as the right is divided, and just as the right has used division to win elections and slow or stop government programs that would benefit all and not just the wealthy, we Progressives, Moderates and Libs that make up the Democratic Party must stand together and use their division to make America better.
If we stay divided on the health insurance reform bill and it gets killed, that's two huge victories for the right.
The battle to reform health care won't be won with this vote. But to lose now would set it back God knows how far. There is no Atom Bomb to drop that will achieve victory in one fell swoop. This battle for not just health insurance, but other important issues will take a long time. We have to make America an even more perfect union one fight at a time. I'd much rather have my candidates campaigning on policy victories than just holding their heads high and claiming "they fought the good fight."
The battle is for what our Nation will look like years from now. We allow ourselves to be divided and conquered, we not only lose in 2010 and 2012. But years from now our Nation will still look like it did when Bush II was in charge. Unless you're in the top two percent, that's a loss we may never get over.
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Actually, most of the folks that call themselves 'conservative' are actually just a bunch of alienated malcontents.
They claim to be constitutional scholars and obviously believe that the Founding Fathers still communicate with only them.
Yet not once to they note that the constitution provides for a militia...and not the largest military the world has ever seen.
They love to call Obama the Messiah and then in their next sentence they will wax poetic their undying love for Ronald Reagan.
Oh, and they will acknowledge that something is wrong with our healthcare system but then they will add that this plan will not solve our current problems...
But they offer no alternative and they fail to acknowledge that 'their' team was in charge for quite sometime and accomplished nothing!
Oh they go on and on about Obama and the months it took for him to decide what to do in Afghanistan oh and our poor, poor soldiers...
Not once do they care to acknowledge that the prior administration, the one they supported twice, let the troops in Afghanistan sit around with no support as they went off parading banners about "Mission Accomplished" and "Democracy in Iraq..."
No, we can't really expect much from Republicans....and those Republicans who now hide their true party affiliation under the trench coat they call "conservatives"
TAO - Call me "just an alienated malcontent" if you choose. I shall wear the tag with pride since it was given by you, and my conservatism has room for sensible and workable ideas ever so occasionally offered by the otherwise loonies on the left.
I have taken the basic position in support of the Swiss style healthcare plan, call me a malcontent.
I have long advocated for a strong military to defend the vital interests of our nation and its people, not to be the worlds policemen, call me a malcontent.
The mission in Iraq was mishandled by the Bush administration, and taking their eye off the ball in Afghanistan was a mistake. I have never said differently. Obama is repeating the errors of the Bush administration to a degree, call me a malcontent.
As to the current Republican Party, well, they stink as badly as the piece of crap health care the stinking democrats just pushed through the senate.
I know you are not talking about me when you lump conservatives "under the trench coat they call conservatives", and I appreciate that. What pisses me off is that I know others that are like me and hopefully we will create a force to be reckoned with.
The Rhino's and the lefties have failed miserably, call me a malcontent.
Are you contented?
It is time for us to band together and separate the lies from the truth and insist that those who tell the lies are held accountable for their crimes. The corruption must be punished, the Republic given back to the Citizens of the United States of America.
Hope and change! After perpetrating a vile legislative act, purposely structured to force the American people under the singular authority of the state, the President just wished us all a Merry Christmas. Now THAT's audacity!
The jackasses have just voted to destroy the nation and permanently divide the people. Their next task is to find a new name for this country and get rid of the word "United" because it no longer applies. Perhaps naming it the Confederated Fascist States of America (CFSA) would satisfy the leftist congress. These are sad, sad times.
Damn that big brother for wanting everyone to have affordable health insurance! Better 30 million people suffer and die for lack of insurance than sacrifice freedom. Right MT?
Just what freedoms are you talking about anyway?
62% of Americans do not want this bill.
This so-called "representative" government does not care what you want.
They only care that they have the power to do what they want, no matter what you want.
They are in control and you mean nothing to them.
And 38% of you will sit by and let this happen, either too stupid or not caring that you have been deceived.
Even you liberals will not like what's in this bill, but you will never be rid of it.
You will not like living in a county controlled by a few elitists who see themselves as smarter than you.
You won't like it, but you will be powerless to do anything about it.
As it stands now, the blood of our forefathers was wasted.
We might just as well have remained British subjects and eschewed the Revolutionary War.
By Christmas Day the great experiment will have ended, its funding cut off and its rule placed in the hands of an oligarchy.
Thanks to those of you who put him in office, President BO has begun giving us the change he hoped for: the demise of the American Way of Life as we have known it.
Obama is an absolute joke and will be judged by history as the worst president in modern times due to his handling of the financial crisis, overinflated ego and sheer lack of understanding of the fundamentals of our economy. The more his administration regulates, the worse the situation gets. Obama needs to worry more about the issues at hand and less about his celebrity status. His ego has now taken control of every decision and the idiots who voted for him are directly to blame. By electing this unqualified we have endangered the future of this great nation. His ineptitude is unbelievably apparent to educated individuals. He is completely incapable of answering even a single question with a straight answer and without the use of a teleprompter. His double talk confuses the idiots who voted for him into total submission. The people that think he is doing a good job are looking to him to bail them out, due to their poor financial decisions that has decimated our financial systems.
Merry Christmas, Truth.
A good post -- these are the essentials. If it's hard to make progress now, just imagine how hard it will be if the Republicans make major gains in Congress in 2010.
The right's major division is between rational conservatives like David Frum and a lunatic fringe which is completely detached from reality. They aren't going to have an easy time resolving that. Far easier for them to try and divide us.
I think their strategy is clear -- block and obetruct everything they can, to create a sense of frustration on our side that "the Democrats can't get things done", until a certain number of our voters stay home or vote third-party in 2010. The beneficiaries of that would be the Republicans.
JJP: 62% of Americans do not want this bill.
True, at the moment. As it happens, though, majorities of around 60% do want the public option and the Medicare expansion. It's the loss of those features which has hurt the bill with the public.
It had to lose them to get past Lieberman and through the Senate, but they can be re-visited later.
The key point, the essential point to be focusing on, is changing the Senate rules to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to stop a filibuster. Until that's done, the obstructionism will never stop.
TRUTH - you've laid out a rational argument for sticking together and trying to work with what we have.
I'm not thrilled with this bill; it looks like more sell-out than compromise to me. I am really ditressed that there is a mandatory obligation without a public option but I go along with seeing this as a step in the right direction and a chance to push forward.
BTW - Jo-Jo left the exact same rant over at Patrick's. Funny, although I've known he's an extreme conservative I didn't think he was a rant-troll. people change...
I respect Rational, because at least he is suggesting an authentic solution, the Swiss system. I only wish the GOP leaders had proposed that system as an alternative to allow some honest debate instead of their empty nay-saying and obstruction.
Frankly the bill stinks. And those on the right, like Joe-Jo are correct that the majority of
Americans do not want this bill, as passed by the Senate. However, they make the foolish mistake of assuming that all who do not want it are on their side. Before becoming disabled, opinion research was my field, and I've been doing some digging around in the demographics of some of the polls. The majority of those who oppose the bill oppose it because it does not go far enough in the direction of reform. Most of the opposition is from the left.
At this point, I see two possibility. We on the left can hold our noses and support passage of whatever comes out of conference committee next month. Or we can allow the GOP anti-reform extremists to defeat reform.
Off topic, Merry Christmas to Truth and almost all here.
Joe-Jo, Happy Holidays. ;-)
Happy Holidays Truth101,
The democrats have always had a problem with unity. It's an effect of the "big tent" reality.
To be honest, I did not think the Dem's could get this passed, and it's not over yet.
I am not happy with this bill, at all. It is worth passing, as a first step. Knowing that it will be tweaked for years, hopefully for the best.
The Republicans remind me of the Scrooge negative character.
My dad was a Republican. Cranky, negative, always bitching. Always saying how those dam hippies were destroying America. LBJ was no better than Stalin. He would ask out loud why people could not see that President Nixon was the salvation of America. Over the years he got so bad, all I could do was laugh at him.
That's exactly how I feel about this current bunch of Republicans. So negative, so defeatist, They have plenty of complaints, and no ideas. I'm just laughing at them.
Thanks for the support.
I've had problems with Reid, Pelosi and some of the pandering in the name of bipartisanship nonsense they and the Administration have been trying. I think it's a waste of time trying to work with closed minded fools. But when the dog shits on the floor, you have to hold your nose and pick it up. Only in this case it's obstructionist republicans shitting on the floor. You gotta do what you gotta do.
I don't think the guy posting as Joe Politico is the same one that has the blog of that name. Although I've never been welcome at his site, I think that Joe is not the damn fool the one pretending to be him is.
I don't think this is the right bill. I've been for a Swiss type plan and I'm very disappointed that we're stuck with this crappy piece of legislation that is more for Congress, big business and big Pharma. It's really ashame.
I think we, as Americans, should stand united. THAT would be more helpful than having Congress, as Reps and Dems, standing united. This is more us vs. them. Congress seems to forget that they work for us and that they can do whatever they want rather than what WE want.
I wonder what it's going to take for us to get our message to them? Tao has mentioned a "real" revolution. But what will it take for "we the people" to get mad enough for that? This bill will surely raise taxes on the middle class...will that make them mad enough? All I know is I'm sick of my party not doing what it's supposed to do. I'm sick of my Representatives just doing what's in their best interest rather than the best interest of the country and the best interest of the people.
Health Care should be EXACTLY that. HEALTH and CARE. But this bill is NOT about that. More's the pity and when people find out what's really in this bill they're going to be very angry--on both sides, because it doesn't deliver true health care.
Truth, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Well Pamela. Every bill is about what legislators can get for themselves and their constituents.
That we can agree is ridiculous. Before this is over, R's and Dem's will have billions more in unrelated to health care programs tacked onto this thing. The great irony is that many that sneak in provisions will vote against the bill. Then go home and brag about the latest wonderful thing they got for their districts.
Fix that and we can fix anything.
Merry Christmas to you and your family as well Pamela D. Hart.
Pamela, I think the real problem on Capitol Hill is the fact that we have people serving that list their occupation as politician.
Politician should not be a profession!
We need to revolutionize our political system with campaign fund restrictions and term limits for all.
We should NOT have dottering old men (or women) who piddle their diapers and fall asleep during debates helping to decide national policy.
We need to REALLY level the playing field to allow the inclusion of more than two parties.
With less cronism and bipartisan identification, MAYBE we could actually have meaningful debate about what benefits the citizens of this country and not just the special interest groups.
he just smiles as he sits in on the conversation and listens.
You are wise to listen to Rocky Griper. Too bad the powers that be aren't wise enough to listen and do what she says.
Here's an interesting piece by Frank Schaefer that Annette has posted. A good read for all, especially those who doubt.
http://annette-justmylittlepieceoftheworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/frank-schaeffer-weighs-in-again.html
actually, you might want to go to Schaeffer's blog because he also has a response by Andrew Sullivan.
http://frank-schaeffer.blogspot.com/
Baby steps forward are still better than big steps backward.
This isn't exactly the plan I wanted either, but we have to start somewhere.
Happy Holidays. Hare Krishna.
I'll be listening to soem George Harrison in honor of you Saty.
Tom said...
Happy Holidays Truth101,
The democrats have always had a problem with unity. It's an effect of the "big tent" reality.
To be honest, I did not think the Dem's could get this passed, and it's not over yet.
I am not happy with this bill, at all. It is worth passing, as a first step. Knowing that it will be tweaked for years, hopefully for the best.
The Republicans remind me of the Scrooge negative character.
My dad was a Republican. Cranky, negative, always bitching. Always saying how those dam hippies were destroying America. LBJ was no better than Stalin. He would ask out loud why people could not see that President Nixon was the salvation of America. Over the years he got so bad, all I could do was laugh at him.
And I'd bet that he was laughing his ass off at YOU!
What a Bad Ass Bastard he must have been. And I'd bet he was a RACIST also.
Thanks and Merry Christmas to you Bluepitbull.
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas to all you cool cats and pretty kitties! And have a purrrfect New Year!
@ Ms. T.C. Shore,
you are exactly right, we musn't forget that Jimmy Carter took an "all or nothing stance" on Reform and his battles with the Senate in general. While ethically admirable, it wasn't very logical or pragmatic and frankly it was kind of stupid in the long run. If a watered down version of this bill passes, we'll be were we should've been in 1978 on this issue.
If the Senate Democrats can at least put the Health Care Industry "on defense," with elements of this bill like eliminating caps on coverage, denial of coverage based upon pre-exsiting conditions (WHICH SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN LEGAL IN THE FIRST PLACE) it's better for the country and our industries and our future.
Merry Xmas y'all!
-SJ
I join Tom in wishing Bluepitbull, Helga the Right is Right Lady, and everyone a Merry Christmas.
But most of all to my right leaning friends, Merry Kwanza!
Happy Festivus, T101. I agree with your assessment of this bill. I think that it's a necessary piece of legislation although I'm holding my nose while I say that. Hope you and your family have a great holiday.
Good to hear from you JBW. In fact I'm about to wake the kids for the feats of strength and wrestling bouts.
YVW, Truth!
as i've mentioned before, i'm not real big on Republicans or "movement conservatism". they are a rightist phenomenon in American politics. supernatural
I *personally* don't care that much about the health care bill anymore. It appears as though it's a done deal. And that it won't affect me or anyone in my family -- either positively or negatively. That said, I agree with Truth that it's defeat would be a victory for the Right, which would be a bad thing.
Pamela, why are you in favor of the Swiss plan? You are aware that Swiss Insurance companies are NON-PROFIT, right? I thought Republicans believed in the profit motive.
rockync, We already have term limits -- they're called elections. Why should anyone be prohibited from serving an additional term -- not because they're doing a bad job -- but because their "time is up"? It doesn't make any sense to me.
I am in favor of publically financed elections and instant run-off voting. Both of these measures would make it easier to get rid of incumbents -- if they're doing a bad job. If someone is doing a good job I don't want them thrown out of office due to some arbitrary "term limit".
Jo-Joe, "the demise of the American Way of Life as we have known it" began under Reagan who turned over rule to an elite plutocracy.
Damn, Truth, did you send all those nuts to my blog?
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