The public option is dead.
Obama sold us out
And if we don't all start acting like progressive political activists instead of a bunch of fucking fanboys too star struck to call out President Obama for his bullshit, we will lose every political priority we have.
Let me put this bluntly. The personal popularity Obama enjoys among a vast majority of the members of this community has blinded many if not most to the fact we, the progressive community, are under assault.
Our most basic legislative priority, health care reform, is about to be turned into a corporate giveaway, unimaginable in scope and cruel in nature.
The public option, at its best, was a severe compromise of our values, but it was acceptable to most of us because we have the good sense to not let the perfect become the enemy of possible.
Now, the public option is gone, the individual mandate remains, and if you're lucky enough to have insurance, your rates are probably going to skyrocket.
This isn't reform, it's legislative sodomy.
We need to start fighting back.
If a public option can't be saved, we have no choice but to oppose health care reform. We have to call our representatives and tell them to vote "no" on any senate bill or conference report that doesn't include a public option. But not just any public option, a robust public option, the kind that was dead months ago.
If we can't get a robust public option out of this, than we should work to scuttle the health care reform bill. To burn it down.
What happened to not letting the perfect become the enemy of the possible? Well, the possible just got gut shot, so I guess that leaves us with the perfect.
We've been so lost staring dreamily into Obama's eyes, we've forgot what all brought us here: politics. And we need to start playing politics again before we lose another round to Presidents Nelson and Snow.
If we work to defeat the monstrosity formerly known as health care reform, we can show Obama and the majority party that we can't be distracted by shiny objects. If it's not substantive reform then it won't get our support, and if they won't attempt to deliver substantive reform, then they won't get our support either.
There is still the faint possibility that the public option can be salvaged, but we need to prepare ourselves for the end game if it isn't put back in. Health care reform isn't doing just to let Rahm carve another notch in his gun.
I know we've all become invested in this bill, and the idea of letting the GOP score a victory here, but from a political and from a policy standpoint it is our only option.
No public option, no reform. Burn it down.