This diary, like many of mine, is triggered by some comment thread that generated an idea worth expanding on some; namely, my reasons for absolutely supporting the Public Option.
Obama Public Option PDF posted in the comments, go check it out! This is an old plan... Just found out this morning. Here's to hoping though!
Now, that bull shit headline is a bit of spin brought to me by our very own Oregon Senator, Ron Wyden. Let it be known, that I hate that kind of crap, but I also recognize when it's useful.
Please commit to calling Ron a lot, and mention his non-committal stance as cause to better support his new buddy Merkley, and by the way, has he signed on to the letter? You know the drill.
Comments will be open on this one throughout the day tomorrow, so report back on Wyden!
My greater point concerns our ongoing health care tension here. Know I'm not really bothered by it, unless one gets personal with it. For details on that, you can go Here for form and Here for strategy.
Moving on then.
The classic Wyden positioning by not asserting technique is useful in this health care context because it gives one a resolution to the tension laden goals of:
"Do you support passing the Senate bill no matter what?"
, and
"If a Public Option is not in the bill, do you want it to pass?"
Now some variation on that crap has been pulled out and used to beat us over the head, pretty much each day, for about as long as we've had the health care issue here in our little Dkos sandbox.
After all the comments I've made, and the bullying, manipulating, asserting, yelling, and such I've seen, I think it will be useful to put my own position up here in a diary, so I can just link it, move on, and continue doing advocacy, reinforcing others actions, learning stuff, and all the other fun and useful Dkos things we like to do.
It is my belief that we are here having this Public Option discussion, complete with momentum, letter signing and such, because our friends in the House, who are Progressives, have signed on to a pledge that says they won't vote to pass a bill that does not contain the Public Option.
I support that position 100 percent, unabashedly, and believe those House Progressives are heroes because they were able out position the sell out Senators, trying to bully through the current Senate bill. Their strong stand has left us with the Senate in the following lesser position:
passing their bill as is requires they gain the voting support of enough Republicans to trump the House Progressives and the other Democrats who will back them
, or
they need to fix their bill through a majority rule legislation that will amend their bill to meet the standard of balance and equity reached by the House
, or
they need to let us know that no bill will pass
, or
they need to convince the house that passing their bill, or some sub-set of the two bills is worth passing!
I do not support not passing a bill. I do not believe we will fail to pass a bill. I know we need to pass a bill. I want *really fucking want a bill to pass, and pass in a timely way.
I do not want the Senate bill, without improving it. So, here's the delicate positioning matter, which is the subject of this diary:
I won't oppose that bill being passed, if the Senate can find enough support for that to occur without the votes of the House Progressive bloc. Let them do it!
In other words, if they absolutely must sell us out on a mandate only, no PO legislative package, let them!! I'm ok with that, but I don't have to contribute to that. I'm an unabashedly Progressive person, and just can't wake up each morning to the idea that I said it was ok to lock us in to funding the health care access the American people need through an exclusive, for profit corporation, or corporations!
I'm just not there people. Can't do it.
Going forward then, for me, this means I will absolutely go to the mat for the Public Option. I believe it is possible, practical, viable, necessary for a whole lot of reasons already hashed out here too many times. Let's just say that's where I'm at on this, and move on.
We can't ask people, who believe as I do, and who acted like the House Progressives did to commit to support passing the Senate bill, and somehow also be supporting the Public Option, and this is why:
, if
we pre-commit to absolute support of the Senate bill
, then
the Senate has an out to not follow through on their vocal and strong support for the Public Option that we saw when they were hiding behind Lieberman and his fellow sell out Senators!
If they can pass that bill without the Progressives, let them! I'm ok with that. Republicans are good at that kind of legislation, and this just might be that one bi-partisan opportunity that gets them involved. I hope that's not the case, but it is possible, and I will support that only by not opposing it.
See how that works?
The current position of the Senate is extremely favorable to getting that Public Option right now. They are pinned between House Progressives, who are greatly empowered by the Republican party all voting in opposition as a party bloc, and the public need for health care reform!
This has implications, which is why the House Progressives won't budge on this. Every one of them that signed on to a commitment to a Public Option, will own their vote to deny the American People that Public Option, and they will go home and get hammered for it!
We can't ask them to do that. I won't ask them to do that, because they signed on to DOING THE RIGHT THING, and how often does that happen?
Not anywhere near enough to let this pass, that's how often. And the Speaker of the House is backing them on it, because she knows the cost of their failure there, and what it means to Progressives everywhere, who worked their asses off to build a bloc big enough to make a difference!
In addition to that, the Senate also has a legislative process out that is just perfect! Everybody knows that Senate bill that did pass with the 60 votes was probably the best it could be, due to the nature of the sell out Senators.
What I think is missed here is the sell outs under-estimated the House Progressives and their resolve. I seriously think that nobody really thought through the implications of the Republicans voting in opposition as a party bloc!
Their opposition means Democrats own this legislation fully and completely! There is no normal wheeling and dealing with the inevetible corporate favoritism in the legislation, because there are no Republicans to pin the blame on!
The Progressives have rolled over many times, and they did so because they have never had position like they do right now. You can thank the Republicans for that, and how often does that happen?
This political miscalculation left the Senate in a position where they have a process to legislate around the sell outs, thus securing their pro health care reform vote, but not requiring their support to refine the quality of the bill!
Not only can this happen, but it must happen! The Senate has no excuses this time. The Senate owns this whole thing, and for once can be held accountable for it's many failures, and that's why we are seeing people sign on to the Public Option.
The House Progressives are in a do or die scenario. They literally can't vote to go ahead with that Senate bill because of their pledge, and the Republicans are actually backing them with their opposition!
Think about that when you ask us "Public Option or Nothing" people to express unconditional support for the Senate bill! Nobody really wants to kill the bill.
(well, there are a few, but you get the idea)
What we want is to leverage the position we have right now to compel the Senate to do the best it can! That can't happen if they have the out, and that out is realistic, so please give us the benefit of the doubt here.
We want a bill, we need a bill, and most of us believe a bill will pass, but we can't just say "pass it", because this position dynamic in play right now hasn't played out yet, and until it does, we've got to hold firm, or it's all for nothing.
This issue is so important that I hold no doubt that we will see a bill pass. None at all. As far as I am concerned, we are there, waiting for the details to become clear, and now you know why I say what I do, and why others say what they do.
Now, let's all call, and rope in as many others to call as we can, and get the best bill we can!
WE CAN DO THIS!!