Ok, another week has come and gone and what a week it was. As Republicans pass legislation in the house that will literally kill children, the poor and the elderly in order to give billionaires another tax break, Democrats in the House chant the hey, hey goodbye song and slap each other on the back. They think this is the big break they have been waiting for and that it will guarantee election success 18 months from now. They are so wrong.
But first a little history about me, Kos and this website. In May of 2006 Markos Moulitsas and Jerome Armstrong published a book, Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots and the Rise of People Powered Politics . I bought a copy hot off the press, (didn’t have a kindle back then) read it and said wow. They pointedly made the case that the Democratic establishment, due to its insatiable thirst for corporate cash, had become oblivious to the problems of us common folk. Markos and Jerome recommended that we become more active and hold our leaders accountable for the disastrous election results that we had been getting. Kos even had a website that I could join and read other ideas, share my ideas and support efforts to change the Democratic party. Our efforts to change things in the party yielded results: a successful primary against Joe Lieberman; nominating and electing a change candidate and the first African American to the office of president; taking back the House and the Senate. Today we find ourselves in worse shape than we were in eleven years ago. I think the causes of the mess we are in today are the same ones that I read about in Crashing the Gate eleven years ago and I think the solutions are the same ones that Kos and Jerome recommended: Our leaders are out of touch because they put corporate cash in front of the needs of the people and we won’t improve until we hold them accountable.
I bring this up because some new Kossaks have been attacking me personally and mocking my diaries. (And it’s not even good mocking, I can half heartedly mock myself better than they can mock me.) In between their insults and sophomoric barbs, I get the impression that they think I should be kicked off the site because I don’t go along with the meme that everything will be great if we can only cut out the circular firing squad. Maybe they are right. And I would love to hear why they are right but they are way too busy insulting me and mocking my diary to explain to me why I am wrong. So until I get a cogent argument that convinces me that blind allegiance is the way to go, I will continue to chuckle at their insults and juvenile attempts to mock me and I will keep questioning our leadership and making my case for extensive change in the Democratic Party. This is what DailyKos stood for 11 years ago and I hope it still does.
Ok, let’s get the party started: Of course the big story is the passage of a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a take back of its important safeguards for people who use private health insurance. But before we get to the entree, let’s whet our appetite with a tasty morsel that would have been the main course in any other week. Democrats in the house passed a budget resolution that staves off disaster until September. Talk about living hand to mouth, the government would have run out of money last Friday if the bill hadn’t passed on Wednesday. There were important wins in the budget for Democrats: Planned Parenthood will continue to be funded; EPA will be funded at 99%. The Washington Times is furious. I will give Minority Leader Pelosi a well deserved tip of the hat on this one. But I still think she needs to step aside and let someone new take over. (I love Nancy Pelosi and would love her even more in another role, say House whip.) When it comes to keeping House members in line and getting out the vote, there is, and I doubt if there ever will be, anyone better than Nancy Pelosi.
Now for the main course: In a narrow and contentious party line vote, Republicans in the House passed a bill that will ruin the lives of millions of Americans if it doesn’t kill them first. IMHO, that is all we need to say about this bill and we need to say it over and over and over and over…. 18 months is an eternity in politics and Republicans have plenty of time to get out from under the long shadow they cast on themselves by this bill. And believe me, no one is better at messaging their way out of a big mess than Republicans.
Did our leaders pounce on Republicans by offering a coherent alternative that would improve the ACA and people’s lives? Nope and nope. In her press conference, Pelosi repeatedly said she would tattoo this bill on Republican’s foreheads and that it would hurt them in the upcoming elections. She alluded to an imaginary family sitting at the kitchen table trying to figure out how to pay for their child’s healthcare under this bill. Then we went into a round robin with nine other Democratic leaders. There was no mention of HR 676, the House bill that would provide Americans with single payer coverage similar to what we see in Canada, Australia and most of Europe. Instead the leaders provided a spirited defense of the ACA.
So where are we? Looks like our leadership is entrenched against single payer and wants to stick with our current system that costs double and yields lower life expectancy than single payer. In the meantime, they are happy that Republicans offered a much worse alternative that makes their status quo more palatable. Well, they may be in for a shock soon. Most Americans now know what single payer is. And this week, this guy, Bernie, pounced on Trump’s gaffe with the Australian Prime Minister to further promote the idea. Hundreds of millions of people in other countries have relied on single payer for decades now and they are happier, spend less on healthcare and live longer than we do.
Obviously single payer is the way to go, but what did Democratic Leaders do in Colorado with the single payer initiative? They fought it tooth and nail and defeated it of course. After all single payer will derail the gravy train that the medical insurance companies and big pharma are riding on their way to mashed potato town and our Democratic leaders are the conductors, stewards and engineers on that train. We currently have single payer initiatives underway in California and in the House of Representatives. Both Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi have repeatedly opposed single payer. This is one of the big reasons why I can’t support Nancy any more. I love her. But with a heavy heart, I must say, she has to go.
Elsewhere, Hillary is starting a comeback. I guess the AHCA news may have crowded out her media blitz a bit. In one breath during an interview on CNN, Hillary took responsibility for the election loss and stated that she feels that if the election had been held on Oct 27, she would have won. Wow, poor thing. I admire her tenacity and would give her a big hug if she would let me but I have to say that her ego is getting in the way of progress. She is forming a resistance pac and it looks like there is a showdown looming on the horizon with DNC members who want to put the Obama pac money ban back in place.
That’s all for now. In deference to my detractors I have toned my rhetoric down quite a bit, they were right to criticize me for that. I look forward to a spirited debate with you on the issues.