Darcy Burner is absolutely right. The left too commonly eats its own young in policy debates, and it's counterproductive. We need to focus our energies on convincing members of Congress and the public at large that single payer universal health care coverage is what we need and want.
I am calling on the Kossack community to join me in staging a sustained, coordinated effort in print media all across the country to write letters for publication as advocates of a single payer system. Newspapers publish letters for free, and chances are, if you've diaried here, you've also probably published letters in your local or state periodical.
So what if we all did that again in the next eight weeks? What if we all (or even a fraction of us) wrote letters to multiple newspapers in the next two months and showed the country and our government just how many Americans want single payer universal coverage to be at the heart of any reform? I've already done some of the heavy lifting for you:
Darcy Burner is right. Let's stop yelling amongst ourselves about single payer, and become part of the constructive solution.
Here's a link to the US Newspaper List, which provides further links to every major newspaper in the country. You can submit Letters to the Editor online to pretty much any of them.
Just as a reminder, pay close attention to word/space limits for each paper, so their editing doesn't remove/dilute your favorite arguments.
Points to consider emphasizing:
*47 million uninsured Americans is more than 15% of the population. This is unacceptable, unsustainable and must change now.
*Health Care is not an entitlement, it's a human right
*The baby boomers are facing a health care catastrophe in the next 5 - 10 years
*A Single Payer system in competition with the private sector will not only save Americans billions, but it will reduce the cost of Medicare/Medicaid programs, and health care for the miltary and veterans, thus reducing the deficit by hundreds of billions(especially important when convincing Republicans)
*We are willing to pay extra in taxes to support single payer if need be (your option whether to use this, of course, but I am willing)
*The rampant abuses of the for-profit health care industry in general, and the pharmaceutical companies specifically, preclude them from standing in the way of health care reform
*No American should ever face bankruptcy or foreclosure because of health care costs
*A single payer system would emphasize preventative care, which would save us billions in future chronic care costs
*WE ALREADY HAVE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! We just have the MOST EXPENSIVE, LEAST EFFICIENT form of it because we use emergency rooms in hospitals for primary uninsured care. It's foolish and wasteful.
***Update****
And one more good talking point (thanks, Mogolori)
*American business cannot be competitive globally when saddled with private insurer costs.
If even 5% of Kossacks write one letter a week for the next two months, we'll be able to shape and drive the message in support of a single payer program. The message will get through.
Tell your friends, the time is now to do something, and you must admit, this is a very simple, easy thing to do.
Lastly, thank you to Darcy Burner for your efforts, your message, and your participation in the Kos community. It is appreciated.