That's right, only one vote is needed to insure that the healthcare reform bill includes a public option.
President Barack Obama's.
Try these words on for size Mr. President. "If Congress sends me a bill without a strong public option, I will veto it." And he needs to voice those words strongly every time he steps up to a microphone. It needs to be the talk of every media outlet in the country.
Just the threat of a veto is a powerful thing. Remember how effectively Bush used it? Senators and Congressmen who are on the fence would likely fall quickly in line if the President insisted on a public option. If healthcare is as important to him as he claims, the President should not be afraid of using every power at his command to make it happen.
Don't get me wrong. The efforts of people here at Daily Kos, at FDL, and elsewhere are nothing short of heroic. People should continue calling their Senators and Congressmen, patting them on the head if they are on the right side of this issue, and kicking them in the ass if they are in the wrong. These efforts are absolutely critical, and if you aren't helping already, you need to step up.
But let's be absolutely crystal clear about who owns healthcare reform. It was the President's number one campaign promise. And I don't know about you, but I don't remember him on the campaign trail promising to hand over billions of dollars to the the health insurance industry by mandating coverage without providing the one and only incentive that would force them to lower costs.
This weekend, Leonard Boswell (D-IA) said that Obama told him that he was willing to be a one term president over the issue of healthcare reform.
...if it makes me a one-term president, I'm going to, we're going to take it on because the country is in need of us taking this on.
You are soooo right Mr. President. The country is really in need of us taking this on. The country is really in need of YOU taking this on. It's why we elected you. Remember that whole "change" thing? It's time to step up Mr. President.
That is why it is so important that the President threaten to veto a bill that doesn't contain a public option. Chris Bowers over at Open Left has a great whipcount on Senator's stance on the public option. Nate Silver at 538 has an excellent analysis as well. Visit those links. Look through those names.
Now, how many of those would be willing to pass a bill without a public option over the threat of a Presidential veto? How many of them would be willing to match their popularity against Obama's? How many of them will be willing to take the fall for not passing a comprehensive healthcare reform bill? Of course they won't all fall in line, but we don't need many, just the fence-sitters.
And the President should make no mistake. If he can't get this bill, the rest of his agenda is in serious trouble. Let's face it, if you can't pass something that 70% of the public wants with large majorities in the House and Senate, and control of the Whitehouse, then something is seriously broken with our political system. It is failing to serve the interests of the people, and is now only serving the interests of the shopkeepers.
"To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers."
-- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
And as a brief side note, do you think capitulating on the public option will stop the madmen that are showing up at town halls? On the contrary, you can expect that to continue on every single issue throughout Obama's presidency. Because the lies and the lunacy and the intimidation, the violence and threats of violence will have worked. I know it's ugly, but it's true. If you don't believe me, just ask any anti-abortion activist how it's worked out for them.
Now is the time Mr. President. Now is YOUR time. You have a rare opportunity to end hopelessness and suffering for so many. You have a chance to take your place in history with the likes of FDR and JFK, with Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson. You have a chance to show the American people that, in the right hands, their government DOES represent them.
And if a few wishy-washy Democrats try to stand in the way of your place in history, if they try to prevent you from helping the people you were elected to represent, then maybe you should borrow a line from your former presidential campaign opponent, "I will make them famous, and you will know their names."
PS - 3 Americans died from lack of health insurance in the time it took me to write this diary.