The other day Kid Oakland urged us all to respond to emails from Organizing for America. I'm not sure if anyone really looks at the responses, but I've been doing it for a while anyway. I thought I'd share my most recent one because it marks a little bit of a turning point for me.
I wish the President all the best, and I sincerely hope his administration is able to recover from the huge mistake he is making by selling out his base on the public option.
The Democrats are dead meat in 2010 if they pass a mandate bill that doesn't provide people with decent value for their money. There is no way the federal government can regulate the private insurance industry into providing decent value for money. If the Democrats can't figure this out, they deserve to lose in 2010 (or whatever year the triggers finally kick in and people find out what is actually in the plan).
The President has a four year term, so I hope the process moves right along and he has time to realize how badly he has screwed the pooch on this issue. Then maybe he can take another shot at it in 2011. Meanwhile, all my campaign money will be going to get corrupt blue dogs like Mike Ross and jellyfish like Harry Reid out of congress so there will be a decent Democratic caucus in 2011.
At this point I think it is much more constructive to work on instilling some discipline in the 2011 democratic caucus than to help the President pass a bad plan in 2009. Which may leave me in the unfortunate position of sending Democratic campaign money to Republicans next year. Oh well, it can't be helped, that's the position the President has put me in.
Be sure to let me know when the President decides to back a piece of legislation that his base can actually support.
I've been skeptical of the President's approach on important issues such as banking reform, bankruptcy mortgage cramdowns, and rehabilitating the US image abroad by taking war crime allegations seriously. As of today I am officially adding health care reform to this list.
I think it's pretty clear the Democratic leadership is consolidating around a private insurance mandate bill. I will continue to encourage members of the progressive caucus in the House to block a private insurance mandate bill, but blocking this bill is now the reality, not just a negotiating tactic. I now believe the most likely path to real health care reform is to defeat a private insurance mandate bill in 2009, get rid of some Blue Dogs in 2010, and then try again in 2011.
I hope others come to this realization sooner rather than later, because I hate to see people contributing to Organizing for America thinking they are supporting a public option based on vague language in the President's speech this week. For myself, I think I'm going to need that money in order to have an impact on congress in 2010.