I never try to think of things as a zero sum game, because there are certainly shades of gray in most issues. But when it comes to health care, it really has become an "us vs. them" situation with "us" being "American families" and "them" being Big Insurance.
One of the biggest arguments I have heard about the health care debate is that insurance companies can't compete with a government option, which is pretty funny for 2 reasons: First, it admits the huge level of waste and profit by insurance companies at the expense of actually providing health care coverage, and second, it all but negates the "government can't run anything right" meme that the rightists love so much.
Here, I don't even know that many on the left are saying that insurance companies should just go out of business or that they shouldn't make a reasonable profit (although I would be for strict regulation of private insurers like Senator Franken discussed as the model used in Switzerland). But with no way to trust the absolute disgusting behavior by insurance companies, it has become a zero sum game here.
If they win, everyone else loses.
Here is an excellent and pretty powerful video that Americans United For Change recently put out which focuses on Nataline Sarkisyan's story of being denied by CIGNA and subsequently passing away because of their decision. But it gets worse - CIGNA's CEO is now retiring with a $78 million or so "package". Nice job, CIGNA....
I write a lot about framing discussions, and as my friend thereisnospoon recently said, we are NOT normal when it comes to discussing health care. We know a whole lot more about things that most Americans have no clue about. They may have heard of a "public option", but you can bet that the little they know is full of misinformation.
So, with an issue as basic but complex as health care reform, "we" need to make it as simple for people to understand a possible. Right now, as Dr. Dean said, people don't have a choice regarding healthcare - the government and insurance companies are dictating the terms of what you can have as coverage, and to most, it is a choice of bad or worse. Sure, people may "like what they have now", but I'll bet once they get sick, they won't like it nearly as much.
And what most people want is simple and basic: (1) to keep what they have if they like it, (2) to have better and more affordable insurance than the crap they have and (3) to be able to afford basic coverage that won't screw them over when they need it.
Simply put, none of this is possible under the current structure, and none of this is possible if Big Insurance gets what it wants.
If American families win, that doesn't necessarily mean that Big Insurance loses, although it may mean that they can't legally steal from Americans quite as much anymore. However, if Big Insurance wins, then everyone else loses.
There is no simpler and plainer way to put it.