The current stack of flaccid health care bills being proposed must be defeated.
Historically, there were always enough people who could be lied into believing the worst about any health care reform. They had insurance and assumed horror stories were hyperbolic or at least anomalies.
Thanks to the greed of the misery profiteers, enough of these people developed a desire to ally with the advocates of universal health care.
That is why Barack Obama is president: To enact government run, universal health care.
The uninformed middle didn't want something. They didn't think Obama was a moderate. They didn't think they elected a centrist. They, in their perennial apathy, woke just enough to make that one gesture of endorsing the left and their blatantly progressive candidate. Back then, on November fifth, a majority of this country expected our health care system to be radically changed. A choice was made to let those lefties, who'd been whining for a century, do that universal health care thing.
That is why Barack Obama is president: To create a universal health care system. Godspeed and try not to make it look too socialistic.
So here we are, at the brink of history. They same old history of governing to a block of voters who do not have any ideas. The history of deferring to the apathy and lack of comprehension of a majority as some sort of deliberately moderate political center.
More importantly, we are here at the brink of cleaving those wishy-washy people from their coalition with fierce advocates by improving the for-profit health insurance industry. The disinterested middle will have just enough reform to tire of trying to understand the lack of morality in a for profit health insurance industry. We are at the brink of giving just enough methadone to the addict to destroy his will to overcome his addiction.
What's the matter? Is everybody too tired?
I don't buy any of that mid-term elections favor the minority crap either. Any close analysis proves that this is not a mathematical truth, it's just a traditional effect of balking presidents in generic political times. Considering the state of the Republican Party right now, among other things in our brave new world, I dare say these are not the conditions for some generic traditional backlash.
Though, if congress bails on the most important element of the 2008 election then I'm gonna vote Republican.
This could be historic, if Democrats had the temerity (full disclosure: I previously wrote "balls" but who wouldn't jump at the chance to use the word "temerity"?) to face down the political machine. I think we are grossly underestimating the political currency that could be gained by taking it to a new level. Those wishy-washy folks are still facing left. They may be back-peddling occasionally, but they have not turned around to run away yet. We certainly shouldn't conflate the middle's tentativeness with the 60,000 douche baggers who make noise.
There are opportunities for unprecedented events. We have the attention and the tools to do something spectacular. If we can't get universal health care the right way then let's pack it up for a while and get on the job of electing more progressive Democrats.
I think a legislative failure would hurt the Republicans more than the Democrats.
I think we underestimate the political capital that could be gained by forcing the pyrotechnics of a filibuster.
I think we are too smart for our own good when we presume to know what political effects would arise from some political backbone.
This is only the very beginning of a new political era that is being created by the dissemination of information through the intertubes. The practitioners of the lying game of old politics are a dying breed (anybody heard from Chuck "i didn't say that" Grassley lately?) We are tragically overestimating our opponents armory. There is no reason to be compromising.
Let's shut this thing down.