To borrow from the old catch phrases, "It's The Economy, Stupid," or "Keep It Simple, Stupid," the subject of this Health Insurance Reform diary is "It's the polls, stupid!!!" My inspiration is Al Giordano, a.k.a. "The Field." (But the ITPS title comes from me, so don't blame Al for that hokeyness.)
Al Giordano, in a new article, "Want Health Care? Go Door to Door or You Won't Get It", explains why we need to take action on our own, instead of endlessly agonizing on the net about what will happen at the top with health insurance reform.
From Al's article:
It’s crystal clear to me that the White House wants a full public option, but that it is Congress that will determine whether it is attainable in September or October of 2009.
It is also evident that, through Organizing for America, the President has unleashed a gargantuan grassroots effort to push Congress and public opinion toward the best possible plan, preferably with a public option. In that, he's done more than the people shouting at him to "do more" have done.
Whether that public option can be achieved immediately (I disagree with those who opine that if it isn’t done now it will never happen, the arc of the universe bending slowly and such) depends entirely on whether enough members of Congress perceive it in their self interest to vote yea on it.
Thus, shouting at the President about what kind of plan he should discuss or not with Congress is the most futile task imaginable. If you’re for the public option, the President is already on your side to the extent that he has the votes in Congress.
And as ought to be obvious, Internet activism doesn’t move Congress. It never has. One has to go out onto the street, knock door to door, staff phone banks and such to bypass the media-fed confusion (and also to break out of your own demographic market niches), and explain those three talking points above to the people. That, and only that, has a chance of bolstering the poll numbers around a specific health care plan with a public option.
Emphasis mine.
We need to move the polls. This is how Congress gets convinced that they can keep their kushy jobs only by doing the right thing. If we're gonna work within the system, we have to work within the system, by doing what works. This revolution has to continue in the same way it started for many, with the passionate campaign for president last year.
This means doing lots and lots of explaining, Al Giordano points out in his article. How do we do that? We phone, and knock on doors, and discuss. Just like many of us geared up up to do last summer, registering voters, knocking on doors, becoming passionately involved. The polls subsequently hit our congresspeople and senators where it can be truly felt.
From Al's article:
Democratic pollster Joel Benenson explains in a memo:
82% of Americans say that the U.S. health care system needs either fundamental changes (55%) or needs "to be rebuilt" (27%). (CBS, Aug. 31)
So far, so good, but:
Only 31% say they "understand the health care reforms under consideration in Congress, while 67% say they find them confusing. (CBS, Aug. 31)
...an NBC poll found that initially, only 36% said that the President’s health care plan is "a good idea" while 42% say it is a bad idea. (NBC, Aug. 17).
And he outlines three "talking points" that, when explained to the public, jump that weak support for a specific plan to a clear majority of 53 percent:
• Requirements on insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions;
• Requiring all but the smallest employers to provide health coverage or pay a percentage of their payroll to help fund coverage for the uninsured
• Tax credits to help families and individuals to help them afford coverage
The good news: If those three points are explained coherently to the public, support hardens for a specific plan. Since Congress responds to polling data, that’s important. Those three talking points are the road map to victory.
The bad news: Neither the corporate media nor the blogosphere are going to clarify any of those three points for the public. They're too obsessed with the sideshows up above to achieve any clarity or coherence on the matter.
And this leaves the whole ballgame in a different set of hands in the coming weeks: yours.
Emphasis Al's.
I know it's an unpleasant prospect for most. It is for me. I sighed as I hauled myself out for the local MoveOn Vigil the other night. Would have preferred to spend some family time or to be doing my artistic hobbies or developing my own life in some other way. But the corruption that's rife in our government forces us to be the ones with conscience. In these times, it is our responsibility as civic citizens to step up for what we believe in. Plus, If we are not sick, if we are well, are insured, maybe young, etc, we need to consider the suffering of the less fortunate folks who need a decent life and can contribute so much to society.