I have just watched Rep. Kucinich on Countdown tonight stating that he will vote with Congressional Republicans on the 18th since the Public Option was not included. I have seen Rep. Stupak saying that he will vote with Congressional Republicans along with 12 others if his abortion clauses are not included in this bill. This puts us in a pickle, since if the Senate Bill is changed with these changes added, it has to go back to the Senate. The U.S. Senate, which now has 59 Democratic members and 41 Republicans, and would need to vote 60 for the debate process to be ended. The first round, this bill barely passed at all in the House. In the U.S. Senate, the talks with Sen. Snowe for support of a bill fell through, prompting Sen.Joe Lieberman to go against the Public Option, aided by Sens. Lincoln, Nelson, Landrieu,etc.
Right now, I don't know what to think. I really disagree with Rep. Stupak and wonder why isn't this guy seeing a primary challenge, since everything he claims has been disproved by everyone, including ABC News. As a man, I believe that Mr.Kucinich is a man of good morals and values. As a legislator, he is effective on many other votes that help his party. On politics, he sucks. All politicians have to look at things politically and how things play in the media. If this bill fails,politically this looks terrible. This bill failing would stop momentum with every policy President Obama wants to implement. Everything. Forget DADT, forget another Jobs bill, forget another stimulus, unemployment benefits legislation will get even more heinous objections, more virulent.
The elections, already flooded with corporate money, probably even more after the infamous Supreme Court ruling, will fuel the fires of the media with lies and drown people who could easily refute them out of the airwaves.
Liberals will stay home foolishly, believing that staying home would teach Dems a lesson, ignoring the fact that the GOP thrives on low turnout elections which only showcases their own supporters, those lovable old crusaders who don't want to be told when to die by that black socialist commie Kenyan in the White House.
We, then will have President Obama for the next two years with a majority Republican congress who would stop, stall, lie, and make up faux controversy for days and days at a time. People who would stop at nothing to go against Obama, no matter what. No legislation gets passed, even legislation they support. Then, blame the President for their obstruction, their partisanship. Basically, what their doing now, sans the Speaker and Majority Leader offices. President Obama, may or may not retain the White House, depending on who runs against him. Their are lots of people who say they won't support him in 2012, but there were also some who said they wouldn't support him after he beat Hillary Rodham Clinton. This was before Sarah Palin was unleashed.
Right now, my basic point is, is that this bill may signify the birth or death of progress in America. Whether we budge it by a mile or a centimeter, we know that this current track that we are on cannot stand. We know that entrusting Republicans with the task of fixing these problems is a nonstarter, considering that we are at this point because of them.
I am not here to say your wrong if you want this bill dead, since I feel that opinions are opinions. There yours and in America, it is your choice to have them. I only ask you this, can we live this way anymore? Can we keep on pushing for full throated Progressives all over the U.S., knowing that many cannot easily get elected everywhere? Can we live with killing a bill, no matter how bad you think it is, that has the power to kill a progressive movement in Washington and probably stopping the most Progressive President we have had in 30 years? Whether you feel that last question is true or not, ask yourself how many Democratic Presidents have we had in the last 30 years?
I would love for every Senator to be a Bernie Sanders and a Al Franken. I would love for every Representative to be a Dennis Kucinich and a Anthony Weiner. I would love for the U.S. to have Progressive Democratic Presidents and Progressive Democratic People willing to embrace the future. In a perfect world, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. And at 21, I'm not sure I can wait until a perfect bill fixes everything in one shot. I don't know if I can wait for 30 years of Republican rule to be expunged and demoralized since many believe this bill is to bad to be passed. I don't know how I can stomach another round of Republican Majority Leaders and Republican Speakers of the House and Republican dogma permeating the airwaves with falsehoods.
I'm tired now. I don't wanna fight anymore. I just wan't things to work for me again.