Reading the tea leaves gives a bad prognosis for the survival of the ACA. It was supposed to be a 'foot in the door'; and now it looks like the door might be slammed shut by a partisan Supreme Court and our collective feet are going to be crushed.
Slinkerwink has an excellent diary that I highly recommend What Do we Do If ObamaCare is Overturned? It is well worth your time, T & R. My thoughts were too long to post as a comment there, so I am putting them up here.
(UPDATE: When I published this, I had not read NYCEVE's excellent, inspirational diary,
Ready, really ready for a fight! and if you have not read it, it is a must as well.)
To me the basic message if ACA is struck down is that the whole political system is too corrupt to reform from within. Therefore we need our best and brightest to start thinking about creating some radical changes that a people powered movement can bring about. Slinkerwink seems to be presenting reform in her group 'Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.' Excellent. All of us need to be thinking about concrete ways we can change the system. (Update: And Nyceve is organizing us into the streets with a fighting spirit!)
However, before we think about how to to deal with this, let us pause and collect our thoughts about what this means, if it comes to pass.
If Robert's Bloc of the Supreme Court thinks it can get away with this POLITICAL MANEUVER and DOES, AND we are powerless to stop them, then that demonstrates that 'checks and balances' no longer work= the system is broken. The 'system' can't be fixed until the Supreme Court is 'fixed.' The question then becomes, DOES the Supreme Court have any checks and balances? After their Citizens United maneuver, I wonder. To whom are they responsible? Are they our masters? This is a crucial question to have in mind when considering what next to do. Because they can undo any work that we try to do. The Supreme Court is our first priority, in my opinion.
The dysfunction of the Congress in the Republican determination to 'take down the Obama Administration' is secondary to the Supremes, because after all, the Supreme Court is supposed to be the impartial legal arbiter. They no longer even seem to care about the appearance of impartiality and this must be challenged.
1) We MUST, MUST, MUST focus on the potentates in the Supreme Court and bring some sanity to that system. Ethics standards? What is that? Conflicts of interest? What is that? We must get constitutional scholars to look into the limits of their power and to see what accountability exists. (There is no hope of getting the $$$$$ out of elections, while these partisan potentates are prepared to wipe out Congressional will.)
Additionally, if/when ACA loses, I believe we must respond with:
2) WE MUST REACT RIGHT AWAY - IMMEDIATE Demonstrations in the streets. I hope that Occupy will support and man this, as well as the rest of us showing up via twitter, fb, etc.
a) We need to show the 1% that we are bat-shit furious about the theft of our healthcare rights. "HELL NO, WE WON'T GO... UNTIL WE HAVE SINGLE PAYER..."
b) In the demonstrations, we need to make it clear that 'WE WILL REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER,' how our health rights were taken away."
c) We must keep up the demonstrations each month and use it as a recruiting focus for the November elections.
3) I would suggest that we form a 'NOT FOR SALE' group of politicians who run for office following strict money guidelines and hopefully educate the populous that these politicians won't spend all their time on fundraising or making deals with financial backers. That these 'NOT FOR SALE' politicians will be doing the people's business.
Draft Ideas for NOT FOR SALE Political Candidates
MAYBE WE CAN OFFER A 'NOT FOR SALE' PLEDGE to counter the 'NO TAX' Norquist Pledge.
4) WE MUST SET UP SOME LONG RANGE PLANNING. The Republicans have been playing the LONG GAME and we must develop one to survive. We must go to financial backers and have them support several think tanks, so that we can do some long range planning like the Republicans and be prepared to outplay them on the 10-20-30 year chess board, not just reacting to their latest move. THIS IS A MUST.
5) WE MUST SHOW THE 1% THAT WE HAVE NOT LOST OUR SPIRIT WITH THIS; we must demonstrate that rather than chastened and demoralized, WE HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO A BLIND FIGHTING FURY.. "WE'RE AS MAD AS HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
WE MUST SHOW THE 1% THAT, LIKE Dylan Thomas
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.