At some point it comes down to those simple words. If we seek to elect a strong president and win congressional majorities in both the House and the Senate we absolutely have to decide that we can in fact do it. If we don’t believe we can then why are we trying – who are we kidding? Everyone here seems to believe we can capture the presidency. Most people here seem to believe we can hold the House. Some people here think we can actually regain control of the Senate and I am one of them. I also believe that achieving these three things can best be accomplished by acknowledging those three simple words which Barack Obama made famous (here repeated from his primary speech in New Hampshire in January of 2008).
Barack Obama's New Hampshire Primary Speech
“For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.”
“It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.”
“It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.”
“It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality.”
I’d like to point out a few things in that excerpt. Barack Obama covered a host of possibilities that seemed insurmountable and even impossible yet when reviewing each one he responded the path forward for all involved was simply “yes we can”.
Throughout this primary season I have heard repeated calls for accepting what can be accomplished. For not alienating moderates, or independents, or progressives. Calls to abandon wealth tax as simply to divisive, to abandon Medicare for All as something that will never pass – or worse will drive voters away from our candidate(s). No one ever says the goals of economic justice or universal coverage are bad – just that we can’t accomplish them.
I have been an outspoken advocate for Medicare for All for a number of years. I believe healthcare should be a right and no one should go bankrupt due to medical emergencies. I have heard it’s too expensive, doctors will leave the country, congress will never pass it, and what’s even worse to me – why don’t we just add a public option to the ACA (which is already being dismantled piece by piece).
A majority of Americans believe in the very same things that many on DailyKos do from, expanding healthcare, to a wealth tax on those with more than $50 million, to reducing costs associated with getting an education (How Voters Think - Center for American Progress). Yet when discussing our candidates many voices call for moderation, hesitation, and abandonment of anything which might upset someone. We are asked to be “pragmatic” or “realistic”. When I have commented that I want my candidate to inspire me the responses have ranged from Inspirational is a “red herring” to the “whole inspirational thing grinds my last nerve”. Many feel that one should not need to be inspired to vote and they are right. Yet, when we seek to grow the electorate and to expand the number of people who do vote one thing has consistently worked – inspiration.
So to anyone who says we can’t establish universal health coverage and eliminate private insurance for all it covers I say – yes we can. For any who say we can’t expect or make the wealthy pay a higher rate on their accumulated wealth I say – yes we can. For those who say we can’t transition to a greener economy with a rapid phase out of fossil fuels – I say yes we can. I have told my children two things repeatedly that I’ve said in many comments here and will repeat again. “Success comes in cans – not cants” and “If you argue for your limitations I guaranty you will have them”
It is high time we as a whole stopped accepting what is deemed plausible and started striving for what is possible. For as Barack Obama made clear in January of 2008:
“Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can.”
