I have been reading many diaries in Daily Kos and elsewhere, concerning the way the Senate Finance Committee hearings on Health Care, which begun last week, have been stacked in favor of the powers that be. Indeed, the Committee has heard three panels of witnesses, and not one of them has testified in favor of single-payer. If single-payer is off the table, then a viable, Medicare-like option gets consigned to the edge of the table. A sense of helplessness pervades these articles, as if there is nothing we can do about this. This sense of helplessness is based on two false assumptions: 1) Senator Baucus can set the agenda any way he wants, and 2) The nurses' protest is the only way to voice objection.
Senator Baucus IS NOT entitled to dictate the terms of the health care debate. And, there ARE other ways to object to this travesty. Democrats John Rockefeller (WV), Kent Conrad (ND), Jeff Bingaman (NM), John Kerry (MA), Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ron Wyden (OR), Charles Schumer (NY), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA), Bill Nelson (FL), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Thomas Carper (DE) are all on this Committee. If they, or most of them, had objected in no uncertain terms, either publicly or behind the scenes, couldn't they have compelled Senator Baucus to modify the agenda? This is important, because he who sets the terms of the debate will oftentimes determine its outcome.
One of the protesting nurses stated "Why isn't single-payer at the table? This is a sham!" She was right, but WE need to be saying this to our Democratic Senators on this Committee, and THEY need to say it to Baucus. We cannot permit this sham to continue as it started. We must insist that the Committee reset the table.
I, for one, will contact my Senator from Michigan, Debby Stabenow, and remind her that single-payer was endorsed by our Michigan Democratic Party, by resolution passed at its State Convention this February. I will ask her how she permitted Senator Baucus to exclude this option from consideration at the outset. I am sure that bloggers from all the other states represented by Democrats on this Committee can raise similarly relevant points to their Senators. Believe me, these Senators would see to it that the tables are reset, if each of them received several dozen e-mails to that effect.
We. Are. Not. Helpless. We cannot rely on a few brave nurses to change this travesty by making a scene. We have the collective power to force a change through good old fashioned targeted advocacy. Better yet, couldn't we interest MoveOn, Democracy for America, seiu.org,Organizing for America, among others, to launch one of their quick e-mail campaigns, especially in selected states?
We must (re)gain control of the terms of the health care debate. I'm doing my part to get the ball rolling. I hope you will too.