I can't quite escape the sinking feeling that we've lost some ground in recent weeks, even with the Democrats that we helped elect, with our dollars, hard work and progressive ideas, controlling the White House, Senate and House. As Ben Goshi's recommended diary illustrates perfectly, the folks we elected, including the president, seem to need a little reminding about their mandate, the ideas they campaigned on, the ideas that helped them win.
The single most popular item that folks rallied around through the long, hard days of campaigning, was serious health reform. So it's beyond frustrating that, as Ross Douthat put it this morning in his OpEd for the NY Times, so far Democrats seem paralyzed between "a fiscally reckless health care bill that falls far short of universal coverage, or no health care bill at all."
Seems to me that we have a tiny window available to change the tenor of this debate, and an active calendar of events with which to change it.
Health Reform Activism Calendar:
There have been some terrific action ideas posted here in recent days, so I thought it worthwhile to bring them together in a single calendar of events. Let's act in ways large and small, national and local, to put a little more pressure on our representatives with some creative, concerted, activism.
Thursday, June 25, rally sponsored by Health Care Reform Now in DC. From the HCAN web site:
What are we doing on June 25th?
Health Care for America Now, the largest health care campaign in the country, will have a large scale rally and lobby day on June 25th in Washington, DC.
Where is Health Care '09?
The Health Care '09 rally will take place at 11:30am in Upper Senate Park (map) and following there will be lobby activities in various locations. Click here for more information about the schedule.
How do I get involved?
If you want to attend Health Care '09, contact a coordinator in your state. [Info on the page]
Wednesday, July 1, is Canada day, incidentally. OK, I know that's a bit lame. But as an expatriate Canadian (now U.S. citizen), I grew up with universal health care. Far from posing an intrusion into my life, my health care was invisible: I went to any doctor I needed to see, got professional and high-quality treatment when I needed it, and never had to wrangle with non-medical bureaucrats over the phone about whether this or that was covered. (NOT SO, by the way, when I came under the much-touted private insurance industry in the U.S.) How about an expatriate Canadians' rally for national health insurance in solidarity with our less-fortunate American friends?
Saturday, July 4, Independence Day. Host a BBQ, party or march in favor of universal care in some form or another as an inalienable right.
Monday, July 6, National Strike for Health Care Reform proposed in a recommended diary by James Protzman this morning (seems to have fallen off the list now), recommending that people stay home from work that day, if it's feasible.
Thursday, July 30, the 44th anniversary of the passage of Medicare, is the NNOC's national lobby day for single-payer health care. Here's what their web site says:
Celebrate Medicare’s 44th Birthday by showing Congress and President Obama the people, unions, doctors, nurses, seniors, faith groups, and Americans of every stripe support a single-payer system.
As President Obama says, "We must build on what works and leave out what doesn’t." Medicare has
successfully provided care to seniors and people with disabilities for almost half a century. Medicare is a truly American-made system that other health care systems around the world have since been modeled after. With little over 3% administrative overhead, we must look to this American solution to our health care crisis.
UPDATE: I initially got the date wrong on that one--it's July 30 not June 30, which probably explains why I've heard so little
Anything I've missed?
Meanwhile, on the days in between, there's plenty of room for small, local actions. While I'm a fan of larger marches and rallies for their power to mobilize people who attend, times are hard and a trip to DC may not be possible for everyone.
Here are some suggestions:
A mock-funeral march for victims of "death-by-spreadsheet."
A petition drive.
A candlelight vigil in a public park.
A lecture at a local community college.
A debate among local party representatives at your local library or community center
A web site where people can publish interviews with the very happy people born before 1946, who, as Devilstower has just revealed, seem the most contented with health care--because they have Medicare.
I know we have honest differences here at dKos on which is better--tactically and over the long term--a real public option or single payer, national insurance. To me, the most affordable and accessible "public option" out there, is "Medicare for All." And depending how you calculate it, a third to half of Americans who currently have health insurance, have taxpayer-financed health insurance in various forms right now. But I'm still open to the idea of a public option alongside private plans, if it's an honest public option.
I don't think it hurts right now to agitate for both ideas--they are to some extent complementary. And the more we talk about it, the more people hear about it, the more they like it. Silence benefits the insurance companies, who have the money to buy slick ads that distort the truth. Open, honest debate wins the day.
Time is short. The debate in Congress is going on right now. Now is when we need to act, to turn up the heat a little bit and in the process raise the nation's consciousness about the options that are available, whether they really address the national health care crisis or not, and what the best solution might be.