I have been reading the diaries attacking Obama and the Blue Dogs/Conservadems for their opposition/ambivalence toward the public option, and I can't help but thinking about that quote from President Clinton's Netroots Nation speech (0:50 minute mark) the other day that was met with raucous applause:
You want to talk about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"? I'll tell you exactly what happened. You couldn't deliver me any support in the Congress and they voted by a veto-proof majority in both Houses against my attempt to let gays serve in the military and the media supported them, they raised all kinds of devilment and all most of you did was to attack me instead of getting some support in the Congress.
It seems that while we are focusing all our attention on the folks that are reacting to the political climate and virulence from their constituents, the right wing idealogues who decided on Day 1 to support the health insurance lobbyists are not only getting away with not having to answer to their constituents and the media, but they are actually winning the media war.
McJoan's article last week illustrated this point and the Conservadems and Blue Dogs are responding in kind with this shit.
It seems fairly obviously to me that most of the conservative Democrats and our man Barack Obama are more concerned with the amount of support they have from their constituents than their political philosophy/ideology on this issue. If the media tells them the public option is out of the main stream, Glenn Beck rallies some wingnuts to hold up angry signs at a town hall, and a Zogby poll comes out telling them the public option is for "pussies", they're not going to touch it with a 10-foot poll. It doesn't matter how many calls we make to their offices, how many petitions we sign, how many blog entries we post on Dailykos. Because the media doesn't care.
What the media does care about is the "infighting" in the Democratic Party, claims of government death panels, and the obnoxious townhall crazies spewing nonsense into home video footage (especially the dudes with guns). But none of that helps our cause.
In fact, if you'll notice, all of this puts us on the defensive.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are vacationing in St. Martin or wherever, waiting until the end of recess to quietly wander back into the chamber and vote "NO" during roll call. All the attention will be focused on the few conservative Democrats who voted with the GOP block and the Republican health insurance puppets who have been acting in bad faith throughout the entire legislative process will walk away unscathed and probably never held accountable for their vote that will have contributed to the bankruptcy and/or death of thousands Americans a year for years to come.
This is unacceptable. We have to get in the media's face and go back on the attack. Lawrence O'Donnell's interview with Rep. Culberson last week comes to mind.
"Do you support the repeal of Medicare since it is an entirely government-run, socialist health care program?"
"What influence does the X amount of money you get from the health insurance industry have on your decision in voting on health care reform?"
"Why did you vote for so-called 'death panels' in the 2003 Medicare Bill if you're so against them now?"
"Why aren't you hosting any town hall meetings during the August recess on the health care reform bill while all your Democratic counterparts are? Do you not care about reform?"
"What would a Republican health care reform bill look like? Where is it?"
These are some of the many question we should be asking Republicans each and every day. Just because they are the minority does not mean they don't exist. The media has to engage them again and hold them accountable for their bullshit and hypocrisy and we can help. We just have to go after the right guys (and girls).
The Democrats may very well kill reform within our own ranks because the GOP has once again managed to pit us against each other in order to kill progress.
The GOP has no ideas, no sound arguments, and they are willing to vote for anything so long as it pads their pockets. But they are still winning the media war.
The only way for a progressive win on health care is to take the fight to the opponent's field. We have to be asking these questions and get them on the defensive. If the media and the general public see them engaged and struggling to defend their ludicrous arguments against true health care reform, public perception will turn in our favor and the spineless, fair-weather Conservadems and Blue Dogs will follow suit.
So here is my plea to the progressive health care reform community: Come up with a hard-hitting attack on the GOP obstructionists that will stick as a media frame. Forget the Conservadems for now. True, they suck, but they're also political expedients. If we win the media war against the Republicans, our fair-weather fans will come crawling back to our camp. Even good ole Kent...