Much more does not - and should not - have to be said. In a media cycle that demands compressing complex issues into trite phrases, capturing the issue is critical.
We work, where's our health care!
There is not a question mark at the end of the sentence. This is a demand, not a query. The teabaggers are angry.
So am I.
I hope you are too.
Congress needs to know that, in volumes that make the opposition seem as infantile as it is.
I could write at length about problems, solutions, and situations. I have friends dying, friends who have died, and friends risking death at the hands of the American health care system.
For the self employed, paying out of pocket is cheaper than any insurance program we can obtain. This is reflective of the reason behind insurance not affecting bankruptcy rates - having insurance no longer reduces how much you pay.
For the working poor, they can't afford to pay out of pocket, and public health care frequently ties them up with labyrinthine systems of red tape, assuming they get care at all.
While they could be working.
One teabagger tried to convince me that dying was just as expensive as buying health care, by pointing out various funeral costs. That was... special.
We actually have a purpose, rather than blind rage and fallacies. Misdirected anger and lies are scary for what they are, but if a solution - however malformed - cannot be extracted from them, then they are not positions to be debated against. They are simply false, irrelevant, or invitations to violence, and should be handled accordingly.
We need to yell clear problems and clear solutions.
"Keep America productive!" "No more red tape!" "Stop the war on the working poor!" "Stitch in time saves nine!" "Healthy people work more!" "Rescind the health insurance industry!" "Bankruptcy is not a sustainable insurance model!" ... I could go on. I'm sure you can, too.
Some of these are hard to argue against. Some arguments can be turned around very quickly. "No more red tape!" "What about fraud?" "Rescission IS fraud!"
Solving one form of fraud using another form of fraud is still fraud. Solve the problem, not the symptom. Do not answer questions with questions, answer pithily and with boldness.
We do not need to convince the teabaggers of anything - if that is even possible. There may be 47 million uninsured, but there are another two hundred million who could be driven into bankruptcy at any moment.
We need a mantra that can be quickly picked up and repeated. Something that cuts to the root of what is wrong and exposes the issue needing to be solved.
We work, where's our health care.
It is not a question.