Just in case you missed the import of Citizens United Supreme Court ruling and that nagging sense of impending doom.
It is now or never on Health Care.
With all the flaws that have been repeatedly pointed out by impatient liberals, there are so many good things about this bill that were never focused on for the sake of the progressive mantra about the public option. It basically reprioritizes the focus of the insurance industry on Health. That obscured the fact that this bill will extend the life of medicare!
Do you really think that corporations will lighten up with their spending to kill health care after yesterday's court decision?
The end goal for Republicans is not only to Kill this Bill but to
Kill Social Security
Kill Medicare.
They don't mind if it takes another decade or two. They stay organized. We don't.
Its now or never.
If you were a Democratic Congressman reading through 'Citizens United,' and contemplating the impending flood of corporate cash, would you rather:
(a) Postpone a vote on health care reform, perhaps indefinitely, incentivizing every corporation with a vested interest in the status quo to flood your district with negative ads, in the hope of dissuading or unseating enough Democrats to kill reform?
(b) Pass the Senate bill tomorrow, putting the issue to rest, since repeal would take a veto override - and then spend the summer on issues with a more immediate appeal to voters, while blaming any negative ads that do air on your willingness to stand up to powerful interests?
I'm not sure the implications of 'Citizens United' have really sunk in. But this is it for health care reform - it happens now, or not at all. And the only thing more dangerous than reforming a hugely powerful industry is coming achingly close, and then failing. How much would it be worth to the health care industry to unseat enough members to kill reform permanently? How badly do House Democrats want to find out?
TPM
Democrats will be stuck with the negative consequences of the bill whether it passes or not. So let's pass it.