"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
|
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is launching a national "Healthcare Not Warfare" campaign to move ahead with a grassroots opportunity to turn from warfare to healthcare for all.
Details below.
I was at the 2004 convention in Boston where supporters of the Kucinich and Dean campaigns came together to launch Progressive Democrats of America. Since then, these grassroots activists have continued to build a movement within the Democratic Party to "move the donky to the left."
On March 5th, in alliance with other supporters of Universal Health Care and HR-676, PDA launched their "Healthcare NOT Warfare" campaign.
From Norman Solomon, PDA Advisory Board member:
For several years now, the news media have identified healthcare and the war in Iraq as key issues in American politics. But very little of the reporting or the punditry goes beneath the buzz-word surfaces to the human realities that span from local hospitals to a faraway war.
[...]
By launching the national "Healthcare Not Warfare" campaign, Progressive Democrats of America is moving ahead with a grassroots opportunity to turn from warfare to healthcare for all. While growing ever since it came into existence four years ago, PDA has been working with--and, more often, pushing--Democrats in Congress to end the occupation of Iraq. And, integral to its progressive program, PDA has been mobilizing support behind H.R. 676, the bill to create a universal single payer system to guarantee healthcare for all.
[...] Four decades after Dr. King decried "the madness of militarism," we see how that madness continues to have wide-ranging and devastating effects, whether in our own communities or in Iraq.
[...]
Of course we're up against massive concentrations of economic power. Total U.S. military spending is now in the vicinity of $2 billion per day. And, likewise, the medical business in the United States is a rapacious corporate force.
Rose Ann DeMoro, the executive director of the California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee, recently pointed out: "As premiums have ballooned by 87 percent in the past decade, insurance-industry profits have climbed from $20.8 billion in 2002 to $57.5 billion in 2006. During that same period, health-care interests spent $2.2 billion on federal lobbying, more than did any other sector..."
In the midst of a political system with economic powerhouses largely dictating public policy, our only hope involves persistent organizing for humanistic priorities. PDA's launch of the "Healthcare Not Warfare" campaign goes to the heart of our current predicament and our goals for the future--a society and a world that nurture human life and social justice.
I personally am very disappointed in the health care plans of both of our current candidates. As I have repeatedly pointed out in comments to others' health care diaries - we can and should continue the pressure on Senators and Representatives - since legislation starts in Congress, not the Oval Office.
Even if you have questions about HR 676 - lobbying Congress for this bill will open their eyes to the reality that they are going to have to do something more. Negotiations seldom result in both sides getting what they want and if we don't start our negotiations from the strongest position, we will end up with little to nothing or the poor plans of our two candidates. Right now, our job is to lobby hard for "Expanded Medicare for All" ...and to make sure that candidates running for office also know that is what we want.
So please - join this campaign. Take a break from candidate fights and Take Action for Universal Health Care.
Please, sign the petition, and join us in this effort by taking action on one or more of the following items:
Host a House Party--get your "Healthcare NOT Warfare" materials and house party kits, here.
Download the flyer (PDF)to distribute at meetings and events. Use it to bird-dog congressional candidates!
Download the sample resolution, change it to meet your needs, and pass it at your local and state Democratic Parties, cities, and counties.
Click here for additional resources and action items.
======================
The Bright Side of Death
---
Video: Don't Be A Chicken Movie on Healthcare
Flash: How Single Payer Works
Join the Business Coalition for Single Payer
Check out these 27 Action Ideas.
We have a lot of material in the files section of the Daily Kos Health Care Google Group. Material is also available through Healthcare Now or Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).
Please - Just do something today!
Many of us who are poor, have uninsurable existing conditions and are uninsured need your help. Isn't that what being a Democrat is really about?