LOS ANGELES – We have a once-in-a-generation chance at health care reform looming before us now. Right or left, rich or poor, this has to happen. The President gave his major address to a joint session of Congress a week ago today, and he delivered… at least to a point. Fellow progressives, we must keep the heat on. President Obama must continue to hammer home the fact that not only is it not crazy to make significant changes to health care in a time of dire economic times, but the future of our economy depends on it. It means long-term fiscal responsibility. He must explain the difference between socialism and communism (and reassure the public that we are not on a slippery slope towards a communist takeover and dictatorship). He must forget entirely any back room deal he may have made or intends to make with health insurers and/or the pharmaceutical industry. This also goes for you, Nancy Pelosi. There must be a public option at the very least. A single-payer (government-run, socialized medicine, call it what you will) would be the absolute best solution, but Obama has seen fit to drop his public support for it (probably because there is so much paranoia and schizophrenia surrounding government-run programs). We must include single-payer (or at least public option) language in letters to our Congress people. We must convince our conservative friends and relatives that it is in their best interest (and that of the country) to move forward on health care reform, offer them ways to get on board, and give them a dignified way to save face (no, it’s not too late). In other words, give them a piece of the action; ownership. Think you’ve heard all this before? Well, you have. But we must say it over and over, though, and when we’re done, say it over again. We have to be as loud as the Right on this issue. First item up: let’s see who’s out there talking about it currently.

MUDDLED VOICES FROM THE RIGHT
Over the summer, Sarah Palin, in one of her first acts as a newly-minted community organizer (after quitting as Governor of Alaska), fanned the flames of the false notion of “death panels” which are supposedly being proposed by agents of “Obamacare”. “Obama lies, grandma dies” read supporters’ signs. Thankfully, this notion has been widely debunked, though Sarah apparently hasn’t gotten the message. The match was first lit, incidentally, by former Lt. Governor (R-NY), and until recently a board member of Cantel Medical Corporation, Betsy McCaughey. McCaughey took language first written by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), and twisted it beyond recognition. Isakson’s idea was to provide paid counseling for a living will. You get to choose how, when, or even if to prolong your life should you fall into an unresponsive state and can’t speak for yourself. Actually it’s a very good idea. From a Republican. We should all have a living will. B’bye, Sarah. B’bye.

Congressman Joe Wilson stood up at one point during the President’s speech and shouted “You lie!”, after President Obama denied that health care legislation would provide free coverage for illegal immigrants. This was disrespectful in the extreme, and didn’t do him or his cause any good (though the influx of cash from his supporters might say otherwise, it has been exceeded by contributions to his opponent). It only made him look foolish, oafish, and even racist. As of Tuesday night, he is saying he will not apologize to Congress on the floor of the House, and that his phone call to the President is all he’ll give. So he agrees that what he did was wrong, yet is standing, arms folded like some petulant teenager. Unofficial (if not titular) head of the Republican party, Rush Limbaugh, has been up to his usual antics, regurgitating the “rationed care” scare line from the insurance lobby (there is nothing more rationed than our current system, by the way). Mr. Limbaugh has stated that he wishes failure upon the Obama presidency. He apparently doesn’t realize that Obama’s success and that of our own are inextricably linked. Mr. Limbaugh also has apparently run out of creative ideas and, apparently, words – and has resorted to verbal punching in the air. You know that we can see you behind the curtain, don’t you, Rush? Rush?

Many on the far right are adjudicating the election all over again. Some are angry that a black man is president. Whatever the case, there are some raw (and real) feelings on the right behind the “astroturf movements” (apparently grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are primarily conceived, created, and/or funded by corporations, industry trade associations, political interests, or public relations firms). Yes, the insurance industry talking points have been mimicked in some cases verbatim by Republican Congressmen. Newly-crowned King of the Stupid, Glenn Beck of Fox News, has been practically apoplectic as he cajoles his astroturfers into action (some of whom are shown in the photo above from this past Saturday). Rep. (R-MN) Michele Bachmann has been absolutely dippy in her distribution of bullshit. A sign raised at a town hall held by Rep. Rick Larson of Washington — keep the guvmint out of my medicare — is destined to become a classic of conservative propaganda. If we are to move forward, we must try our best to help mollify conservatives’ fears, and render foolish the sillier arguments of their “leadership”. And then do it all over again. As a country, we have a short attention span. That is why we must keep on it. B’bye, Joe Wilson. B’bye, Rush, Glenn, Reps. Bachmann and Larson. B’bye astroturfers. Okay. Who’s left?

RUBBING NOSES ON THE LEFT
Keith Olbermann is certainly left. Or rather, Left. If we are to make real progress on this health care issue, we must stop rubbing conservatives’ noses in the presidency of George W. Bush. As much of a mess you may feel it was, you must resist that urge. Yes, the election is over for us as well. Leftist media figures and outlets like Keith Olbermann, MoveOn.org, Daily Kos and others are like some kind of super-recharging candy. They taste so good, so we go to them for a reassuring pat on the back. Keith’s occasional Special Comment editorials have become a must-see. Sometimes, they get us so mad over the Right that we want to punch a wall. They do little, however, to win over conservatives… to move the dialogue. They’re just not listening. Sorry, Keith, but I must throw you under the bus for now. B’bye, Keith. B’bye, MoveOn.org, Daily Kos.

On TV and radio alone, Bill Moyers, Bill Maher, Ira Glass, Morning Joe (with Mika Brzezinski and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough), Stephen Colbert and John Stewart all give us better mileage with changing hearts and minds. Colbert and Stewart, for shining a very funny light on the hypocrisies of both sides, with a particular fondness, yes, for conservatives. Bill Maher for his reasoned wit, intellect, and non-ideological stances. He is among the first to call out Democrats should they need it. His post-9/11 comments calling out President Bush for using inane language in his condemnation of the terrorists got him canned from his ABC show, Politically Incorrect. He was “relegated” to HBO, and his Real Time with Bill Maher program has been appointment TV for progressives and open-minded conservatives (his panel typically includes both) for a few years now. Bill Moyers (Bill Moyers Journal) and Ira Glass (This American Life) are reluctant to self-identify as progressives, though bells of recognition go off in my head when I hear them. Their approach is less in-your-face, weaving the truth into reporting and storytelling; letting the facts speak for themselves.

CONFLATING SOCIALISM WITH COMMUNISM
The more extreme on the right have hijacked the George W. Bush as Heath Ledger’s Joker picture, and replaced Bush with Obama. Not clever, not original, and not even amusing even in the original GWB version (though the Drew Friedman illustration is a nice work). Stupid payback is a real bitch. Some of those behind the Joker/Socialism theme must know the difference between socialism and communism, yet they are playing their followers for fools. Socialism is not a political system of course, but a way of distributing goods and services. We owe the confusion in nearly equal parts to Lenin and Right-wing American politicians. Vladimir Lenin, for hijacking socialist memes of his time as a sales tool for his Bolshevik Party, whose name was later changed to the Communist Party. He promised power to the people which he had no intention of ever delivering, abandoning socialism completely in 1921 once his party was firmly entrenched. The link, however, was forged between socialism and communism forever after in many minds.

Joseph McCarthy, George Wallace, Richard Nixon and others, for equating anti-socialism with anti-communism as part of their own rabble-rousing strategies (drawing false parallels between Lenin and Marx that exist even today). Socialism exists in our society, in important ways virtually no one takes issue with. Emergency services, water and sewer services, the Interstate Highway System and other public roads, public schools, so much more. All socialism, and all great ideas. At some point, our society figured out that some aspects of our daily lives should not be subject to free-market whims and profit. Can you imagine having to give a credit card number to your 9-1-1 operator? Or negotiate a sewer contract for your individual home? How about paying a toll between the various networks and subnetworks of roads, including even within your own neighborhood? If we were honest as a country, and smart, we would realize that health care should also not be subject to free-market whims and profiteering. People are just as important as roads, water and sewer systems, and emergency services. I think we can all at least agree with that.

Obama came into office with a real ugly situation awaiting him. As interest rates bottomed out at 0% in December, the Federal Reserve lost its traditional, primary market-manipulation device. There was no more “down” down there. As John McCain said, we had been “spending money like drunken sailors”, and we now had a huge hangover. The stimulus package was put into place, bailouts continued under the Obama administration, tough decisions were made. Our country hadn’t been in such a pickle for a very long time (and never with so much riding on a recovery). Keynesian tactics were enacted and cash was injected into the economy. Lots of it. GM and Chrysler were bailed out, allowed to restructure (but now with strings attached, giving the Right another opening into the “See!? He’s a communist!” dialogue). The debate among economists raged on. We had to try something, anything. Failure to act was not an option. No one yet knows if our leadership did the right thing, but there have been ever-so-faint signs of a recovery recently. Astroturfers have seized upon our country’s woes, using the socialism/communism confusion in part to goad birthers, racists, end-timers, neo-Nazis, and others to pounce on Obama. Not very honest, but so far very effective in stirring the soup of confusion and unease. Unfortunately for our country.

FINDING COMMON GROUND
1. Republicans are opposed to non free-market solutions to health care, from a real identity point of view. They view Wall Street-run health care as still a reasonable solution. This has endured in a large part as a result of the socialism/communism confusion (see above). The public option, which Obama spoke about in his speech, should be embraced by both sides for its economy of operation and real potential to really keep the private insurers in line. The President stated that this public option will not cost a dime of taxpayer money, but will survive and thrive on its own. The reduced operating costs (3.5% vs. 31% for private insurers) will offset the expected influx of the medically-needy. If, somehow, it does not, then the President is willing to make cuts in spending versus raising additional revenues through taxes. I, for one, am hoping the public option will come to dominate the industry. This will only happen if it is successful, which will be good for everyone (see how that works, Rush?).

2. Pre-existing conditions will no longer be a factor in receiving an insurance policy or not. It will be against the law for an insurance carrier to deny coverage or charge exorbitant rates for those people who switch jobs, carriers, or both. No longer will Americans be tied to dead end jobs, just to hold on to their insurance. The Right, judging by one of their standing ovations at the speech last week (and running counter to the insurance lobby), are on board with this idea. As Obama said, it was a good idea when John McCain campaigned on it, and it’s a good idea now. Rescission and other denial of care practices will end. Rescission, growing in frequency and intensity, is the process by which insurance companies deny care for such trivial matters as mistakes made on application forms (like misstating your weight), whether made honestly or not. It’s when they get you on a technicality. It is real life rationed care, unlike the picture of rationed care drawn by the insurance lobby (when referring to government-run health care) Also, premium discrimination based on gender and age will come to an end.

3. In the US, we spend more than twice the average for developed countries, and get less for it. We rank 37th in health care for cost and effectiveness (behind Saudi Arabia, Cypress, Costa Rica, Colombia, but just ahead of Slovenia). Our worldwide ranking for life span is 50th. Wall Street-run healthcare has clearly failed us all. These abysmal figures alone should be reason enough to change the system, for any thinking American.

4. Republicans want tort reform for medical malpractice cases. Doctors are paying through the nose for medical malpractice insurance, largely due to huge payouts issued by compassionate juries. This is a good idea in principle; the Republicans have a point here (and they should be allowed to make it). To borrow a funny line from the President’s speech, “there are still a few details to be ironed out”, but overall, this should be a legitimate part of the debate.

5. The Economy. With a big “E”. Reform on health care is tied to an economic recovery. Lack of action may be its undoing. Every day, more and more people are losing their coverage. Soaring costs for Medicare and Medicaid threaten to void any real recovery. Our population is aging. We owe this to ourselves for purely selfish (in addition to fiscally responsible) reasons. This isn’t just a program to get the uninsured covered. It is essential for our country.

To my conservative friends: read the text of President Obama’s speech, and see if you can find some common ground.

To my progressive, liberal friends: the time is now to take action. If you want this to happen, one thing you could do is put down your Double Half-Caff-No-Foam latte, pick up your iPhones or Blackberries, and call your Congress people in Washington. Be sure to let them know how you feel about a public option. Follow the links below to navigate to the home pages of your Senators and Representatives. Have a belly-busting laugh at their official photo, which will undoubtedly grace their home page. Then call them.

House of Representatives Member List

US Senate Member List

Credits: George W. Bush as the Joker illustration by Drew Friedman for Vanity Fair (2008), Obama as the Joker original photo from a Time magazine cover, alteration credit unknown. This is the hardest set of ideas I have ever tried to put into words. It is version… I don’t even know how many versions I’ve written – in the mid-double-digits at least (I ran out of fingers and toes counting them). It is not perfect, and not even near what I wanted to do, but on the B.L.O.G. it must go. It’s getting late. Take action today. Please.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 9:05 am and is filed under General, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.