Robert Reich writes a letter to President Obama on how to get a REAL health care plan passed:
1. Go to the nation. You must build public support by forcefully making the case for universal health care everywhere around the country. The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows that three out of four Americans want universal health care. But the vast majority don't know what's happening on the Hill, don't know how much money the medical-industrial lobbies are spending to defeat it, and have no idea how much demagoguery they're about to be exposed to. You must tell them. And don't be reluctant to take on those vested interests directly. Name names. They've decided to fight you. You must fight them.
2. Be LBJ. So far, Lyndon Johnson has been the only president to defeat American Medical Association and the rest of the medical-industrial complex. He got Medicare and Medicaid enacted despite their cries of "socialized medicine" because he knocked heads on the Hill. He told Congress exactly what he wanted, cajoled and threatened those who resisted, and counted noses every hour until he had the votes he needed. When you're not on the road, you need to be twisting congressional arms and drawing a line in the sand. Be tough.
3. Forget the Republicans. Forget bipartisanship. Universal health care can pass with 51 votes. You can get 51 votes if you give up on trying to persuade a handful of Republicans to cross over. Eight year ago George W. Bush passed his huge tax cut, mostly for the wealthy, by wrapping it in an all-or-nothing reconciliation measure and daring Democrats to vote against it. You should do the same with health care.
I know I've been screaming "fuck bipartisanship" for quite a while now. NOTHING will come of it if that's where the Democrats insist on putting their efforts.
Fuck Republicans, period. Let's move ahead already instead of being dragged back to the neolithic era.
Posted by: donna | June 20, 2009 at 12:36 PM
I really like Reich's points! And yes, indeed, FUCK bipartisanship - it's getting us totally nowhere!
Posted by: Elspeth Ravenwind | June 20, 2009 at 01:53 PM
That's what I said to my congressman one day, fuck bipartisanship beside these aren't real Rs they're Nazis.
jo6pac
Posted by: jo6pac | June 20, 2009 at 02:16 PM
"Yo Rahm! What say you about former Secretary Reich's sensible advice?"
"Moving forward Mutherf@#ker! Our corporate masters will not approve."
Posted by: HarpoSnarx | June 20, 2009 at 03:51 PM
What Grover Norquist said.
Also.
Posted by: TeddySanFran | June 20, 2009 at 04:20 PM
unipartisanship between the electeds and the corporations.
Posted by: notaboomer | June 20, 2009 at 05:12 PM
Tell the man, every day in every clean way.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Posted by: montag | June 20, 2009 at 06:34 PM
to Reich's point #2.
"Fierce advocate" is to busy trying to be Shrub-lite to even try on LBJ's boots. (Plus, I'm sure they would be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too big.)
Posted by: liberaldemdave | June 20, 2009 at 06:52 PM
LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!
Posted by: pansypoo | June 20, 2009 at 08:34 PM
Phhhhft, the house and senate have been bought and sold years ago. Just how many summer homes has the corpocracy bought for the most useless humans on planet earth any way?
Posted by: Capt. Bat Guano | June 20, 2009 at 11:47 PM
I'm beginning to think that this call for "bipartisanship" is the Dem's way of keeping the insurance lobby's money and then blaming the Republicans when we don't get a public option. It's very cynical and I hate thinking it but it's really starting to look that way.
Why else, in the face of all of these polls showing overwhelming public support, would the Dem's even care if the republicans vote for it or not. Nothing else makes sense.
We need to contact our Senators and tell them that it doesn't matter who is blocking this (D or R) if it doesn't get done, they are not getting our votes.
Posted by: FastMovingCloud | June 21, 2009 at 09:13 AM
public campaign financing NOW!
Posted by: pansypoo | June 21, 2009 at 01:36 PM