All this anger over "public option" is misguided and likely unnecessary.

[phleshdef]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. If there is a health bill passed without a public option, it will be the fault of Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans. Of course we knew the Republicans would be an obstacle to ANYTHING good that can come out of this, so thats neither here nor there.

If you are going to finger point and become enraged at anyone, it should be the following people:

1. The MEDIA - they are the ones that have turned this into a "fight against socialism" debate in the first place. Thats what stoked all this townhall anger and got the nutjobs feeling motivated to go out and fight. Because of this alone, public opinion on the public option has soured. Its sad. Its unfair, but thats how it is.

2. The Blue Dogs - need I say more?

3. Harry Reid - Reid needs to grow a pair and get the blue dogs in line. The President isn't the one that is suppose to get his party companions in the Senate in line, thats what the majority leader is for. I have nothing against Reid as a person, but he has been pretty crummy at his job since day 1.

4. Ourselves - We are allowing them to divide us. We are not getting out there and fighting like we did during the campaigns. I don't know if we are all out of fight or what our problem is. But how can we expect the President to have our backs when we don't have his? Obama never said "Yes I Can", it was YES WE CAN. A lot of us are sitting back and complaining when we should be out there creating situations that FORCES the media to tell a more favorable story on the support for public option and other GOOD elements of HealthCare reform.

And finally, why is this anger unnecessary? This is why:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090818/pl_bloomberg/a4u0_7_zceme

From the sound of it, our progressive congress people aren't even going to let this get anywhere near the President's desk without a public option. And we all know he will sign it so thats no problem. Calm down and take in all the pieces in this game and see how its really playing out. The administration could straight say they don't even want a public option and would still likely end up with a bill where thats included. Now of course the President WANTS it, of course Sebelius WANTS it, of course we WANT it.

What Sebelius said on Sunday was something that should not have been said. Given that, the media has blown it out of proportion so that they can further divide the people on support for the end product, which we don't have yet. We are playing right into their hands and giving them exactly what they aimed to get. We need to stop this nonsense and realize the trick that is being played on us for what it is, get off our asses and get President Obama's back. The guy is in a serious firefight right now with crazy right wing protestors toting guns to townhall meetings, demonization attacks from right wing politicians and dealing with straggling conservative Democrats in his own party.

If we want to get this done and done right, we need to step it up, we need to get that "yes we can" attitude back and most of all, we need to support our guy and help him. When we did that before, it got him elected against all odds of conventional wisdom. Those that oppose this know that and thats why they are trying to prevent us from having that moment again.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. It doesn't matter.

It's a shame. Maybe if DU put this much energy into defending the public option and Obama early on in this fight, we wouldn't be fighting to keep it.

But they didn't.

Liberals just don't know how to handle power. They're completely oblivious to it and it's probably why they never keep it. I swear, this ideology is so socially inept and awkward, it's not a surprise we're often the butt of the joke.

It never fucking fails.

When all hell breaks loose, liberals do nothing. They sit there and whine on message boards, but in the entire scheme of things, they don't do a damn thing. Then when the story shifts because the conservatives are setting the tone, they freak out and blame OTHERS on our side.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Then that plays right into the media's narrative. They want the liberals divided and some of you fucks are too stupid to see it!

God and you wonder why liberal Democrats can't ever organize and accomplish anything. At least the Blue Dogs are vocal and out there fighting - even if it's against the public option. Those on the left aren't doing anything except blaming Obama and what good does that do?

Had Pelosi and Feingold and others who support a public option in Congress spent the months of July and a good number of August out there fighting for it, LIKE OBAMA WAS DOING, we wouldn't be near the tipping point.

But they didn't. They only became vocal - like the progressives on the internet - when Obama saw an avalanche of negativity because he was the only one going up against the media, the Republicans and many in his own party.

Fucking pathetic!

[phleshdef]

2. Yea its like we can get them elected, then we are all like "Now wudda we do?".

[treestar]

4. So true. On another board I actually saw the sentiment that

"I did my job on Nov. 4" and now expects Obama to just do the rest and complains that it's not done yet.

Idiots. The right wing nutjobs never think that way.

[jeanpalmer]

9. I think rank and file Democrats are united

They want single payer. Or at worst, a strong public option which eventually leads to single payer.

The problem isn't with rank and file Democrats. It's with the Democratic leadership, and Obama in particular. They know what we want and what should be done, but they won't do it.

If Obama were really fighting for public option, he would have submitted a plan to Congress that included it. And he would have pressured Congress to pass it. Instead, he held back, threw the issue up for grabs, and created the free-for-all that we now have. And now he says PO is not essential. Not much we can do about that. I voted for him because I thought he knew what had to be done and would do it. I didn't think I was going to have to constantly babysit him, cajole him and kick him in the ass to get him to do what he already knows is the right thing to do. If he won't do the right thing, that's on him, not on me or you.

[Teaser]

14. Despite what you think, you are not the final authority on progressive thought on the PO

is the PO essential?

No. If I could get every American a large subsidy to pay for health care, would I trade away the PO?

yep. In a heartbeat.

If I could substitute a national co-op that received government subsidies and was under government control, and I was assured of everything else in the bill passing, would I trade the PO? Probably.

No one died and left you God of Progressives.

That.Did.Not.Happen.

[politicasista]

3. Kick

:kick:

[Bluerthanblue]

5. kudos

for one of the best posts on this issue yet!!-

K&R


:hi:

[phleshdef]

6. Geez, I was hoping for some naysayers to weigh in on this.

[quiet.american]

7. Agreed. nt

[GeorgeGist]

8. and another thing ...

Obama is a wimp.

[KakistocracyHater]

10. single payer is a proven winner, just consider Canada, Europe, far Northern

Europe to be labs, where it has proven to produce strong, healthy children, women, & men(in reverse order of Family Values crowd). Some of them are dogmatically against catching up with the rest of the industrialized nations, perhaps it's their pride in being led, & THEY didn't think of it 1st? Pride is keeping US in Iraq, too.

[vaberella]

11. K&R You're definitely on point. n/t

[democracy1st]

12. The Pres needs to show more leadership and expose these clowns

and get away from Max Baucus

[freddie mertz]

15. I have to agree.

We could use more clarity and certainty from the WH.

And less pandering to the GOP and Baucus/Conrad.

[Honeycombe8]

13. I'm sorry, but the buck stops at the Prez's desk (and Rahm's). Rahm never

did go to the mat over the PO. He said early on that the PO wasn't necessary. And of course, anything that Dean likes, Rahm must oppose, since they are enemies.

No, I wish it were so that the media could be blamed, and many others. And they share in the blame.

But becoming the leader of a country means that the buck stops with you. Your political party follows your leadership. You chose your chief of staff, who didn't believe in the public option and sympathized with the BlueDogs.

The buck stops with the President, esp. on his signature plan.

I wish it were otherwise. But it's not.

[Orsino]

16. Yes. It's obvious who our enemies are...

...and many of them are Congressional Democrats. However, we do have a lot of power, and the media have not been entirely successful in framing the debate. I think a public option is coming, too--not the sort I'd prefer, but something that will get more health care to more people. That's worth fighting for.

[dsamuels0078]

17. lies

as i said before 72% of u.s.a still support the public option without republican lies

[OneBlueSky]

18. the big strategic mistake that Obama made was not pushing for a single payer system . . .

the easiest way to accomplish that would be to simply open Medicare up to everyone, with a sliding scale of premiums based on ability to pay . . . had he taken this route, he could have used hard and fast figures to prove to the public that the amount of money saved by not underwriting corporate profits, overhead, administration, perks, and the like would be more than enough to cover everyone . . .

to accommodate workers who would lose their jobs if the insurance companies were kicked out of the healthcare field, he could have linked healthcare to other pressing problems like global warming, establishing a national energy conservation and weatherization program and re-training for healthcare workers in these (and other) industries . . . as for the corporations themselves and their shareholders, he could have found ways to help them re-focus themselves into other areas (like energy conservation) that, over time, would still provide good returns for their investors -- but not at the expense of people trying to cope with illness and disease . . .

imo, Obama missed his chance by looking to settle for half a loaf when only a whole loaf would do . . . and the notion that he could accomplish anything by appealing to bipartisanship with a party wedded to wealth and corporate interests was doomed from inception . . .

[karynnj]

21. Various long term Senators and Congressmen have said that would never pass

- it simply does not have the votes to pass either house. There are too many people ideologically against it. Consider that the RW is scaring people about a public option by raising the specter that it really will be singer payer in a few years.

[Life Long Dem]

19. Willful ignorance here...

and supports the media's brainwashing.

[phleshdef]

20. That makes no sense, has nothing to do with my post and refutes nothing I said whatsoever.