No Single Payer? No Public Option? No vote? March on Washington?

[Dawgs]

Poll question: No Single Payer? No Public Option? No vote? March on Washington?

Do you hope the bill fails to pass (or gets vetoed by Obama) if it does not contain a public option? If yes, would you be willing to march on Washington to demand single payer?

[Bill219]

1. If it does not have a public option and there is a march...

count me and my whole family in

[disndat]

2. March and carry

signs with the names of the 13 Blue Dogs.

[Zodiak]

3. Marches to D.C. just make money for the D.C. tourist-based economy

Our politicians and our media do not care. What's more you can get your head busted in while the news talks about how you are a terrorist or an anarchist and deserved to have your head busted. We've seen this played out over and over in recent years.

You all should be talking "general strike". That way people do not have to travel; you will hurt their sacred cow (the "economy") and get the attention you need.

The powers that be don't give a rats ass how angry you are as long as you show up to work every day and feed their fat, greasy faces. Stop feeding them, and perhaps they will notice.

In fact, for a place like DU, strikes of any kind are seldom mentioned as a viable method of demanding change. That is profoundly sad.

So have you protest and come back to discuss real change when you are once again ignored.

[Dawgs]

6. How are we supposed to strike on Congress in regards to healthcare?

:shrug:

[Zodiak]

9. Easy...call for a general strike

And it will take repeated attempts because the American people are slow on the uptake and have no recent cultural history with it.

But this is why France has better health care than we do. They are willing to STOP WORK across the country to get what they want. We are wage-slaves that have no idea that the jobs we place so much value on are really not there to serve us, but our corporate masters. And they keep you quiet and complacent and under the delusion that you have no leverage over them. You do. They profit from your work, and you have the right to withhold that work.

It doesn't take a union to conduct a general strike. It's just a way to say "no healthcare....no work" and mean it. Public embarrassment of officials through protest has long been neutralized as an effective tool for change. Its an empty exercise that has led to exactly zero change since the Vietnam War.

[ananda]

13. Yes, a general strike is a much better idea!

nt

[Doctor_J]

4. Marches are useless

Sorry

[Dawgs]

5. Marches don't work if it's only 20-50 people...but if it's 50,000+ then they might.

What proof do you have that they don't work?

And, what's the alternative? Voting in 60 "Democrats" didn't do it.

[Doctor_J]

7. Nearly 1,000,000 marched against the attempted colonization of Iraq

how'd that go?

Edit: What to do? Pool our resources and run some TV ads that actually, forcefully, and correctly blame the repukes and the blue dogs dems for the death, destruction, and economic disaster created and perpetuated by the current health care system.

[valerief]

8. Yeah, didn't even get teevee coverage. Like it was a non-event.

As the rest of the world and our government officials know, only violence creates change.

[Zodiak]

10. TV ads feed the media machine, makes them rich and powerful

You will effectively make them more powerful by using their gateway medium for your message. And you also run the chance of them not taking your money and running your ad because it is "too controversial".

Embarrassment of public officials? HAAHAHAHAHAH!!!

If Dave Vitter can crap his pants in front of prostitutes, the whole world knows about, and he still keeps his seat, then tell me how the embarrassment for a couple of TV ads will stop them?

No....it is time for the gloves to come off. It is time for workers to see each other as brothers and sisters and band together to force these corporate assholes to care about the general welfare.

But I suspect we will continue to be wage slaves and get nothing for our efforts. Maybe in a cuople of generations Americans will develop courage, but I see precious little of it today.

[Jakes Progress]

20. You have to think where we live.

Get enough movie stars and names to walk at the front and the media will drool for it. Not just the stars that the public already identifies like Baldwin and Sarandon. We could get some, I'm sure. The best coverage that King got for his marches were the ones that had celebrities at the front. It's a sorry state of affairs but it's the state we live in.

[dhpgetsit]

11. I doubt I will have the resources to travel to Washington, but

given the resources I would do it in a heartbeat.

[dflprincess]

12. March on Washingont and carry "FOR SALE" signs that can be left on the Capital steps

or in front of the Congressional office buildings.

Those of us who can't make it to D.C. could do this at the local offices.

[Mira]

14. I will be there with signs on. Never thought I'd have to though.

I'm tired of marching in Washington.

[progressoid]

15. Would love to march.

Can't afford to.

[kath]

16. General strike!

As someone said upthread, let the rallying cry be "No Healthcare, No Work!".

[elizm]

17. I'll be there. How do we organize??? nt

[JayMusgrove]

22. Martin Luther King didn't have any internet!

Think about it.

[harun]

18. Who the hell voted for the fourth option?

I'd love to hear the reasoning behind that.

[Jakes Progress]

19. We'll have to stop calling it Public Option.

Whatever passes, if anything, will have some stuff that the politicians will call "Public Option". Given the way the call war peace and hate love, we can already see that what they will call Public Option will be just the opposite. It will cost us more money, make more profit for insurance and pharma, and be risk-free, tax-guaranteed profit for them. Check out the Senior Drug Plan.

By calling their crap Public Option, Democrats can have the cover to say they voted for public options and will let Obama sign it. If we march saying we want public option, they will say that they did that.

Never underestimate evil bastards. They are evil. And they are bastards.

[JayMusgrove]

21. While Congress is vacationing, and we are still without healthcare..

March on DC, 1,000,000 strong.... place "for sale" signs and "gone fishing" signs on the Capital.

Yeah, and probably ask Obama to speak .... like at his innauguration... to 1,000,000 on the mall.

A new "I have a dream" speech.

[masuki bance]

26. oops nm. nt

[masuki bance]

23. A march of any significance will not happen. There will be

a rallying around whatever is passed. Believe it or not, that is what will happen.

[depakid]

24. What would the French do?

Shut the bloody country down, that's what.

[Zodiak]

25. ...and they'd get healthcare

Americans.....well, it is clear that we are the the people in the allegory of the cave, watching shadows and thinking it the whole world. Completely afraid to look at anything at all but that wall of shadows.

I am ashamed at how timid Americans have become. In my darkest thoughts, I sometimes believe our cowardice and absolute lack of civic virtue means we deserve the neglect we receive.

[depakid]

27. Couldn't have said it better

I like the Plato reference. Hadn't really thought of it in those terms before, but that's spot on.

[jaysunb]

28. Any marching should be done at the

offices of those who vote against or to water down.
It's lots more effective.

[MrSlayer]

29. There is practically no chance I'll be marching anywhere.

Mainly because it does no good whatsoever. Those bastards in Washington couldn't care less what we say, do or think.