No Public Option, No Reelection?

[Gwereeya]

I have a good friend in upstate New York, a diehard liberal Democrat (in fact, it was she who turned me on to DU). In a recent telephone conversation, she told me, "If there's no public option in the final legislation, it's over."

I asked her what it was that would be "over."

My friend demurred, so I pressed. "What's over?" I asked. "The health care debate? Your support for Obama? Human civilization in 2012? What?"

She sighed, paused a second more, then said, "My involvement in politics. If there's no public option, I'm done. No more voting, no more activism, no more anything. Over."

I was shocked. This woman is no dabbler: She is, in fact, quite passionate about her politics. But it got me wondering: If a rock-solid Soldier for the Cause like her could be deflated by the abandonment of this aspect of genuine reform, how many other progressive Dems might do their own abandoning, namely, of their Party and/or President?

The Democrats in the House, and especially in the Senate, would be well advised to pay heed to my friend and those like her, for it is my view that they drop the public option at their own---2010---electoral peril.

And, Mr. President, if you think that caving on an issue so important to your base will not come back to bite you three years hence, well sir, I'd respectfully suggest you've got another think coming!

[BlooInBloo]

1. I self-immolate every time things don't go my way...

It's a very painful existence, this mortal coil of mine. (heavy sigh)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

11. I empathize with her....the House, Senate and the President know why we gave them all 3...

Just Do It!

[BlooInBloo]

14. Whether the battle is won or lost (looks like we're winning atm), the war still goes on...

with or without those who remove themselves by overdosing on their emo pills.

The next battle is going to happen, whether or not you show up.

EDIT: But I'm pretty sure this is just an anti-Obama whiner thread, so I'll leave you all to your fun.

[Gwereeya]

18. It is NOT an anti-Obama thread!

I guess I should have stated at the outset that I'm a Democrat, as well. Unlike my friend, I did not knock on doors, lick envelopes, or man a phone bank for Obama on Election Day.

I did, however, vote for him. I hope he succeeds. But he's got to get over this bipartisanshiT!

[BlooInBloo]

19. Noted.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

20. Your wrong in your opinion...I strongly doubt their are any "anti-Obama" people here...

They couldn't make it past a few posts without us calling in for a pizza delivery.

[BlooInBloo]

21. You're kidding, right?

:rofl:

[Cant trust em]

2. It's interesting how so much investment is coming out of this.

One aspect of one issue is becoming the be all and end all of political involvement.

[asdjrocky]

3. A lot of people feel this way.

I'm one of them.

[GCP]

6. Me too

It's over if they fail us on this.

[SammyWinstonJack]

34. Count me in as well.

[Avalux]

4. Dems losing in 2010 seems to be an emerging theme from the Right and the media.

There are no indications of that happening. And concerning a public option, President Obama has not caved.

I certainly hope your friend is doing everything she can now to push a public option. What about you??

[Gwereeya]

28. Well, I'm not marching in the streets.....

...are you? I've telephoned and e-mailed the offices of Congressman Larsen and Senators Cantwell and Murray, making clear I support the public option. If this sounds tepid to you, you're right: I am one with 90% of the Party's rank and file!

[bbinacan]

5. The 2010 elections will hinge on

two things. The unemployment rate and seniors perception of healthcare reform. Period.

[underpants]

7. No they will come around-what is the other option?

Mitt?
Newt?
Jindal?

[Coyote_Bandit]

22. Ummmm......

There's not much difference between a Dem that leaves me uninsured/underinsured and a Puke that does likewise. It is a distiinction without a difference for those of us who consider meaningful healthcare reform our line in the sand.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

27. no, he said, "she will be finished with politics"

[HillbillyBob]

8. I am of the same mind

I will NOT Vote for any Dem that does not vote for the public option, that means Obama, Hagan or Miller. I will stay the hell home or I will back their opponent in the primaries.

We moved to a place in the country because city life was getting to me, we were in the wind shadow of the coal fired power plants in Charlotte.
Last week we find that instead of investing in clean power we are getting a coal plants less than 15 miles from our new place, I am asthmatic we will have leave. I do not know what Hagan or Burrs vote was on it, but I am pretty sure that Burr voted for the dirty fucking coal.

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. Public option matters to us...

...and the 3-4 million people who would actually be able to purchase insurance from it, and no one else. Half the people who claim it's a deal-breaker don't even know what it is -- they think it's a synonym for 'single payer' because it features the word 'public' prominently.

The public option is a shibboleth.

Meanwhile, even a mandate without a public option is popular, in the only place where there's actually a mandate

Public support for Massachusetts’ closely watched health insurance overhaul has slipped over the past year, a new poll indicates, but residents still support the path-breaking 2006 law by a 2-to-1 ratio.

Amid a severe recession that has led to cuts in state programs and unrelenting job losses, 59 percent of those surveyed said they favored the state’s multimillion-dollar insurance initiative, down from 69 percent a year ago. The poll, by the Harvard School of Public Health and The Boston Globe, found that opposition to the law stands at 28 percent, up slightly from 22 percent in a June 2008 survey.

11% of respondents wanted the law repealed. 11%.

If it was Dukakis-care, or Patrick-care, and not Romney-care, y'all would love it.

But wait -- it might as well be Dukakis-care, or Patrick- care. The legislature that passed the bill was, it is worth mentioning, 10-1 Democratic in the House and 6-1 Democratic in the Senate. This plan was not imposed by some hostile opposing army upon the supine population of the commonwealth.

The real backlash will be when Congress' failure to pass anything, because a largely-symbolic public option is missing, makes the Democrats look incapable of accomplishing anything.

[stopbush]

10. Don't believe her, She's just expressing frustration and fatigue

over this long battle. More important, her expressing so simply indicates that the battle has moved forward and is now at a make-or-break point.

Some stalwarts love the battle and stasis more than forward movement. Look where the country was a year ago on the health issue and where we are now. which do you prefer?

[imdjh]

13. That sounds very much like "Where you gonna go?" to me.

The answer is that I have lived this long, and if it take throwing a Democrat out of the White House to make the point to the party that this BULLSHIT will not be tolerated, then so be it.

That's not frustration, it's anger.

[imdjh]

12. I feel like I have been stabbed in the back too many times recently.

So I'm feeling a lot like your friend.

I felt like many people who should have been loyal to Hillary Clinton stabbed her and me in the back.

I know that gay people were stabbed in the back by Democrats in California who voted with the Republicans on Prop 8 and then blamed the gay community for nor reaching out enough or some such BULLSHIT.

I want Public Health Insurance, I want an end to DADT before 2010. Why? Because if we can't get it done by then, they will say "Well, by 2012." and then they will say, "Next term."

I have tried to make it very clear to the White House without sounding like a nutcase- THERE WILL BE NO NEXT TERM if I have anything to say about it if we don't get Public Health Insurance AT A MINIMUM. And by "GET" I mean enacted and under way, not put off until 2012 or 2017.

[izquierdista]

15. A great short slogan bumper sticker

Except with an exclamation point !

[midnight]

16. Give your friend a hug, and then caution her that they are expecting

her and many like her that toil to bring out the vote to go away. It is persons like her that make them have to work harder at destroying us. Remind her if she walks away they win more easily.

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. Meaningful healthcare reform

is my line in the sand. My personal circumstances dictate that I cannot be patient and await another opportunity for reform perhaps a decade or more in the future. Dems control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. If they cannot deliver then the only folks they have to blame are themselves.

If there isn't meaningful healthcare reform then I too am done. Done with Dems. Done with politics. Consequences be damned. I simply have no desire to invest myself, my hopes, my finances, my time and efforts in advancing the interests of a candidate or a party that do not advance or protect my own needs and interests. It doesn't get much more basic than the need for caring for one's physical needs.

[spanone]

23. i want pie

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. yum, "sweet potato pie"

[dhpgetsit]

24. I hear a lot of that.

There is a daunting amount of misinformation and apathy to overcome. It's just so easy to get discouraged.

But it's never over. I fear there will be some very painful times coming that will end up swaying a lot more people over.

If meaningful healthcare does not pass this year I hope there will be some general strikes. People could just stay home from work, keep the kids out of school, turn off the TV, pack up a picnic and hang out in a public park all day. Do this on the first Monday of every month or every Monday for a while. Just peaceful non-participation in the economy.

[jwirr]

25. I know how she feels. The day George McGovern lost I stepped out

for what I thought would be forever. I was lost. But if I look back that is the decision I regret the most. I set on the sidelines while raygun took office, I sat on the sidelines while *ss I took office and did not lift a finger for Bill Clinton - did vote for him. Then I sat on the sidelines at let *ss take the reins from Al Gore. I am as much to blame for the mess we are in as the pugs because I let my anger and hopelessness lead me. I will be very angry if we do not get the public option we want but I will not quit again.

What I will do is stop donating to the Party apparatus and donate only to people who share my view. That also may be a mistake but it is what I will do.

[Gwereeya]

29. Kick before bed

[Gwereeya]

30. And after breakfast!

[iceman66]

31. Dumb attitude.

As if a Republican president in 2013 would bring us closer to a public option?

[Gwereeya]

33. Check out GD P!

"Today, I left the Democratic Party" (not mine) is rackin' up kicks and recs!

[Vinca]

32. I feel exactly as your friend does.

If I wanted Republicans in Congress to stop a public health care option, I would have voted for them. Democrats have already ceded my choice of single-payer and now the public option is on the chopping block. Sorry to say, there are elected Democrats more loyal to their campaign contributions from the health care industry than to the citizens. If they fold like cheap tents, I'm out. There's no reason to work for them, no reason to donate to them and certainly no reason to vote for them. If you can't tell the difference between a Democrat and a Republican it doesn't matter who is elected.

[Gwereeya]

35. Kick that Baucus Outta the Caucus!!!

I find it appropriate that Montana has a surfeit of dinosaur fossils, 'cause that fucking ASSHOLE is the biggest DINO that I've ever seen!!!!!

[Buck Feck]

36. K&R

Exactly when did we become a one-party "democracy?"