Should we hold our politicians to a lower standard than most western countries' citizens hold theirs

[Bonn1997]

That's what's bothering me so much about health care reform. Many other countries' citizens were able to get their politicians to pass legislation implementing affordable, single payer health insurance. Why do we have to settle not simply for less but for WAY less? Even if you're going to argue that it's not feasible to get single payer (given campaign financing or any other reason), that just raises more questions than it answers. (How did we get to a point where achieving something other western countries could achieve wasn't achievable for us? Why are we or is our political system less competent than theirs? How do we get to a point where our branches of government can operate as effectively as other western countries' governments? etc.) It just seems wrong for Democratic politicians to expect that we settle for less than Canadians, the British, the French and tons of other countries got.

[AllentownJake]

1. The citizens of those countries have less delusions

About the angry sky God who is concerned about who they are fucking and also less delusions that it is their God appointed responsibility to rule the world through Military force.

[xchrom]

2. i can think of a couple of things -- one is the near hysterical belief that

only incrementalism works in this country.

second is slavering worship we give to the wealthy powerful.
because we think we'll get a piece of that pie.

[Jennicut]

3. Because the United States is not Canada, Britain, or France. Maybe we would have been better off

not trying to be independent. That is not a sarcastic statement, I really mean it. We got independence so we could become...this.

[AllentownJake]

5. I think the French have been independent

with the exception of a brief period from 1939-1944

[Jennicut]

8. Well if we were still under Britain's rule maybe we would have universal health care coverage by now

[Vidar]

4. No, but the voters have little to say about it. We're given a cookie

cutter slate of corporate clowns from which to select & any Dean, Kucinich or Feingold that stands up for us is quickly marginalized & denies real power.

[Romulox]

6. The US is the least democratic out of any of the developed Western countries...nt

[Bonn1997]

7. That's true but what can we do about it? Maybe very little and it's just something to accept.

The biggest problem is lobbying and I can't imagine Congress ever voting for serious reform that limits its members ability to take money from lobbyists.