There is no way anyone could pass a single-payer system through this Congress, even if we won oodles of new seats. It just won't happen. It's not a matter of leadership. Why does the entire South oppose even this lukewarm reform? Look at how far we had to go to get to the point that we could pass something with no support from Republicans and almost no support from Southern Democrats? We just did it, and it's a minor miracle. A shitty bill passed, and it's a miracle.
We could have gone all out for single payer and we'd never even have gotten ... this. We'd have gotten nothing for another 15 years.
As it is, what the fuck is wrong with southern Democrats? Are they really that pathetic?
Eric Massa did refuse to vote for it because it did too little and institutionalized the health care industry monopoly.
We need to be looking at the Massachusetts plan and how that's working out to see the future of this. If the goal is to deliver everyone into the arms of a private insurer, this will probably do the trick. If the goal is to actually make sure they get affordable health care...well, they can't even afford it in Mass. But that won't sink into the heads of people who are making so much money they don't even remember what it was like to have to live on a budget. If they ever did.
Posted by: Riggsveda | November 08, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Are Southern Democrats really that pathetic? With a few rare exceptions, yes.
Posted by: Nan | November 08, 2009 at 12:40 PM