There are two kinds of people in the world: those who put people into categories and those who don't. By the foregoing statement you can see where I fit in.
Of those Democrats who voted against the health-care reform bill Saturday night, there are two types: those who voted nay for the wrong reasons and those few who did so for the right reasons.
Dennis Kucinich is in the latter category.
The fact the Stupak amendment compromised women's reproductive rights makes the bill seriously flawed, to put it mildly.
But Kucinich put his finger on the bill's greatest shortcoming in one paragraph of his essay at Common Dreams:
"During the debate, when the interests of insurance companies would have been effectively challenged, that challenge was turned back. The 'robust public option' which would have offered a modicum of competition to a monopolistic industry was whittled down from an initial potential enrollment of 129 million Americans to 6 million. An amendment which would have protected the rights of states to pursue single-payer health care was stripped from the bill at the request of the Administration. Looking ahead, we cringe at the prospect of even greater favors for insurance companies."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
And those in charge of the Democrat Party probably wonder why a longtime precinct committeeman, local party officer, and longtime union negotiating committeeman and officer is no longer involved in any of those activities.
I'm not sorry I supported President Obama. I am sorry I didn't support Kucinich. I hope that makes sense.
Makes perfect sense, Truth. You wanted a sharp turn away from the Shrub era, and that's what you've got for the most part. But Kucinich has better ideals.
Actually, there are three kinds of people in the world: those who are good at math and those who aren't.
Nice post. It's been sad to see what was potentially a great and long overdue bill be whittled down to this, so I can understand why many American progressives find themselves torn.
Stimpson,
I'm glad you posted this.Kucinich continues to be the Barbara Lee of the Democratic party. the conscience.
Yeah,she's my rep and I'm still hella proud of her for being that "1" in the 443-1 vote to give Chimpy the power to whack whoever he felt like whacking.
Stimpson.... it's thoughtful and it gives a very hopeful conclusion, as in, there is always hope for the better. A good point. (ah, to me)
:-)
It's worth pointing out, folks, that this bill is a disappointment to not just progressives but the clear majority of U.S. citizens who say in poll after poll that they want something better than this.
Gwen, it's hard to be optimistic when I see corporations' power thwart the common good and will this way.
The sad part about acting as a conscience, Oso, is that one is generally considered a "pill" and maybe ridiculed for standing up for what is right. Kucinich knows what that's like.
My favorite Kucinich quote came from early in last year's perimaries, when, on the topic of health insurance coverage, he said, "INSURANCE?! I'm not selling insurance---I'm talking about health CARE!"
Jack: That quote is fabulous.
Yes, I love that quote.
Stimpy, Kucinich, despite his quirks is one of the truly great legislators. He is honest and only cares about the common good.
Something HAD to be passed. It would have been political suicide for a healthcare bill to have died this year. Like many great bills of the past, it passed with many flaws. Luckily, it can be tweeked and changed in the future to provide a more wide and accessible coverage. But the bottomline is that to have let it die because it wasn't right, perfect or did everything for everybody would have severely hobbled any future efforts. Remember what happened in the 90s with Hillary's efforts? We'd have seen the same fate if it hadn't passed this time.
SH: I sure hope it can be improved later, but it needs one hell of a lot of improvement. 6 million people? That's, like, 1/8 of those without health insurance. And it's a financial assault on U.S. citizens to require them to buy health insurance from the crooks and pirates at Wellpoint, AIG, etc.
I find it soooo depressing that this is what gets passed, despite a clear majority wanting so much more. I know I already said that, but it bears repeating.
What Oso, Jack, & Billy said....
Stimpson. So true. By the time they strip the public option, it will means almost nothing.
Is this the way politics should work?
Is this is an example of poliitcs, "the art of compromise?"
Post a Comment