65% of Americans are begging Congress for an inclusive Public Option. The poll question:
Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government-administered health insurance plan like Medicare that would compete with private health insurance plans?
65% favor, and only 26% oppose an inclusive Public Option, a Public Option for ALL Americans.
Our Senators, led by the increasingly execrable Harry Reid are refusing to give us one.
Yes you read that right!
Here in our representative democracy Of The People, By The People and For the People…..Our Representatives in the Senate are REFUSING to give The People what they overwhelmingly want.
It would be natural, at this point in the conversation for someone to point out that Senators represent only their state, and thus are free to thwart the Will of The People if The People of their state felt differently than the rest of the nation.
That would be a good point! If it was true. Which it is not. Even The People in the states of the Democratic Senators who REFUSE to give The People real Health Care Reform….want real Health Care Reform.
In fact The People in Montana are wondering why their Senator is not on the side of The People.
It is a question that goes to the very root of democracy….in fact it is a question that asks if we still HAVE a democracy.
As they must constantly be reminded, in a representative democracy, the representatives that The People elect are elected to work for The People.
They are not tasked with deciding what The People want, they are not tasked with deciding what is best for The people, they are elected to find responsible ways to Give The People what The People Want.
They are not employed by The People…. to prevent The People from having what they want.
Yet this is the situation we find ourselves in.
Having to practically BEG our representatives, our employees, to give us what we overwhelmingly want.
Why?
Because there ARE two sides. The side of The Public, and the side of the Corporations. We are having to beg, plead, and cajole our Senators to serve us serve the side of The Public, rather than serving the Corporations.
The choice is clear, Senators. You are either for The Public Option….or the Corporate Option.
Which side will YOU serve Max Baucus, the Public, or the Corporations?
Which side will YOU serve Kent Conrad, the Public, or the Corporations?
Which side will YOU serve Blanche Lincoln, the Public, or the Corporations?
Which side will YOU serve Tom Carper, the Public, or the Corporations?
Which side will YOU serve Bill Nelson, the Public, or the Corporations?
What EXACTLY, Senators, do we have to do to get you to choose to serve The Public over serving The Corporations?
Do we REALLY have to beg you to do the will of your employers, the Will of the Voters, the Will of the People?
WHY?
I ask you Senators, to consider the implications of elected officials REFUSING to do what their electorate wants them to do.
Especially considering that those implications may encompass you finding a new line of work!
IF you don’t choose the Public Option over the Corporate Option.
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It’s never been part of my nature, you know?
I think what these Senators need more than anything else is a very loud nationwide credible threat to their continued political existence to force them to their knees begging if they don’t smarten up and fly right.
you want MORE???!!!
going to be completely insufficient and possibly worse. So what do the people do? No prosecutions for torture, no change in state secrets, no change, in fact escalation of the permanent state of war, increased attack on civil liberties, bank and corporate bailouts, etc., etc. Every line in the sand imaginable is being crossed and people just move on and draw new ones. Just one election, I’d like to see all democrats stay home, let the republicans win. There isn’t any difference anyway. Then maybe the party can emerge with some purpose.
And the Senate is most likely to pass a watered down and exclusive public option, if they pass anything at all.
The House is likely to pass a watered down and exclusive public option.
Which means a watered down and exclusive public option would be what is on the table in Conference.
How do we get better on the table in Conference?
Knocking politely at the gates and begging for admission is more the Daily Kos approach … how do we find an effective way to YELL LOUDER?
someone over there in naranja actually has some ideas
I vote for civil disobedience en masse if a crap mandate is all we get.
that the Senate Finance Committee rejected both the Jello Jay amendment and the somewhat less robust Chuckie Schumer one.
My response was an exceedingly unladlylike shout, laced with comments that would probably get me banned at the orange place.
I am reminded of the comment that Obama allegedly made to the banksters when they started whining about TARP: to the effect that his administration was the only thing standing between them and people with pitchforks.
Well, it may be time to use those pitchforks. I have never felt more inclined to wreak grave bodily harm on those lily-livered, pusillanimous, self-serving JERKS in the Senate.
But, being that this here is the U.S. of A., I guess I’ll have to wait until those sumbitches are up for re-election and donate to their opponents.
Ye gods, I am disgusted.