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Oh . . . There in the back. You claim the public option will be "socialized medicine."
As to the adjective "socialized," the country's military is precisely that: socialism. As are our national parks, and local emergency responders. You'd prefer that Halliburton, or a Bernie Maddof, of an Eric Prince, of Blackwater fame . . . you'd rather turn the defense of the nation over, lock-sock-and-barrel, to private enterprise? Or, are you saying you'd rather see Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite sold to private developers? Disney, or Six Flags, perhaps?
As to the "medicine" part, no one in Medicare was ever denied care they needed, or had their membership canceled because they had a pre-existing heart condition, or because they got too old, or too sick.
Ex-governor Mitt Romney, before an audience that must have been the most gullible of nincompoops, recently tried to invoke the private enterprise versus governmental argument by comparing UPS versus the US Postal Service. We owe the governor a debt of gratitude. It only served to illuminate how the private corporation cherry-picks for the business it wants, while eschewing any service that negatively impacts the bottom line. Not everyone has a computer. Of all who own a computer, not everyone has Internet service; not because they don't want it, but because this country lags every other industrialized nation for Internet penetration. But, by federal statute, everyone who has a legal postal address has the right to receive first-class mail, and the Postal Service has the obligation to deliver it.
Take that first-class letter to UPS or Fed-Ex, tell them you want it delivered to your brother-in-law in Kaktovik, Alaska. Then tell them you're prepared to pay no more than the going first-class US Postal Service rates. A question: If UPS and Fed-Ex were mandated to match the Postal Service for service, just how profitable do you suspect each would remain?
Nah, pay attention! Become informed. Get involved.
Finally, I cannot quantify the number of times I've heard someone tell me it's useless, it won't make any difference, they aren't going to listen to anything I say anyway.
Ever bought a lottery ticket? What about playing a slot machine in a casino, ever done that? Here's a good one: Ever decided against going out with someone you'd really, REALLY like to go out with, because you just knew - by some mysterious means - they wouldn't fall in love with you?
You didn't buy a ticket, and guess what? You didn't win. Same thing with that slot machine you didn't play. As to that person you wouldn't go out with: You were right - they didn't fall in love with you.
Make sure every Democratic senator understands that, regardless that he or she may not be up for reelection in 2010, the entire hold the Democrats have on their majority status - and their coveted chairmanship of committees and sub-committees - is on the table as they say (or think) that the "public option" is not. It won't be necessary that the army of volunteers and voters who installed them into power switch allegiances, join the Republican Party, and vote for GOP candidates. All that will be necessary for the GOP to regain majority status is for that army of Democratic volunteers and voters to not show up, because the Republicans will. Like Men's Wearhouse president, George Zimmer, "I guarantee it."
One thing is for certain. The failure to try absolutely guarantees failure. Not shooting at a target is the only foolproof guarantee that you'll never, ever hit it. Besides, when enough constituents make a loud enough threatening noise, elected officials really do perk up their ears and listen. So, c'mon . . . make some noise, make a lot of noise.
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