Obama has squandered political capital during a valuable opportunity to radically revitalize and re-envision the way America's health care operates and is set up. He has proven his inability to be a transformative leader.
Instead of molding a consensus, Obama has searched for consensus on a topic that has divided Americans for decades. He has opted to support a compromise that incrementally addresses our vile system of health care instead of pressuring politicians to support a principled policy proposal.
Reform could have been brought up for a vote repeatedly over the summer and each time it failed the American people could have seen who opposed reform. Those opposed to any form of a government-run plan could have felt the wrath of Americans through phone calls, emails, protest, letters to the editor, and coverage on the news. The next day the bill could be brought up for a vote again and Americans would get another opportunity to see who still opposed health care reform. News organizations would have loved this political showdown on Capitol Hill.
But, Obama opposed a people-powered strategy and instead chose a play-it-safe strategy that has jeopardized the prospect of true comprehensive reform. He chose to support mediocre ideas for change, stifle progressive calls from Congress for single-payer health care, and embolden single-payer health care opponents.
Obama listened to AARP, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the American Medical Association, Business Roundtable, Families USA, Health Care for America Now, Kaiser Family Foundation, and PHRMA. Most (if not all) of these groups ran ads over the summer that voiced support for some kind of reform, but it was reform that would prevent any kind of reform that would significantly impact the private health insurance corporations financing these special interest groups.
The White House placed more stock in criticism from FOX News and Republicans than it did from liberals in the blogosphere or progressive groups organizing for reform. They chose not to put out a coherent message that would effectively drown out the right wing noise coming from regions across America.
Had he kept the option of single-payer alive, had he even given lip service to the idea, the prospect of true reform would be much better than it is today.
As Bernie Sanders said, ??"I find it somewhat incomprehensible that if we are serious about getting to health care reform, if we are serious about tackling the outrageously high cost of health care, that we are not engaging in serious discussion about a single-payer health care system. ?
We're the only Western industrialized democracy without a universal health care system and as Obama takes the stage tonight in front of Congress and as a war in Afghanistan deepens and expands, it should be patently obvious ---
The Democratic Party is more interested in keeping the party in power than it is interested in truly reforming health care. This why they so often appear to be spineless, hapless, and gutless in their campaigns for change.
And so, the party will continue to ensure that corporations and special interests prop it up with millions and millions of dollars of donations for re-election campaigns, which means Americans will continue to suffer under a for-profit system of health care.
The Democratic Party and Obama will sacrifice true health care reform to stay in power and defeat Republicans. Worse, the party will listen to those who claim America doesn't have the money for real reform while it, at the same time, expands the war in Afghanistan instead of using money for warfare to overhaul a health care system that kills about 18,000 Americans each year.
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Perhaps, Keith Olbermann's Special Comment delivered almost a month ago will be how we best remember how health care reform went south.
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