Alternate Current — Are Democrats too soft to lead?
Watching the recent theater in the Senate regarding health care has left me wondering if the Democrats are just too soft to lead this country during the tough times we now face. For over 60 years we have pursued the dream of a humane and fair system that would prevent hardworking middle class people from losing everything they had accumulated from a lifetime of hard work, just because they got sick or injured. We now instead have the prospect of a health care bill that does little or nothing to make health insurance more affordable but instead ensures insurance companies of millions more victims who will now be forced to buy their obscenely overpriced products.
The Democrats managed to negotiate away single-payer coverage, the only real long- term, fair solution. They then managed to negotiate away a public option that would have created real competition for the insurance industry. Finally they managed to negotiate away extending Medicare to more Americans, which they would have paid for 100 percent so as not to increase the deficits. They negotiated away the right of Medicare to make bulk purchases of prescription drugs at a deep discount like Canada does. They even gave up end-of-life counseling for self-guided health care directives and estate planning.
They started without a single Republican vote for health care reform and after gutting almost every positive aspect from the bill that might benefit the citizens to please the Republicans, they finished with exactly zero Republican votes.
The Republicans” focus was protecting their patrons, the insurance industry and obstructing any progress the Democrats might attempt. Never once has their armor cracked. With hearts as hard as their heads, they walk around like they own the place, making one demand after another which the Democrats waste no time in caving into. Their strategy is brilliant and simple. By just saying no to virtually everything and insisting on the constant threat of filibuster, something that does not exist in the Constitution by the way, they stop all progress that might be made on any issue so that during the next election cycle their complete and utter failure on so many fronts, that brought us to the brink of collapse, will be forgotten and the new issue will instead be the Democrats.
Harry Reid, the “leader” of the Democrats in the Senate had the choice to use reconciliation to avoid the threat of filibuster but was scared off, apparently by his shadow. Both of Bush”s massive, unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy, which added over $2 trillion to our deficit, were passed using reconciliation, but this bill, which cuts the deficit by nearly $200 billion, was allowed to be held hostage for no apparent reason.
Obama has shown little courage of his own. Desperate to appeal to everyone, he has failed to understand that no matter how conservative he is, the Republicans will never give him credit. By pandering to those who hate everything about him and taking for granted those who actually worked and voted for him, he has left himself with no support from either side. Obama continued the economic policies of Bush and Paulson, re-appointing Bernanke and appointing Geithner, who was already running the New York Federal Reserve Bank during the utter collapse of our banking system. He has continued Bush”s war in Iraq and now more than doubled the troops in Afghanistan. The use of mercenaries is actually higher now, too. He backed away from meaningful health care to protect the insurance and drug industries. No matter, those on the right-wing will never appreciate his efforts on their behalf, nor will the progressives ever forgive him his lack of principles. It”s sad when the corporate reps are so much better at playing the game than those who supposedly represent the people.
Lowell Grant is a weekly Record-Bee columnist.
