Reply #62: Through popular and doctor support, and grassroots lobbying

[dpbrown]

Though not a sure-thing, not unlike the popular support that moved campaign finance, or thusfar kept ANWR from drilling, or encouraged Senators to filibuster, a lot of the grunt work will obviously be coming from us.

And the momentum has already begun to shift, with the 8000 doctors coming out in JAMA for UHC. So the situation is already different than it was when Clinton tried to move something through. I don't believe that now is the time we should be advised to "settle for less."

Realistically, the tendency to look the other way while insurance lobbyists have their way with the bill will have to be resisted, as well, since I've heard or read that one of the reasons Clinton's bill didn't get passed is because it became so topheavy with industry hogwash that it could never fly.

But looking for a guaranteed outcome is looking at the picture wrong, in my opinion. Instead of settling for a candidate who feeds me the "line" that "this" or "that" is all I can reasonably expect, and then expecting me to toe the line for that candidate, I am ready to believe only in a candidate who can lay out for me a vision of how the future can be, and then to provide the leadership that will inspire me and thousands of others to help this candidate once elected to achieve those goals for me and for others.

Dennis Kucinich lays out a future that looks fiscally responsible, telling me where the money is going to come from and what it's going to be used on. He doesn't talk about diverting money from Bush's tax cuts (money that was previously being used to fund some other social program or something) to grow government bigger, or to divert money to a sick, privatized system of health care, making CEOs richer and not making the system more efficient.

I find his kind of politicking very attractive. He inspires me by providing me with a goal that I believe he's interested in working toward together with me, and with the others who are working with us to create this better, more fiscally responsible system.

This, in turn, gives me hope that the groups that are now putting all their energy into fighting Bush's debacles, will themselves throw their political weight behind getting Kucinich's programs through Congress - MoveOn.org, ActforChange, PFAW, UnionVoice, etc., etc. I begin to imagine the progress we'll be able to make through these groups when we're not fighting disaster but instead we're creating the future.

Thus, the key in my mind is having the person at the helm that most inspires confidence that he's working for the best for all of us, not cautioning us to settle, because "that's as good as it's going to get." I believe that by electing someone who sets his, and our, sights higher, we're more likely to achieve the goals we're shooting for.

And that's how I think we are going to get Kucinich's plans through Congress. Not by handing everything off and expecting everything to happen, but by continuing to be inspired by the leadership shown and by working through all our networks to make sure we are able to create these positive changes together.

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota