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:rant:
I've written my various rants on this same topic before and frankly, this is my last, because regardless of what 77% of this nation wants, we will still only get this bill.
So here we are, after a year long battle of stupidity.
Tea party morons, not even realizing how stupid their name is, chose to protest against their own best interests and allowed themselves to be the stooges of the corporate talking point machine.
We seemed to be treated daily to an ever changing message of what "the people" want for health care, but what never escaped those who were paying attention, that the real message was "what was best for the corporations".
We have devolved so far from what we originally wanted: National Health Care.
It went from single payer to public option to medicare for all to mandates back to public option, then nothing. In the end? A bill that is just a compilation of ideas. There are some good things in it, some, but really is this what we wanted in the first place? Is this the best our elected representatives can do? Obviously and sadly yes. This is it.
Even though, we, as a nation (77% of us) demand a public option, the politicians wring their hands saying, "there just aren't the votes", even though Dodd (believe him or not) stated that if there is a public option in the reconciliation he would whip the votes, even though, nancy Peloci stated that "there will be a public option" and, even though, Obama went on record as also saying, "I won't sign a bill that doesn't have a public option included", alas, there still isn't one.
So who or what am I to believe anymore?
Everyone cheers on Grayson with his medicare buy in, that's nice, but what of the people who still can't afford it? Aren't we back to were we started? Reform for those who have health care and ignoring the uninsured?
I thought the whole point of this now bizarre exercise was to 1) get those who don't have insurance, insured 2) allow those who have insurance to be able to buy from a competitive field of choices 3) fix part d of medicare 4) allow competition in buying prescription drugs.
Are we going to get any of these?
Granted, wee are getting people who are denied coverage the ability to get insurance, but if those same people still can't afford that same insurance, what gain is made?
I refuse to call this health care bill reform, because it isn't. It's nothing more that what could have already been passed via normal bills, but the only difference is that they are bundling it together and creating drama for the sake of drama.
Frankly, I'm probably like millions of Americans who have had it. I'll take what ever the fuck they give us, because what I want, what millions of Americans want, is no longer considered or, it seems has ever mattered.
On the surface, reform is good, but honestly, the American public as been so beaten down by this political charade, that we are willing to take even this "reform" with the "promise" of more "reform" later.
Like a hungry dog, I'll take this meatless bone. It's something, is what I will mutter.
The congress people know exactly how their bread is buttered. I'm not talking about the republicans, we know perfectly well why they obstruct 1) because they can and like it 2) because their corporate masters will cut off the money spigot if they go along with the bill 3) they don't care for the middle or poor classes but enjoy using them to achieve their goals.
I'm talking about the Dems. They also take money from big pharma and the health care corps. They dance to that tune as much as the repubs do. Granted there are some good Dems. Ones that fight the good fight but they are quickly or quietly shouted down and told to stop rocking the boat. (when was the last time you heard from Russ Feingold?) In the end, they are basically drowned out.
Going into this mess, I wanted national health care. Not "reform", but National Health Care. Having a single payer would have been the ultimate "reform", a public option slightly less better would have also been really really nice but instead we are getting the old "ease" in. Folks, that's not reform.
But since the current political landscape is completely polarized, having a minor "reform" with promises of more later amounts to a shallow promise costumed as something "major".
As I wrote in the past, if this bill passes, do you honestly believe that what ever repub pres gets in (and don't delude yourself that there won't be another repub pres at some point in the near future), they won't do everything in their power to get rid of this flimsy bill?
It's like this, if we got a robust public option, by the time a repuke got in, people, even tea bagging morons, would have realized, "this isn't so bad, in fact it's pretty damn good", but with this "reform", it can easily be dismantled lock stock and barrel right before our eyes. In the grand scheme of things, the amount of people this will effect will be a very small amount.
If however, joe blow from Kokomo, who didn't have health care, suddenly got some and not only that, but his brother who was paying out the ass for insurance, was suddenly was able to afford a plan and not go into bankruptcy, repub or dem, those two guys and their families would suddenly be singing it's praises. It would never ever go away, no matter what the repukes in congress did, majority or not.
But alas, we ain't gettin' that.
What we are getting is the "better than nothing bill". The bill that the congress people over time can massage, cut and paste, add and subtract as they please to suit the prevailing political winds.
Are you really expecting things to be added in the future?
Again, as I stated in a past posting, when Social Security was passed, even then, there were republicans who understood it's need and voted for it. This time, no way. I see this as being the pinnacle of our attempt at national health care, after this it's all down hill. They repubs will feed on this thing the next time they are in power like a vulture on road kill.
I honestly hope I am very wrong. Book mark this and tell me later on "I told you so, you were wrong". And if things get better with health care reform, I will gladly, with a giant grin, say I was wrong and I am happy I am wrong, but sadly,I don't believe so.
By the end of this week, as it has been claimed, we will get Health Care "reform". What has always been in the back of my mind has been something more disturbing. Okay, so we get "reform", then what? After this years grudge match of teh stupids, do you honestly believe the Dems will now wade into that pool yet again, to improve upon it? Do you really believe that they of whom, "kept their powder dry" will now go toe to toe to create a public option? I laugh. I laugh loud and long.
Unless it's included now, any hope of a public option will vanish from the landscape faster than WMD's in Iraq.
As the song goes, It's now or never.
:rant:
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