Flashback: Richard Kirsch on the passage of health care reform

[ProSense]

Health Care and the Winds of History

by Richard Kirsch

The President and Congress didn’t make health care reform happen — the progressive grassroots did.

<...>

It wasn’t only Speaker Pelosi who was energized by the historical import of making health care “a right, not a privilege,” in a phrase she made fully hers. It’s no accident that in countless health care speeches President Obama mentioned that presidents back to Teddy Roosevelt have tried and failed to win health care. Obama pledged to be the last president to make such a quest in an address to a joint session of Congress.

<...>

It wasn’t just the President or Congressional leadership who felt that they were making history. Many rank and file Democratic members felt the passage in historic terms, including some of the members who most risked reelection by voting for health care, which really was very unpopular in their districts.

But as students of the New Deal or other progressive eras in the United States know, presidents and congresses didn’t stand up to powerful forces opposing change on their own. It was organized people’s movements that created the political momentum that fanned the favorable historic winds.

The same is true for the passage of health care reform. If President Obama and the Democratic Congress were delivering the health care baby, it was the organized progressive forces that were the midwives to history. And like any good midwife, what we did was convince the mother, through our grassroots organizing around the country, that it was worth the pain and that the baby would come out right and make the mom and dad proud.

- more -

http://www.newdeal20.org/2010/07/01/health-care-and-the-winds-of-history-13361/

Why Republicans are So Intent on Killing Health Care Reform

by Richard Kirsch

It’s not just about expanded care. It’s about proving our government can be a force for the common good.

Why are John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell so intent on stopping health care reform from ever taking hold? For the same reason that Republicans and the corporate Right spent more than $200 million in the last year to demonize health care in swing Congressional districts. It wasn’t just about trying to stop the bill from becoming law or taking over Congress. It is because health reform, if it takes hold, will create a bond between the American people and government, just as Social Security and Medicare have done. Democrats, and all those who believe that government has a positive place in our lives, should remember how much is at stake as Republicans and corporate elites try to use their electoral victory to dismantle the new health care law.

My enjoyment of the MLB playoffs last month was interrupted by ads run by Karl Rove’s Crossroads front group against upstate New York Rep. Scott Murphy, who was defeated last Tuesday. Rove’s ads rained accusations on Murphy, including the charge of a “government takeover of health care.” Some might have thought that once the public option was removed from the health care legislation, Republicans couldn’t make that charge. But it was never tied to the public option or any other specific reform. Republicans and their allies, following the advice of message guru Frank Luntz, were going to call whatever Democrats proposed a government takeover.

There’s nothing new here. Throughout American history, health care reform has been attacked as socialist. An editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 1932, just after FDR’s election, claimed that proposals for compulsory insurance “were socialism and communism — inciting to revolution.” The PR firm that the American Medical Association hired to fight Truman’s push for national health insurance succeeded in popularizing a completely concocted quote that it attributed to Vladimir Lenin: “Socialized medicine is the keystone to the arch of the Socialist State.”

<...>

President Obama and Democrats in Congress understood the historical importance and profound moral underpinnings of the new health care law when they enacted it earlier this year. And they knew that the right-wing attack had soured the public in swing Congressional districts and states on reform. They stood up then. They will have to stand up again, understanding that if they give way to Republicans, they lose more than the expansion of health coverage. They lose the best opportunity in half a century to prove to Americans that government can be a force for the common good.

http://www.newdeal20.org/2010/11/08/why-republicans-are-so-intent-on-killing-health-care-reform-26298/

Kirsch was director of Health Care for America Now, one of the leading advocacy groups during the battle to pass the health care law.

[Edweird]

1. I see. So the Richard Kirsch I saw on TV was an imposter? Or maybe you should have spoken for him?

He said what he said.

[ProSense]

3. Well,

"I see. So the Richard Kirsch I saw on TV was an imposter? Or maybe you should have spoken for him?"

...I don't know, I didn't see him. Are you suggesting that he didn't write the commentaries in the OP?

[Edweird]

7. Not at all. But he has a book out. The truth is coming out now. I was right.

[ProSense]

8. I'm

"Not at all. But he has a book out. The truth is coming out now. I was right."

...sure the book will be a fascinating read.

[Edweird]

14. What has been released thus far has been illuminating.

Obviously you're aware of it - hence the 'flashback'.

[ProSense]

15. And

"What has been released thus far has been illuminating."

...true to Kirsch's words in the OP ("It is because health reform, if it takes hold, will create a bond between the American people and government, just as Social Security and Medicare have done.&quot the law's impact will be transformative.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002197452

[Edweird]

16. "He confirms that the White House treated the public option like a bargaining chip

with powerful industry players, and believes that when his group became most critical of the bill mid-way through the fight, that top White House aides sought to have him canned."

But you knew that. I imagine the first week of Feb. will be interesting

[ProSense]

17. Hmmm?

"He confirms that the White House treated the public option like a bargaining chip

with powerful industry players, and believes that when his group became most critical of the bill mid-way through the fight, that top White House aides sought to have him canned."

Clearly they didn't succeed. He went on to strongly push for the bill's passage, and that's reflected in the OP commentaries.

[Edweird]

18. We should resume this in 2 weeks.

[ProSense]

19. OK! n/t

[spanone]

2. more....

The Miracle That Is the Affordable Care Act


With all the continued controversy surrounding the Affordable Care Act, it's easy to forget that its very passage was something of a miracle. A year later, the notion that Congress could enact comprehensive legislation on anything -- let alone a major expansion of the role of government in providing economic security to Americans -- is laughable. But the Act's passage was not just a remarkable achievement at this moment in our history; it defied a century of defeat by the same forces that are working to repeal it now. On its first birthday, it's important to appreciate the miracle in itself and as a reminder that things again could change very fast in these volatile times.

For some 100 years, the American political system failed to do what every other developed nation had done: make affordable health care a publicly guaranteed right. Our uniqueness was not a glitch; it was emblematic of a society that remains dominated by an individual ethos as opposed to an ethic of collective good, of caring for each other. And it was evidence of what every political scientist knows and every lobbyist counts on: our system is designed to kill major reforms. As Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson summarized in "Winner-Take-All Politics", "In America, it is hard to get things done and easy to block them. With its multiple branches and hurdles, the institutional structure of American government allows organized and intense interests -- even quite narrow ones -- to create gridlock and stalemate."

The mountain that President Obama sought to climb was every bit as steep as the slopes that defeated presidents from Roosevelt to Truman to Nixon and Clinton in their quests to make health care a right. The nation's biggest lobbying group in 2009, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, pulled out all stops to kill the bill, fueled by at least $86 million laundered from the health insurance industry. An army of other lobbyists stood in the way: the health insurance industry alone employed 2,049, almost four for every member of Congress. An angry, right-wing, grassroots rebellion aimed its ire at the most vulnerable Democrats in the nation, funded by corporate front groups like Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity and fueled by the largest and most sophisticated propaganda machine in our history, Fox News. The reactionary forces made politics as partisan as we have ever seen, requiring agreement from every Democrat in the Senate -- no matter how deep their reliance and allegiance to corporate power.

Yet somehow, this baby was born. How? What was different? As hard as it is remember now, the time was right. The revulsion at the excesses of the Bush administration created the opportunity for the election of a president who campaigned on the promises of "hope" and "change." But only if he gave it his all. And on health care, President Obama did. On the night of his election, Obama told himself that the biggest single thing he could do to help average Americans was fulfill his campaign promise to "provide affordable, accessible health insurance for every American." And at at least three crucial times during the first thirteen months of his presidency, Obama refused the entreaties of his senior staff to abandon the quest and insisted on pushing for comprehensive reform.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-kirsch/the-miracle-man-and-woman_b_839472.html

[ProSense]

4. Thanks for posting. n/t

[ClassWarrior]

5. I'm guessing he, like most of us, was just relieved that SOMETHING...

...was going to get passed out of that bollocksed-up process.

NGU.

[ProSense]

9. I'm

"I'm guessing he, like most of us, was just relieved that SOMETHING......was going to get passed out of that bollocksed-up process."

...sure that was it.

It wasn’t just the President or Congressional leadership who felt that they were making history. Many rank and file Democratic members felt the passage in historic terms, including some of the members who most risked reelection by voting for health care, which really was very unpopular in their districts.

President Obama and Democrats in Congress understood the historical importance and profound moral underpinnings of the new health care law when they enacted it earlier this year. And they knew that the right-wing attack had soured the public in swing Congressional districts and states on reform. They stood up then. They will have to stand up again, understanding that if they give way to Republicans, they lose more than the expansion of health coverage. They lose the best opportunity in half a century to prove to Americans that government can be a force for the common good.

[ClassWarrior]

11. Why does it seem like you're always here? Any time of day or night...

...it seems, there you are. Curious.

NGU.

[ProSense]

13. Because

"Why does it seem like you're always here? Any time of day or night..."

...you are.

[bread_and_roses]

10. Kirsch and his ilk are the poster children for Hedges' "Liberal Class"

http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_death_of_the_liberal_class_20101029/

In a traditional democracy, the liberal class functions as a safety valve. It makes piecemeal and incremental reform possible. It offers hope for change and proposes gradual steps toward greater equality. It endows the state and the mechanisms of power with virtue. It also serves as an attack dog that discredits radical social movements, making the liberal class a useful component within the power elite.

But the assault by the corporate state on the democratic state has claimed the liberal class as one of its victims. Corporate power forgot that the liberal class, when it functions, gives legitimacy to the power elite. And reducing the liberal class to courtiers or mandarins, who have nothing to offer but empty rhetoric, shuts off this safety valve and forces discontent to find other outlets that often end in violence. The inability of the liberal class to acknowledge that corporations have wrested power from the hands of citizens, that the Constitution and its guarantees of personal liberty have become irrelevant, and that the phrase consent of the governed is meaningless, has left it speaking and acting in ways that no longer correspond to reality. It has lent its voice to hollow acts of political theater, and the pretense that democratic debate and choice continue to exist.

The liberal class refuses to recognize the obvious because it does not want to lose its comfortable and often well-paid perch.

I forget - how many people will the Health Care "Reform" leave uncovered even when fully implemented? Was it 14 million? 26? I can't remember. One is too many.

I guess they can just die, though, while we sing HOSANNAHs to the wonders of the "Affordable Care Act." That's evidently OK with tools like Kirsch.

[ProSense]

12. I guess

Kirsch and his ilk are the poster children for Hedges' "Liberal Class"

...the same goes for Paul Krugman

<...>

The day before Sunday's healthcare vote, President Barack Obama gave an unscripted talk to House Democrats. Near the end, he spoke about why his party should pass reform: "Every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, about this country, where you have a chance to make good on those promises that you made ... And this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine."

<...>

The answer is no. It seems the Democrats have done it. The Senate version of health reform will become law, with an improved version coming through reconciliation. This is, of course, a political victory for Obama, and a triumph for Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. But it is also a victory for America's soul. In the end, a vicious, unprincipled fear offensive failed to block reform. This time, fear struck out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/healthcare-reform-obama-victory-americans

"Guys, this is a major program to aid lower- and lower-middle-income families. How is that not a big progressive victory?"

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/numerical-notes-on-health-care-reform/

...and Alan Grayson

<...>

We still have over 30 million Americans who cannot see a doctor when they are sick. According to this Harvard study, adjusting for gender, race, smoking, weight, and just about everything else that you can think of, in any given year, the uninsured are 40% more likely to die than the insured are. That results in 44,789 additional deaths in America each year. All of which are avoidable.

This is more than twice the number of homicides in America.

It is more than ten times the number of deaths on 9/11. And it happens every year.

Do you think that we should solve this problem? I do.

And the Democratic Party does. Which is why we passed health care reform. And why we brought the wrath of lobbyists and their sewer money down on our heads in the last election – over $65 million by the Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s “American Crossroads” alone.

I see one party taking on the special interests and enacting laws to keep Americans alive, and assure that you can see a doctor when you are sick. Like in every other industrialized country in the world.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/20/937697/-What-I-Didnt-Hear

To answer your question, the 18 million people left uncovered include undocumented immigrants and those who opt out of coverage.

The ranks of the insured is expected to climb to 95 percent. That's a great start by any measure. It will undoubtedly climb, and especially if states move toward single payer as Vermont is doing.

[bread_and_roses]

20. Of course it includes Krugman and Grayson

And the same quote applies to them.

Does anyone think electing Grayson would change anything?

Does anyone see the 1%ers shaking in their shoes over Krugman's milquetoast critiques?

[ProSense]

22. Well

Of course it includes Krugman and Grayson

And the same quote applies to them.

Does anyone think electing Grayson would change anything?

Does anyone see the 1%ers shaking in their shoes over Krugman's milquetoast critiques?

...since Hedges is a Nader supporter who never voted for Obama in 2008, I don't take him seriously.

[bread_and_roses]

21. And let's see how much the miraculously insured like it when

they come face to pocketbook with what the limousine liberals in DC consider "Affordable" care. I'm sure they'll be dancing in the streets over their good fortune in getting to swell the wallets of the vampire insurance industry.

[ProSense]

23. Here's

"And let's see how much the miraculously insured like it when they come face to pocketbook with what the limousine liberals in DC consider 'Affordable' care."

...another one of those "limousine liberals" with a "milquetoast" opinion of the benefits of health care law.

A Step Forward on Health Care

Vermont on Tuesday was awarded more than $18 million to help implement a new national health care reform law. The federal funds will help the state devise an affordable insurance exchange to make it simpler for consumers to select health insurance policies. Vermont plans to structure its exchange to be converted by 2017 to a public, single-payer health care model that would provide better care at less cost. "At a time when 50 million Americans lack health insurance and when the cost of health care continues to soar, it is my strong hope that Vermont will lead the nation in a new direction through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer approach to health care," Sen. Bernie Sanders said.

The insurance exchange would be a first step for state residents to receive federal tax credits and premium subsidies for meaningful health insurance under the federal law. Moreover, the systems established to manage an insurance exchange eventually could be used to help administer a single-payer system.

The state Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin earlier this year created a board to design and implement a publicly-funded health care system for the state.

Vermont was one of 13 states to share $220 million awarded today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to design Affordable Insurance Exchanges - one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs. Altogether, 49 states and the District of Columbia have received planning grants.

"Today's announcement will help Vermont begin to build the foundation for truly universal, cost-effective and high quality health care for every man, woman and child in Vermont in the years to come," added Sanders, a member of the Senate health committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=20BD0B94-8A65-45D9-938A-B87BBECAC4C2