Freeing slaves, permitting women to vote, allowing same-sex marriage---all were things that

[PatrickforO]

37. A lot of moving parts. The court has been packed by McConnell and his criminal henchmen.

It is easy, of course, to have 20/20 hindsight. Everyone familiar with history does.

But the SCOTUS of 2021? Hard to say. If the Democrats blow the Republicans out of the water, and I'm talking about party-killing election results, then we might be able to ram in a couple more justices - at least Merrick Garland or someone else who is sane. Honestly, there's no telling what will happen, unless it is what we ourselves make happen with a) our votes, and b) our continued involvement, and c) strong Democratic majorities in House and Senate, with Biden in the White House. If that happens, we have a chance, but only if our party's leadership gets itself together with a five- to ten-year plan. We don't do that quite as well as the GOP did, which is why our republic is crumbling around us with the Trump-McConnell axis of evil. They move in lock step.

As to 'single payer or nothing,' that's not where I'm coming from, though I am never shy about saying I believe it is the solution and we need it now. Because people who are suffering now do need it now. On the ground, you know, as these proverbial mill wheels of progress grind slowly, ever-so-slowly, we must always be mindful that millions of Americans don't have healthcare - I think about 33% of the people in TX don't - and to be without healthcare is to lose everything if you get sick. So there really IS a moral urgency here. What is it O said? 'The fierce urgency of now.'

What is it MLK Jr. said in his letter from Birmingham Jail? "For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied.""

Because, you know, if it were a member of your family, or mine, who was ill with cancer or some such and having to choose whether to eat or get chemo, the issue of healthcare takes on a much different face. And many of the millions who do not have healthcare right now are working Americans and some are sick right now, losing everything they have down the gaping maw of healthcare profits. The situation itself is vile. What we have does not work for everyone, just for those lucky enough to have employer provided plans - but the copay in my own such plan is............you guessed it.............financially crippling.

So, no, there's nothing good about this. Which is why I do expect, and believe I and other Americans, have the right to expect some aggressive movement in the right direction by Democrats, provided they are in the majority in 2021, with plans taking into account Supreme Court challenges and so on. The party really needs a sound strategic plan. Big time. Because we have the leadership, which is older, in their seventies, and then we have the young progressives. Not sure what is in between, but there is hopefully some real strategy in there.

And the American people seem to be moving left on healthcare - spurred on by the pandemic and its uncertainties. What is it? About a million new unemployment claims a week for how many weeks?