Block Bad Healthcare Bills – Let’s Try Democracy

So, the Democratic Party has achieved two of its primary goals for healthcare reform (I mean in addition to renaming this charade health INSURANCE reform). First, they’ve managed to get one Republican to vote for one of their bills. To their way of thinking, it’s harder to blame Democrats for a lousy law if it’s been supported by one Republican (Senator Olympia Snow this week in the Senate Finance Committee) and can therefore be labeled “bipartisan”.

Second, although somewhat in logical conflict with the first achievement, they’ve managed to communicate the myth that Republicans in the Senate are preventing healthcare reform. To do this, they’ve kept in place the filibuster rule, which allows senators representing 11 percent of us to block all legislation. They’ve claimed that all Republicans intend to filibuster, although there’s been no confirmation that they do. And at least one Democratic senator has secretly informed Majority Leader Reid that he or she will join in a filibuster, thus making plausible the claim that 41 filibusterers exist while keeping the bulk of the blame on the Republicans.

The worst and best news in this drawn-out drama comes from the other side of the hill, however. We must be put into the bad news column is the deal the so-called progressives in the House cut with the president at the start. They agreed to not mention single-payer and to treat a public-option as not only a useful step but as their ideal. Then anti-democratic astroturfing groups and labor unions followed their lead. This shifted the debate so far to the right that a public-option could no longer be the middle ground.

In the good news column, we should put the hard commitment that some House progressives have made to vote “No” on any bill that lacks a serious, immediate, national, and truly public public-option. And put in the same column the efforts that Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Anthony Weiner are still advancing to do better by us and truly represent the demands of the majority of Americans.

Meanwhile a coalition of groups at MobilizeForHealthcar.org is pushing the discussion in the right direction by exposing the brutal and murderous policies of health insurance companies. Over 700 people have committed to risking arrest in nonviolent protest.

Citizens and healthcare providers are participating in sit-ins at health insurance offices in nine cities across the country on Thursday, October 15, 2009 to call for real reform that addresses the real cause of the health care crisis, the insurance companies.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 – SCHEDULE OF SIT-INS

1) New York, NY, 10am EST, United HealthGroup / 1 Penn Plaza / 10119
Contact: Omar Kutty / [email protected] / 773-576-2559

2) Washington, DC, 10am EST, Wellpoint / 655 15th St NW
Contact: Kevin Zeese / [email protected] / 301-996-6582

3) Palm Beach, FL, 11:30am EST, Humana / 2056 Vista Pkwy
Contact: Rick Ford / [email protected] / 561-601-9150

4) Boston, MA, 12:00p EST, Cigna Office / 2223 Washington St / 02462
Contact Ben Day / 617-723-7001 / [email protected]

5) Cleveland, OH, 10am Central, Medical Mutual / 2060 E 9th St / 44115
Contact: Drew Smith / [email protected] / 330-703-0556

6) Portland, OR, 10am, Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield / 100 SW Market / 97201
Contact: Chris Lowe / 503-788-2543 (preferred) 503-913-3980 / [email protected]

7) Phoenix, AZ, 4-6p, United Healthcare / 2390 E. Camelback Road Suite 300 / 85016
Contact: Dan O’Neal / 480-650-0746 / [email protected]

8) Los Angeles, CA, 10am, Anthem Blue Cross / 801 S. Figueroa St. / 90017
Contact: Sam Pullen / [email protected] / 760-275-7874

9) Reno, NV, 11am , United Healthcare 5190 Neil Road #420 / 89502
Contact: Lisa Stiller 775-232-2823 / 775-746-1313 / [email protected]