The Unbearable Weakness of Democratic Being

A Rasmussen poll now has the Republican Party as more trusted on the health care issue than Democrats. That's insanity. The Republicans have killed all efforts at health care reform before, they're killing it as we speak and they almost exclusively represent the interests of the private insurance companies who want to continue to jack up our rates (private insurance premiums have gone up 119% in the last ten years).

So, how are they winning? Because the Democrats brought a scalpel to a gun fight. The Republicans have attacked and attacked and attacked. Meanwhile, what has been the Democratic response? They're reaching out in a spirit of bipartisanship. Why?

Someone says they're going to bite your head off and will almost all vote against you, what is your purpose in continuing to reach out to them? They say they will under no circumstances vote for real health care reform with a public option, which you have said many times before is essential. They are in essence saying the only way they would vote for your bill is if they were positive it sucked. So, why do the Democrats continue to help the Republicans in killing this thing?

It is the unbearable weakness of Democratic being. They cannot find it in their hearts to strongly argue for their own position. To be fair, in this case, the weakness is mainly Obama's. The White House has clearly indicated this weekend that they have already given up on the public option -- and they're still begging the Republicans to work with them. Frankly, it's pathetic.

This continual and monumental weakness has a price. When the other side makes its case and you don't -- you lose. The Republicans never hesitate to make their case, even if they have to lie, cheat and scaremonger to do it. While the Democrats are scared of their own shadow. Obama is playing patty-cakes out there in his town halls. When is the last time he threw a real punch?

Grassley says Obama wants to kill your grandmother. And what's the price for this hideous slander? Obama promises he'll continue to reach out to him. Why? Are you looking for advice on how to kill grandma? The guy just spit in your face. What are you going to do about it?

This isn't a matter of being pointlessly tough so we can feel good. We're losing the debate! It's because our leaders refuse to make the case. The other side might be vicious liars, but at least they have some lions who are willing to fight. Who do we have? Obama and his team of weaklings?

Now, I see why they didn't ask Howard Dean to be part of this administration. It's because he doesn't fit in. He's a fighter. He believes in real health care reform and is willing to fight for it. Just compare Dean's appearances on television and Sebelius's. It's a joke. When is the last time you saw her make a forceful and convincing case for the public option, or for that matter any part of the reform proposal?

It looks like they didn't ask Dean on board because they never believed they were going to do the public option in the first place. They didn't want a guy in there who was a believer. They got bucklers because they wanted bucklers.

A friend of mine just asked me why we don't hold this issue up for a vote with the public. I said we did; it was called the 2008 election. We gave the Democrats the White House, an overwhelming majority in the House and a filibuster-proof Senate. How much clearer did we have to be?

The problem is that the party we voted for isn't the party we got. At some point there has to be a price for not ever delivering on your promises, and worse yet, not really trying very hard. If Obama continues to bring the weak sauce, there has to come a point when we begin to wonder why we elected him as well.

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Comments

[Beyhan]

Want to get America behind the health care reform bill? Have President Obama say that the Insurance Companies tried to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger.

[batguano]

Correct on all counts Cenk! To make our nation truly strong we must take the greed, unnecessary procedures & obscene costs out of our health care non-system that allows insurance bean-counters to dictate health. That requires a national plan similar to what every other industrialized nation on Earth has. Together with education reform to take the high costs out (to educate & train doctors for example) we make the founders vision of "common good" real. When our own so-called leaders act like spineless bimbos & give support to those acting out of greed & self-interest at the expense of our nation, families & small business, it is infuriating. Have we been fooled again & our election victory all gone for nothing; Trillion$ for war & death & bailing out the banking thieves, & no money for life? If Obama doesn't have the stomach for this fight, he is a failure & we are back to square one. I had doubts about all his "centrist" choices who have been all business as usual & zero on “change we can believe in”; so much for trying to curry favor with the establishment. The Repubs & the nutter fringe have controlled the dialogue so far with lies, hate & fear, & the Dems have rolled over as usual, except the Progressive Caucus; are campaign contributions the bottom line? If Obama, his milquetoast appointees & quisling Dems "don't have the votes", then GET the damn votes! Where is the pit-bull Emanuel? A little testicular

[batguano]

------- fortitude please! We must ALL speak out & demand real change!

[Jeep]

Dems own the White House, the Senate, the House, and the public. So what's with the emphasis on bipartisanship? Sounds like code for 'I am totally dependent on Healthcare Industry campaign dollars?' This is the Last Chance Saloon for the Democratic party. If they can't get single payer, or, at the very least, a public option now, then what good are they? Their performance (with certain exceptions such as Jay Rockefeller, etc) sickens me. Obama: screw your courage to the sticking place. Take a stand, honor your campaign promise or you will be a one-term president, dude. Because all those freshly baked Democratic voters will be a little older, a little wiser, and a lot less likely to walk to the polls next election time.

[eztempo]

This is the long standing problem with Liberals: their desire to include everyone is often taken for weakness and timidity (correctly). This is why we need more fire-breathing Bernie Sanders' in our national political mix. Someone has to have the cajones to kick the likes of Chuck Grassley to the curb.

[coreyishere]

The Dems never seem to learn, each time they get the ball, they drop it. George W. and Co. managed to sell us a war based on lies. Yet, in comparison, the Dems are too weak to push for something that is actually important, and worthwhile. But I think there are other things at work here, too. Maybe the Democrats, at least some of the leadership, never really intended to push for true health care access reform, including a public option, to begin with. Everyone should take a look at Ralph Nader's recent interview on Democracy Now, interesting stuff.

[aetges]

Perfectly and eloquently said Cenk. Couldn't have said it better myself. You hit the nail on the head. Don't know what else to say except that I hope that the Democrats in the House refuse to pass any bill without a public plan option. I hope the Democrats stand strong and together and GET A SPINE for God's sake and don't let this slip away. We will NOT buckle under to a bunch of crazy right wing vocal minority bigots. Especially when, for some reason, they are allowed to carry assault rifles into town hall meetings. I mean....what's up with that? I'd like to see how far they had gotten at a Bush town hall meeting. Someone say....DOUBLE STANDARD!!!!

[Megan97401]

Truer words were never spoken. I'm getting so utterly frustrated with this play nice b.s.!

All the right wants to do is have us ruin each and every bill in an effort to gain their support which they never had any intention of giving. I'm sick to de@th of the idea that only Democrats have to be bipartisan. We won for crying out loud, it's time we started acting like it. The Republicans play dirty and nasty and lie and that's all there is to it. Bypass the sorry SOBs and get to work!!

[TRYKER]

Well Cenk, I was really surprised to read you giving all that credit to a Rasmussen poll. AS IF.

You have been too exposed to the right wing talking points, even you're starting to believe them. Don't.
Latest poll on NBC said 91% want public option. Gee....
Though the corporate media has bellowed loudly that the reform is defeated and public option gone, the facts are otherwise. They've brainwashed their minions and think they can spread that lying poison through our system too, they can't.
We elected a Gentleman, not a street fighter. We are entering a new plane, where fighting and violence in word and deed is being put behind us.
If we get in the gutter with them, fighting like stupid dogs, we will not evolve out of this pig pen the rethugs have made of this country.
Intelligence must prevail over brutality at long last...PLEASE.
Rachel Maddow uses words to defrock the liars...she doesn't beat them, she defeats them with her intelligence and industry.
Everyone seems to be projecting their own responsibilities onto the President and then calling him to task for not doing what we projected .
Its not as if Obama doesn't have his own life to live...duh.

[pdsimdars]

I see a number of comments about single payer. One of the best lines I heard recently was that when LBJ was going to sign Medicaire into law he asked, "Why can't we just remove this one line about being 65?" Or something like that. I think that's what the Democrats should do. Remember when the Repugs put some unrelated lines into a bill in the middle of the night?
I think the Dems should re-certify Medicaire and sneak that change into it in the middle of the night, just remove the age limit and all would be done.

[pdsimdars]

And this is why I listen to The Young Turks every day.

[PostModernPatriot]

Cenk nailed it. I saw Congressman Anthony Weiner on Morning Joe today. He spoke up in favor of single payer, in favor of Medicare for all and he did it eloquently and over the typical shouts & dirty pool of Scarborough.

Now THAT'S a Democrat with ballz.

I'm so disappointed in Obama, words just can't express.

Even though I started off only cautiously optimistic...he's worse than I thought.

[Cimms]

Agree completely. I am a gun owning, pro-choice, pro-gay rights, aethiest. I vote Dem but my god people, we need to grow a pair and not turn the other cheek. That is what the Repugs should be doing.

[XME]

"It is the unbearable weakness of Democratic being. They cannot find it in their hearts to strongly argue for their own position. To be fair, in this case, the weakness is mainly Obama's. The White House has clearly indicated this weekend that they have already given up on the public option -- and they're still begging the Republicans to work with them. Frankly, it's pathetic."

****************

I have to agree, I like Obama, and voted for him, and would again. However, I do get frustrated when he seems unwilling to recognize that Repubs have NO interest in working with him or progressing health care reform.

As much as I respect our president, I get fed up with him thinking he can please everyone. He can't and he needs to move forward in a way that lets them know they have a choice: work with us, and VOTE with us, or get out of the way.

[rosal]

First off, Rasmussen is very, very, right leaning. I need to google and see who is in charge. However, ignoring the poll, this article clearly states what is in every Progressive mind. Time for the Dems to show why they were elected, and not why they want to please the Insurance Industry, which is the real cause of their apparent "weakness".

[BocaMom]

The Democrats need to work together and force the Blue Dogs to agree with Obama or cutoff all federal funding to their states!

[Toxictort]

What can we, the silent majority that voted these people in, do to show them that we don't want such wimpy wimpy representatives. Why are these people so afraid of being tough? I am tired of all this conciliatory BS. You can't mediate and arbitrate and reason with people who will make up things just to make you look bad. NONE of them are signing on. I say ditch everything and start from scratch. Give us a single payer system. It's not like avoiding this is cutting us any slack from the big pharma and health care lobbyists, and it's not stopping the wingnuts or from the wishy washy independents from calling us socialists. Be like FDR and take a bold step. Your country will back you up.

[TRYKER]

"It's not like avoiding this is cutting us any slack from the big pharma and health care lobbyists, and it's not stopping the wingnuts" Toxictort

Right, if Pharma et al made a deal with the Prez about "no more than $____" and then goes forth with a million $ a day to fight against the reform and hiring "Rent a Mobs", wouldn't that open the field for pushing for the best, Single Payer?