Instead of all the distracting kerfuffle about which Democratic candidate is or is not 'authentic,' there is one thing I truly want to hear a candidate propose in tonight's Las Vegas forum to use the power of the presidency to assemble a:
NATIONAL CONVENTION TO SOLVE AMERICA'S HEALTH CRISIS
The idea would be that the newly elected (Democratic) president would immediately convene a gathering of federal and state officials and then charge that gathering with the onerous, but historic task of generating a solution to the American health crisis--a problem that goes far beyond the one-dimensional question of health insurance, but must also include solutions to our food supply, childhood diet, medical research, air quality, product liability standards, and a host of other related issues.
And here's the kicker: they wouldn't be allowed to go home until they finished the job.
Call For A New Era Of Problem Solving
Such a proposal would not just be about health care, but the first step by a Democratic candidate to usher in a new era of progressive pragmatism--an era where the big problems that impact every American everyday will be solved out in the open, instead of being swept under the rug in back room horse trading between the executive branch and fat-cat corporate CEOs.
I would like one of the candidates to talk about this as a: National Convention On America's Health.
But here's the catch: Not only do I want to hear a candidate say that they will immediately use the power of the presidency to assemble a National Convention On America's Health, but also that he or she will not allow anyone to go home from the Convention until they solve the problem. If it takes a week, a month, or three months--so be it. Sit there, they will, until a host of good solutions have been generated to solve the health crisis that cripples this country with fear.
It would even make sense for a candidate to propose that the National Convention On America's Health be held in Las Vegas--a return to the very spot where the debate is being held to solve the most pressing problem that concerns all Americans each and everyday.
That's it. That's all what I want to hear from Las Vegas, tonight.
No more sniping about authenticity.
No more gotcha questions about immigration.
A National Convention On America's Health, that's all.
I'll be watching.
(cross posted from Frameshop)