I am still in a haze over the deal struck last night on the public option, not helped by the fact that they are keeping the details close while CBO scores the bill. As anyone who has read my past blog posts knows, I think the "details" on all these deals are incredibly important, and I don't believe in rushing to judgment until we have had a chance to analyze them. Clearly, though, there is both a lot of bad news in the reports coming out so far, and some good news as well.
The worst of the news (obviously, from my perspective) is the demise of the public option. Without knowing the details, it is hard to assess just how bleak things are, but the early reports make it sound like they have come close to killing it for everyone under 55, and above 150% of the poverty line. The one thing that could still salvage something decent is the nature is the trigger language, but I'm not hearing encouraging things about how good it is. And I am not going to sugarcoat this for you: this is a bitter disappointment. The result is a deeply flawed bill that will not control costs or provide a check on insurance company power the way it could or should have. I also think the politics of this are going to be very tough for the Democratic Party in both 2010 and 2012: people mandated to buy insurance without a public option they can go to will result in a lot of heartache for Democrats with middle class voters, and the disappointment the base feels on this issue will mean it will be much tougher for Democrats to recruit volunteers, raise money online, and turn out the base vote. They have just screwed themselves politically with this deal. Joe Lieberman, the conservative Democrat who absolutely refused to compromise or bargain in good faith, has just leveled a tough blow to his entire party.
However, there is some good news in reports of the compromise (again, waiting on the details):
I will be writing more on this in the coming days. The loss of a public option is a bitter pill to swallow, but there is still plenty of good in this package. As details emerge, we will know more.
The Democrats HAVE decided to forfeit their future for more corporate campaign cash today.
It is time to form a NEW Progressive Party founded on the principle of not accepting corporate campaign cash.
I no longer believe the Democratic Party is worth supporting, nor even saving.
The Medicare buy-in is only open to those aged 55-64 without insurance, meaning the people the insurance corporations already don't want.
This bill is trillions of dollars of corporate welfare paid by the people least able to pay it. That 90% ratio will easily be made up for with all the new forced customers.
Just wait until those tens of millions of working and middle class people under 65 and 150% over the poverty line, which is still basically poverty, face having to lower their standard of living even further by buying for-profit insurance at extortion level rates with no competition, no choices, no cost controls, under heavy tax penalty if they don't.
Congress has revealed itself as utterly corrupt and the President has revealed himself as a corporate shill.
Just don't come to me next year and in 2012 and tell me I have to vote for the Democrat as the lesser of two corporate-funded evils. The Democratic Party had its chance and chose corporate welfare. Millions of us will now politically move on from this no longer necessary political party.
BTW - Lieberman is *not* a Dem.