Will Our Progressives In Congress Fight For The Public Option?

It's clear that the Blue Dog Democratic Coalition have an uncanny ability to block progressive legislation by demanding concessions from the Democratic leadership to weaken vital parts of progressive legislation in exchange for their votes for the passage of legislation, and that the Congressional Progressive Caucus didn't know how to exercise that ability until the whole fight for health care reform began in the spring.

What's unique about the Blue Dog Democrats is their ability to block legislation, simply by making threats and bargaining with the Democratic leadership and the White House. This means that the resulting legislation gets weaker, and that progressive elements of legislation are stripped out in exchange for passage of the legislation. The Blue Dogs have done this repeatedly over the past year, with the stimulus bill, the ACES bill, and now they're doing it to the health care bill in the House. The White House has to do hold hands with these Blue Dogs in order for their votes for passage of the legislation. The White House has made the political calculation here that it's important to appease the Blue Dogs and make bills more conservative in Congress for the passage of the bills, than it is to pass excellent bills.

The White House could twist the arms of these Blue Dogs behind the scenes and make electoral threats about not supporting them if they don't support the Democratic progressive agenda in Congress. Rahm Emmanuel could do this on behalf of the White House, but he was the one who helped recruit most of these Blue Dogs, and the only arms he's been twisting in the past year have been the arms of the progressive members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Especially when it came to bills like the ACES climate bill, where Blue Dogs demanded concessions to nuclear and coal industries, and progressives were steam-rolled into supporting what they saw as a weak bill that wouldn't do much for the environment. A lot of vote whipping went on behind the scenes from the Democratic leadership, and the White House, with much of it aimed towards the progressives.

If the Congressional Progressive Caucus had stood together as a 77-member voting bloc in refusing to vote for a weakened ACES climate bill, they would've been able to wrangle concessions from the Democratic leadership and the White House to strengthen the ACES bill in exchange for its passage. That's what they could have done if they had chosen to make a stand on the ACES bill.

However, the Congressional Progressive Caucus recently said they're making their stand on the public option in health care reform. The question is, will the Congressional Progressive Caucus stand together as a voting bloc in refusing to vote for a weakened health care bill without a public option? We already know they support a strong, robust Medicare-like public option. We need them to make a real stand as a voting bloc and start exercising their power by taking The Pledge.

If more than 40 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus take the pledge, then we know they're serious about health care reform, and aren't just spouting words while folding behind the scenes through having their arms twisted by the Democratic leadership and the White House to support a health care reform bill without a public option. We need to get them on the record, and once they're on the record, then they'll actually have exercised their power as a voting bloc by making their threat real. It means the Democratic leadership has to listen to them and so does the White House if they want to get real health care reform passed through Congress.

So far, these progressives have come out in strong support of the public option by taking the pledge: Cleaver, Ellison, Woolsey, Grijalva, Waters, Holt, Nadler, and Hare. That's 8 down -- we just need 32 more progressives to get on record. Once they take a stand on the public option in health care reform -- then their power as a voting bloc will last into other policy issues, and they should be made aware of that.

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Comments

[SpiralStaircase]

Thanks for all you do. It is imperative that we prevail on this issue.

[Beecher]

Why isn't this high up on the front page? This has more substance than many of the opinion pieces, since it is actually about mobilizing support for Congressional action.

I think too many of the people in the process are not impressed enough that the costs of health care are not simply "high." The main meme about them is the "rising costs" which sound like the price of gasoline. This isn't about nurses' pay or how much an MRI costs (although tests are pretty outrageous) but hidden costs that collusion within the health care industry creates that make stuff cost more than your house.

I recently was air ambulanced about 150 miles and the bill later was for $28,620.00. I called everybody possible and complained. The insurance company negotiated with the vendor and the cost got reduced - to $20,000! The reason this Halliburton style of super over charging goes on is that the interests involved are more like a cabal of pirates who decide what the booty rate ought to be, rather than any transparent system of oversight.

That has to change. If it does, there ought to be plenty of money to pay for a public option. But I don't see a lot of discussion that seems to recognize the participation by these silk suited pirates. Why are the congresspeople in charge not throwing these rascals out of the process?

[Noelle Cigarroa Perese - Huffpost Blogger]

I didn't know that an airlift cost that much---and what happened when the bill was reduced to $20,000? Did you or the insurance company have to pay that?

[princesspat]

Your DKos diaries have been an education to me. Thanks for writing so clearly re our health care issues. As citizens we need to understand the legislative process if we are to be effective advocates. Your action diaries are very helpful in the regard.

[Noelle Cigarroa Perese - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you. I hope you've circulated the diaries at DailyKos among your friends and family.

[WeWon]

Thanks so much for all the hard work you do each and every day for ALL of us. Your committment is just amazing.

[duke243]

You are the embodiment of "make them do it".
Thanks for all your hard work.

[triv33]

Great post. My sister has cancer and is living in fear of losing everything she has. Only in America. Thanks for all of your hard work on this issue.

[ally2006]

Great information as always. Thank you for being such a strong voice for health care. Your diary's at Dkos are often what pushes me to make calls and try and do my part. Thanks

[Susanfrom29]

Although I hope we never become as dogmatic as those on the right, it is time to mobilize what progressive forces we have to push for a government that is not the problem, but that can help us find the solutions.

If we don't draw the line in the sand on public option, when will it ever be drawn?

[Noelle Cigarroa Perese - Huffpost Blogger]

And this is the test for progressives in Congress, and for the Democratic Party as a whole. If they're willing to fight for this, then they'll have achieved real success by passing legislation that benefits every American. If not, then they'll be blamed at the polls for passing weak health care reform.

[mrsfolksinger]

great article. wish someone had the smarts and passion to stand up and get some jobs for us.

[NewsCorpse]

I thoroughly agree. The Blue Dogs produce demonstrable harm to effective reform on every issue they touch.

You say above that, "This means that the resulting legislation gets weaker, and that progressive elements of legislation are stripped out in exchange for passage of the legislation." But the harm goes further than just weakening the legislation, it actually sets it up to fail so that any future attempts at reform are dismissed by pointing to the failure of these neutered versions.

The Democratic leadership has to learn to corral these rogues if we are ever going to get anything significant done.

[CornSyrupAwareness]

Great job! Blue dogs should be concerned about the heavy cost that is levied on small businesses and individuals under the current for profit scheme. Or should I say scam? A public option would save on administrative costs because they wouldn't hire thousands to try and charge the most money for the least service. A public option doesn't have billion dollar a year CEOs, or the thousands of other millionaires at the top of the HMO gravytrain pyramid.

The other night my friend fainted twice and hit his head. He had a concussion. He was looking to me for advice and I should have been able to say, lets go in and see a doctor. That's not what happened. He avoided the nightmare of dealing with insurance companies and high costs. He said later that night he got an even worse headache to follow the concussion. Scary stuff... not the best system on Earth.

[Noelle Cigarroa Perese - Huffpost Blogger]

It's just a sad situation when we have Americans refusing to get medical care they desperately need when they fear the costs of medical bills and bankruptcy. This shouldn't be the status quo in this country, but it is.

[Susanfrom29]

"Blue dogs should be concerned about the heavy cost that is levied on small businesses and individuals under the current for profit scheme."

It has always puzzled me that the self proclaimed defenders of the small businessman don't really seem to care if the current health care costs drive them out of business. Why not?

And why don't the progressives claim the credit for looking out for small businesses since the conservatives appear unwilling or unable to do so?

[marc1antony]

great article - I am of the same mind as Bill Maher - the current democratic congress with the exception of a few have become the republicans of old, we need a party that represents the progressives if the current congress are not for the people.

[Noelle Cigarroa Perese - Huffpost Blogger]

It's why we've got to keep the pressure on from the grassroots level. After all, it's what the progressives did in the 1930s to FDR.

[Cathy Muir]

As always Noelle Cigarroa Perese is spot on. Thankfully someone is paying attention and understands the politics behind the, (watered down), politics.

[mrsfolksinger]

agreed

[Dave May]

Thank you for your valuable work on this issue. As someone with cancer and no insurance, I have greatly appreciated your activism as seen on your DailyKos articles.