Congress today thinks it's supposed to do the Executive Branch's bidding instead of doing the work of checking the Executive Branch, making laws, while also making certain bad legislation that compromises what's needed, as well as people's rights, gets stopped before it goes out the Capitol doors.
Political party power now rules over what we the people expect, deserve, and voted our elected legislators and the president in to do.
Then...
Democrats produced a bad bill.
Republicans didn't produce anything.
Democrats compromised on what the public wanted.
Republicans didn't care what you said.
Democrats dillied, dallied and made deals.
Republicans obstructed, obfuscated and obstinately wouldn't join in.
Democrats delighted when it was done, even though they sacrificed women's rights to do it, while the men in charge just shrugged, and one won't quit whining, as if the consequences will ever hit the boys.
"The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right." - Democratic Party Platform of 2008
Presidents either earn the respect of people through merit or they wrangle support through sympathy. In the health care debate, it's the latter not the former for Pres. Obama.
But in the end Democrats feel they have no choice but to rescue Obama's presidency, while throwing out the public option that would have lowered the deficit further, insured more people, and actually been democratically equitable, because it wasn't forcing Americans into a monopoly system, while making full reproductive health care harder for women. The choices the Democratic majority and Pres. Obama made solidified that they would produce a bad bill. How it got this way is even worse.
For the first seven months of Obama's presidency, Barack Obama sat back and watched Congress painstakingly construct health care legislation, with all the never ending meetings, maneuvering, and Republican massaging getting nowhere. By August, the champion of health care was dead, with Sarah Palin taking center stage with "death panels," while Barack Obama was just waking up trying to figure out what had happened.
During the whole of 2009, Obama called one health care deadline date after another, only to see each one pass into history, as did the Virginia and New Jersery governorships from Democratic hands, as well as the Lion of the Senate's seat in Congress.
By the New Year, the people paying attention were in full mutiny. They now don't care who's in charge of Congress, or what party you're in, if you're in they want you out.
By March of this year, Pres. Obama had reduced himself to begging Congress to save his presidency by passing a badly flawed bill that throws citizens into a monopoly system without competition. Pres. Obama and Congress also demanding the majority voting block of the country, women, sacrifice for their ineptitude to do their job, serving up a health care bill with language that codifies the Hyde Amendment well beyond its yearly budget inclusion, going further than anything the Republicans ever tried under a right-wing Congress and George W. Bush. That's quite a feat.
The bill that Democrats are close to passing is nothing near to what the American public wants, which begins with a public option. But that goal was left in the dust of deals made by Pres. Obama and Democrats beholden to corporate interests.
Meanwhile, Republicans are already plotting the repeal.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich did his part after a ride on Air Force One, some presidential whispering in his ear, finally getting the attention he has so craved. It was a political move made in part to save Barack Obama, which is sad commentary when you're in the majority and have all the power, but especially because it's not Congress' job to "save" a president. Kucinich gave reasons:
"One of the things that has bothered me is the attempt to try to de-legitimize his presidency. That hurts the nation when that happens," Kucinich reasoned in a news conference Wednesday. "We have to be very careful," he continued, that "President Obama's presidency not be destroyed by this debate. . . . Even though I have many differences with him on policy, there's something much bigger at stake here for America." - Kucinich's health-care vote could be Obama's lucky charm
Mr. Kucinich's claim that a democratic process would have "de-legitimized" Obama's presidency is not only laughable, but an outlandish statement even for him. Pres. Obama has a 48% approval rating amidst economic challenges and after a horrible first year. A defeat on a bill that isn't good legislation would not "de-legitimize" him no matter how hard Mr. Kucinich huffs and puffs. Would it ruin his chance of a second term? That might be the spin of the traditional media and the elite left, but what guarantees passing the current health care bill will result in rewards? And no one has said who exactly is going to beat Pres. Obama, even if that question should be treated as relevant by Congress.
It's simply not Congress' job to save anyone's presidency. It's their job to represent the people, period.
The fact still remains that the Democrats, with the presidency and the majority, ended up producing a bad bill with only Democratic votes to pass it, something they could have done last summer.
So much time was wasted while the American public long ago tired of the lack of focus on jobs and the economy, which Democrats say the health care bill will aid, but not nearly as much as if they'd chosen the public option, which the majority of the American people prefer.
It's not exactly stellar leadership on anyone's part. But we haven't had a real Congress for decades. We simply have political parties inside the Capitol dome who either protect the presidency, if the person is of the same party, or stop the president, if not.
The reason people hate Congress is because they're doing the work of the Executive Branch, not the people. Party over sound policy is causing a revolt.
But even a bad health care bill offered up by Congress, if passed into law and signed by Pres. Obama, will make history, because it's never been done before.
As for the people, we got lost in this a long time ago. The day Pres. Obama made a deal with insurance and pharmaceutical companies, deciding that no matter if the people wanted the public option he didn't; putting himself and his presidency first, above women and the people's desires, which the Democrats in Congress helped him do.
Taylor Marsh is a political analyst out of Washington, D.C.
Art by Paul Szep used with permission.
Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh
So what then is his motive for this bad bill? To save insurance companies? Why would he do that? Believe it or not, they don't give that much to politicians. If your reasoning is to be believed that he is only concerned about his reelection, then it makes more sense that he would do the wildly popular thing and pass a public option bill and cruise to reelection.
So I am waiting for someone to tell me what Obama's motive in passing a bad bill is?
If Health Care Reform wasn't the perfect example in making a case for Campaign Finance Reform, nothing will be.
Torture is condemned by all civilized countries, and punished. Yet every day in this country people die, or are left in unbearable pain for what? Profit.
Profit is the one thing that sets the United States health care system apart from every other civilized country in the world. Yet the bill now being touted as "reform" only reinforces that failed business model and rewards those same health insurance companies with millions of new customers that "profit" by denying needed care.
A good bill would have passed months ago. It would not require a "hard sell" or "arm twisting" by the administration.
Profit.......... the motive that destroyed our health care, has destroyed our current congress. They put their "profit" (millions in corporate money in their coffers) ahead of the good of the people that elected them to office. That fact should be remembered by all of us in the next election...........regardless of party affiliation. Until now I never knew "dirty money" smelled. This congress reeks of corruption.
Like you said, it's a bad bill.
Talk about "Echo Chamber".
Anyway, the bill is not perfect, and realistically, NO landmark piece of legislation has ever been perfect. However, they get amended and augmented as years go by for them to become really great (even then, they still won't be perfect).
The Voting Rights of 1965, for example, had to be amended in 1970, 1975, and 1982----and would still be amended in the future. Same thing for Medicare, which is why you have "Parts" when you are referring to them.
No one, not even Obama, whom you have come to detest these days, thinks this is the final, permanently functional piece of legislation. It's only the first step. It also is what's realistically obtainable for now in the American society. Don't forget that LBJ, FDR, etc all had about 65%+ Dem majorities during their times.
Also, remember that the countries that have socialized health-care in the world had to start imperfectly. In Canada, for example, Saskatchewan started the single-payer stuff first and the other provinces followed. Single-payer system didn't start abruptly in Canada; it took decades for it to get to where it is now.
Just bear those things in mind whenever you are upbraiding Obama for being an utter failure. Have a good weekend.
I have absolutely *no* idea what you're talking about. I do not control anything re: comments on my posts.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that absolutely zero public funds are available for abortion; also assume there continues to be extremely high public support for women's reproductive rights (as there should be, IMO).
Why isn't there a fund set up by a woman's group (or groups) that can give immediate financial assistance and pay for the prodedure? I would think with the vast resources we have as a nation, that enough supporters would be able to pool together in order to pay for those procedures where the woman simply does not have the means to pay.
Can anybody explain why this hasn't been done? I would think that it would help (not solve, but help) mitigate the propblems caused by people like Stupak, but more importantly be there to help woman in need. Anybody?
Read what Michael Moore has to say.
I cannot wait until the first Obama sycophant or Democratic Party hack calls me off a 2008 donor list.
And so we get less war, but not no war, so as to please the Terror War Forever Crowd, backroom deals with for-profit hospitals and Big Pharma for our health care, and the biggest transfer of wealth from public to private hands in the history of the nation, if not the world, which pleases the Rubinites of his inner circle and almost satisfies the rapacity of their sponsors in the financial sector.
Kucinich is an idealist, who has out of his idealism, extended himself on the president's behalf, and the party's behalf. He will be rewarded with protracted and repeated disrespect from both, whenever it looks expedient to deflect criticism from the president or the party hierarchy by throwing another leftie under the bus..
Yet persons who support his policies in order to give him a personal victory, that is not unfair..
Obama is falling back on the, "this is about me, and is Us against Them" shtick.
Why is his personal victory so important??
Why more important than the quality of the policy??
Why is he making it an Evil vs. Good battle, when he said he would move us beyond that BS.
The problem was people bought into the myth. It happens every four years, only with Obama more so.
Couldn't agree more with your assessment of "pretend to serve."
fyi, I wrote about Rahm Emanuel just this morning:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2010/03/19/rahm-gets-last-laugh/
It seems that CNN etal have paralyzed the 'people,' does no one else get fracked by the monotonous repetition of this word, into thinking big brother runs their lives. A small group of physicians, getting together, and deciding to treat patients affordably would destroy the insurance industry in a flash. That would be some good old American ingenuity.
But I think government serves a crucial role in modern life. Scapegoat. All the greed, fear and pettiness we possess in ourselves is projected onto highly visible people, apparently working much harder and longer than we would ever do, and it fulfills our own inadequacies to believe the worst of them. So sad. And worse than all, it eliminates intelligence from the discourse. Like the above article