Dionne: Progressives would be irresponsible to let right-wing Sup. Ct. undo 80 yrs of jurisprudence

[bigtree]

. . . without a fight.

Monday, April 9, 2012

E.J. DIONNE Jr.: When liberals stop acting like wimps

{snip}

(President) Obama's statements are moderate compared with those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who unsuccessfully sought to add members to the court after it had voided one New Deal law after another.

The Constitution, Roosevelt insisted, is “a layman's document, not a lawyer's contract.” Its ambiguities had created “an unending struggle between those who would preserve this original broad concept of the Constitution” and those who “cry ‘unconstitutional' at every effort to better the condition of our people.”

The United States, FDR insisted, could not afford “to sacrifice each generation in turn while the law catches up with life.” He spoke with a sense of urgency in the midst of the Great Depression. “The millions who are in want,” he said, “will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.”

FDR lost the court-packing fight but won the larger battle over the right of the democratic branches of government to legislate on behalf of the common good.

Progressives would be wildly irresponsible if they sat by quietly while a conservative Supreme Court majority undid 80 years of jurisprudence. Roosevelt wasn't a wimp, and Obama has decided that he won't be one, either. Conservatives are unhappy because they prefer passive, intimidated liberals to the fighting kind.


read more: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120409/WIRE/120409674/1070/opinion?Title=DIONNE-When-liberals-stop-acting-like-wimps

[Fumesucker]

1. Yep, the private mandate is the hill progressives should choose to die on.. n/t

[bigtree]

2. as if that's all that's being threatened here

[Fumesucker]

3. It's what the shouting's all about..

I think it's hilarious watching Democrats defend and Republicans attack a quintessentially Republican idea direct from the Heritage Foundation.

By no means am I convinced that the Republicans won't make major political hay out of the private mandate in one way or another, there's enough people on all sides of the political spectrum who are skeptical of it that things had best go very smoothly with the implementation, a prospect I find rather less likely than more.

I used to be disgusted now I try to be amused.. -Elvis Costello

[bigtree]

4. 'all the shouting' is certainly over the mandate

. . . but there are numerous other provisions at risk in the pending decision.

You know, it's much, much, more 'hilarious' watching folks rely on the banal, the ignorant, and the scumbucket others on the conservative side of the Court to overturn the mandate -- all the while promoting their cause from a supposedly-progressive standpoint -- unconcerned with the fate (or the progress) of the many other provisions of the threatened law that millions of Americans are already benefiting from. In fact, the right has been a reliable source of opposition to this law for critics promoting their cause from the left, from it's inception to it's passage and implementation.

[Fumesucker]

5. I'm of the opinion that putting the insurance companies in the loop under force of law is bad..

As I said, the implementation of the mandate has a lot of ways it can go sour with the public, a significant portion of the public doesn't want it for whatever reason from the get go and will be looking for the worst.

There is virtually no love in the USA for the insurance companies other than from those who make their living from them, there are a lot of people who have excellent reasons for despising those companies, we have been reading the stories daily for years here on DU.

[FarLeftFist]

7. I think it's hilarious to think ONLY the Left can come up with a good idea. Hear me out:

While it's true we DO IN FACT have better ideas i.e Single-Payer we must live in a reality based world as of now where there is a HUGE distance between proposing that goal & achieving that goal. There just aren't the votes. The reason the mandate is necessary is because it helps fund the millions that will now be eligible for MedicAid, which IS progressive. So while it's not a 'great' idea, it's a good one for now as we march towards our ultimate goal.

[Fumesucker]

9. Once the insurance companies have the mandate they'll give it up over the smoking remains..

The smoking remains of the health care system.

The problem from the beginning has been the insurance companies or exacerbated by them.

When you send out banquet invitations to the big bad wolf and the three little piggies you know what's on the menu and it damn sure ain't tofu.

[Daniel537]

6. Running against the SCOTUS will not win you an election.

Especially when the law they overturned is one that was never popular anyway. If they overturn the health care law the Pres. should turn it into an opportunity to push for single-payer/public option because it will be the only recourse left towards actual health care reform. Be an optimist and rally the base, along with the majority of Americans who support single-payer and we've got a damn good chance of taking back the House and keeping the Senate and the WH.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

8. The problem is that the individual mandate is a conservative concept that most

liberals/progressive oppose.

I am a liberal and I don't necessary oppose the mandate because I think that the idea of reducing the costs of providing health care by having EVERYONE buy into the system will help us in the long run. Really, it is the first step towards instituting a public option. Why? Those who can least afford to pay the mandate will be subsized by the government. Once we see how well the system is working, not only by providing health care, but also through this cost-effective/reduction measure, we will eventually leave open the door to cover even MORE people. More people covered means we reduce the cost associated with those who wait until something catastropic happens before seeking coverage.

In the short term, this concept is something that most progressives don't support and I understand that. However, I also understand the long-term impact that having a mandate will have, and I think it's a positive one, too.

Remember: The Republicans wanted the mandate but with NO offsets and no subsidies for those who could least afford it. They simply wanted to institutionalize the mandate with penalities and NO offsets or subsidies. At least Obama/the Democrats are more thoughtful.

Finally, I understand that only 2% of the country will be affected by the individual mandate: another fact that has gone severely underreported in this discussion of Obamacare. The vast majority of those covered will reap the benefits.