EXCERPT:President Obama has maintained from the beginning of his administration that it was his intention to work on health care reform and other issues in a bipartisan fashion. Despite all of his effort, only 3 Democrats in the Senate voted for the ARRA stimulus bill and all indications are that no Republican will vote for health care reform, period.
The latest numbers show that 77% of Americans want health care reform that includes a public option. It might not seem so if you have watched cable news which has given a lot of coverage to town hall meetings where a few loud people have voiced opposition to health care reform.
In the past few days it has become as clear as it can be that no Republican wants health care reform. Senator Chuck Grassley, (R), Iowa, whom President Obama has pointed to as one of the Republicans who has been working hard on health care reform has not only intimated at his own town hall meetings that the health care reform bill out of the House would "pull the plug on granmda," a letter has been produced that he sent out seeking donations for his next campaign that makes it abundantly clear that he has no intention of working on any sort of health care reform with sincerity and in fact, asks for money to help him defeat "Obama-care."
As Bill Moyers pointed out on the Bill Maher show this week (see the video below), it is in the best interest of Republicans politically, to kill the health care reform bill. If President Obama and the Democrats with their majority in the Congress can't get a health care bill passed, Republicans will benefit politically and financially. They hope to win back seats in Congress and make Obama a one term president. Ironically, Republicans have made no secret of their desire and intent to "kill the bill."
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It seems to many who voted for him, that President Obama has put bipartisanship ahead of the people who voted him into office. Those Americans care more about getting a robust health care bill than they do about bipartisanship. And that is reflected in the polls. While the large majority of Americans continue to want health care reform that includes a public option, the polls also show that the favorability numbers for President Obama's handling of health care reform are on a downward spiral. It's not hard to connect the two polls. Americans want health care for all Americans and President Obama appears to be weakening on the important substance of health care reform because of Republican pressure to concede anything that would mean real reform for health care in this country, ostensibly to achieve bipartisanship.
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When the American people voted overwhelmingly for Obama and the Democrats it was because they wanted what Obama promised during his campaign. And while one can give a great deal of credit to the President for the many good bills that he has passed in his first eight months, it will mean little if health care reform with a public option doesn't get passed into law. The voters will not wait around for them to get it right next time. This is the next time. It's the only time. Once Republicans get back into the majority, and they surely will if the health care reform bill isn't passed, they are unlikely to come up with any sort of health plan that will help the American people. They had 8 years under President Bush to do something and they didn't. They don't want health care reform. Period.
It is time for the President and the Democratic congress to write the health care reform bill that 77% of Americans want and leave the Republicans to their tin foil hat wearing base. America has spoken, Mr. President. Will you please listen?
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