Pragmatism Makes for Bad Policy

[dflprincess]

From today's Star Tribune. The author is John Marty, a DFL state senator and candidate for governor.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/78561822.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:U0ckkD:aEyKUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

If 21st-century progressives had led the 19th century's abolition movement, we'd still have slavery. But we'd have limited slaves to 40-hour workweeks, and we'd be proud of the progress we'd made….

…This timidity can be explained by decades of defeat at the hands of right-wing politicians like Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, which caused many progressives to retreat from a politics of principle to a supposed politics of pragmatism -- which is not only lacking in courage, but also has proven highly ineffective.

..But with the current politics of misguided pragmatism, some progressives calculate what is politically acceptable, and then determine what they will stand for. For example, using this "pragmatism," President Obama decided to push for health insurance for more instead of health care for all.

One cannot totally fault the president for failing to push for comprehensive reform. He shied away from principle-based reform because he knows that members of Congress working on health reform take big campaign contributions from the health insurance lobby and other powerful interests. He knows that they are afraid of nasty campaign attacks and believe they need the big money to win reelection….

…It's time for progressives to have the courage of our convictions. If we claim to believe in universal health care, we need to fight for it. The Minnesota Health Plan -- which covers everyone for all their medical needs, and costs less than we are spending now -- is on the table. Those who are not willing to take on the powerful insurance lobby, ought to be honest and admit that reelection and other priorities matter more.

Refusing to fight for what's right because it is "not politically realistic" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Likewise, dismissing it as something that will take decades to pass means leaving the problem to the next generation.

[yurbud]

1. I would only quibble with calling the compromisers ''progressives''

it is more accurate to call them corporate owned democrats.