Dem Senators Who Oppose the Public Option Are Jeopardizing The Dem Majority In Congress

[Yavin4]

It's Time To Start Primary Challenges on Dems Who Oppose The Public Option. Some may make the analogy to how the Club for Growth (CFG)challenges Republicans in primaries and therein made their party weaker. However, they're missing one important difference. CFG's policies only benefit a small number of people. How many people would actually benefit from the end of the estate tax? Maybe 1,000? Thus, primary challenging candidates to benefit 1,000 people is doomed to fail.

A Public Option on healthcare would benefit millions of Americans. Therefore challenging Dems for their refusal to support a public option would better align the Dem party with the majority of the people. In fact, you can make the political argument that the few Dems in the Senate who are blocking the Public Option are making it far more difficult for the party to maintain its majority status.

The American people want change on healthcare. Overall the number of new jobs created in the past decade is far lower than in the previous decade, and a majority of the new jobs do not include healthcare as a benefit. Moreover, employers are balking at the rate of increase for providing health care to their workers. This has translated into lower wage increases and age discrimination against older, more expensive to insure, workers.

The people want the Dems to pass the public option, and if one is not passed, then the Dems may lose their majority status. In order to save the party, we will have to primary those Dems that oppose the public option.

[ThomWV]

1. That begs the question, is the Democratic Party simply a Populist Party?

Just saying.

[DJ13]

4. No, but would it hurt to try?

[Yavin4]

6. No

Each issue has to be judged on its own merits. However, when an issue reaches a crisis level, and we've been in a healthcare crisis for a decade now, then action must be taken to address the crisis. Failure to address a crisis with the necessary corrective action will result in losses in the elections.

[pscot]

8. Yes, but

the same senators opposed to the public option are also likely tobe opposed to EFCA, climare change legislation, repeal of DADT, and just about any other progresssive measure you can name.

[IntravenousDemilo]

10. This is rampant, but I don't know what to do other than bring this up every time I see it..

http://grammartips.homestead.com/begging.html

[Hippo_Tron]

12. It is presumably a center-left party

Center-left policies are presumably better for the vast majority of the people than right wing policies.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Jeopardizing a lot of Americans' health as well.

[calimary]

3. Posting here, so you can see some of the TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard numbers.

They're in my sig line below. That's a hint. These people should be called and put on notice. YOU will FUCK EVERYTHING UP - and squander the majority status WE-THE-PEOPLE worked like dogs last year to win for you, if you let this moment pass and don't do What WE-THE-PEOPLE Want!!!!

[cutlassmama]

5. no doubt big pharma/insurers paid them off n/t

[Yavin4]

7. No Doubt. However, At One Point, Big Tobacco Also Paid Off The Pols

until it became obvious that stricter regulation was needed. Now, big tobacco is a pariah. The lesson to learn here is that taking the lobbyist dollar is not always the safest nor smartest political course to take.

[mmonk]

9. I sent the head of our state Democratic party a nasty letter

over the healthcare issue and other things and the lack of real change. I couldn't help it. I get rather tired of the Republicans winning ideologically no matter how few their numbers.

[IntravenousDemilo]

11. Option schmoption. You need a single-payer system, and it needs to be rammed through Congress.

It may take cajoling, threats, or even blackmail, but it has to get done, and done quickly, like pulling off a Band-Aid. Where's Lyndon Johnson where you need him? I mean, other than in his grave?

[steelmania75]

13. This ticks me off

Because the Dems have 60 Senate seats, and WE STILL CANT AGREE ON ANY ISSUE. When the GOP has a SLIM majority, they're shoving their agenda right down our throats.

[Truth2Tell]

14. Here's the problem...

The leadership of our Party doesn't agree with you (and me) on this. They don't believe that making policy decisions that benefit people is how to win elections. Instead they believe that making policy decisions that benefit big donors is what wins elections. And our democracy is so broken that they may be right. If Obama had run for President on the promise of a single payer healthcare system it's entirely likely the healtcare mafia would have effectively defeated him before he ever got out of the gate and even made a case to the people. The same scenerio holds true on a whole range of issues.

Yes, majorities of Americans support a vast array of very progressive policies, but majorities of Americans don't dictate winners in American politics. Money does.