The Left's Fatal Abstraction

[babylonsister]

The Left's Fatal Abstraction
Critics Of Health Reform On Obama's Left Have Largely Focused On Symbolic Issues

by Ronald Brownstein

Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009


With the Senate's passage Thursday morning of sweeping health care reform, President Obama took another giant step toward the biggest legislative achievement for any Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson muscled Medicare into law in 1965.

Comprehensive health care reform has defeated every president who has pursued it, from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. But, even with some hurdles remaining, Obama is now on track to sign legislation early next year moving the U.S. toward universal coverage. Though the bill bears all the scars and imperfections of its arduous advance, it's likely to stand as the signal domestic accomplishment of his presidency, even if he serves two terms.

And so, naturally, the reaction of the most visible component of the Democratic base has been to link arms with congressional Republicans and the conservative grassroots to insist that the bill be killed. Even as conservatives denounce the bill as an ominous extension of government's reach, leading lights of the Internet-based digital left like Howard Dean, MoveOn.org, Markos Moulitsas and Arianna Huffington are portraying it as a Christmas gift to special interests. One side sees a socialist taking America on a sleigh ride toward Sweden; the other a sell-out surrendering to big business and reactionary "ConservaDems." Who says no good deed goes unpunished?

snip//

The left's outrage is more puzzling. The bill has been wrenched by many compromises. But it imposes on the insurance industry tough rules long sought by liberals, including a ban on the denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Once fully phased in, it would spend nearly $200 billion annually to help more than 30 million uninsured Americans obtain coverage. Yet it squeezes enough savings from inefficiencies in current health spending that the Congressional Budget Office projects it will reduce the federal deficit in the near- and long-term, and the independent Medicare Actuary calculates that it will vastly extend coverage while increasing total national health care spending (by business, government and individuals) by less than a penny on the dollar through 2019. And it advances almost all the ideas that cutting-edge reformers consider essential to slowing long-term cost growth by nudging the medical system away from fee-for-service medicine toward approaches that more closely tie provider compensation to results for patients.

Against all that, the aggrieved left has mostly focused on two concessions made to centrist Senate Democrats: restrictions on abortion coverage and the abandonment of a public competitor to private insurers. But each is a largely symbolic dispute: There's little evidence the legislation would seriously constrain access to abortion, and the CBO has estimated that only about 6 million people would choose a public option. (It was equally irresponsible for the Senate centrists to threaten to sink the bill over such tangential provisions.) Even political scientist Jacob Hacker, widely considered the father of the public option, wrote this week that it "would be wrong" to derail the bill because it still contains "vital reforms."

In some respects, the left's discontent may be unavoidable. Perpetual dissatisfaction is the nature, and arguably the role, of activists. It's easy to forget that not only did liberals issue similar complaints about Clinton, but conservatives like Newt Gingrich groused that Ronald Reagan cut too many deals with Democrats.

The new Internet-based left, because it is so heavily reliant on college-educated whites generally less exposed to the economy's storms, also has a blind spot on kitchen table issues. According to the Census Bureau, just 6 percent of college-educated whites lack health insurance, for instance, compared to 19 percent of African-Americans and 31 percent of Hispanics. But the idea that Democrats should just press restart after the grueling struggle to reach this point carries an air of fatal abstraction: If health reform fails now, the next chance for big change probably wouldn't come for years, if not decades. "The universal rule of health care -- there are no exceptions -- is you get what you can," says Brown University political scientist James Morone, co-author of The Heart of Power, a recent history of health care politics.

more...

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20091224_5120.php

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. The thing is this, most of the left is not outraged by anything. Most of the left is satisfied.

SOME of the left are lazy-ass whiners who didn't fight decades of Repukes, but ARE fighting the few months Obama has been in office.

As far as I am concerned, the lazy whiners can kiss my @$$.

[Kahuna]

3. Well said, Sister Ibarruri!

:applause:

[Adelante]

4. Hear Hear!!

:toast:

[Hello_Kitty]

5. Excuse you?

Y'all were the ones ready to lay down and take whatever scraps President Lieberman and Vice President Nelson threw you. Talk about lazy. It was because of agitation by the left that the bill was actually better than it could have been. If it were up to appeasers like you all we'd have is a mandate to buy insurance and not much else.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. When I see the lazy left-wing whinies show me proof they fought the Repukes....

Then I'll respect them. Until then, as I said, they can kiss my ass. They did nothing, absolutely nothing during the decades of Repugnicans. And THAT is my measuring stick. Whether or not they fought (AND FIGHT) Repugnicans. However, my second measuring stick is quickly becoming which assholes not only didn't fight Repukes, but are now fighting Democrats. Those can kiss my ass DOUBLE TIME.

[Hello_Kitty]

10. WHAT??!

I not only fought, I ran for office in 2006. In a legislative district with a substantial R majority against a Republican incumbent in his 8th term. I managed to get 48% of the vote, and in his own words came closer to beating him than anyone he'd ever run against. Don't tell me I haven't been fighting Republicans.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. And what you're doing now is....?

Just curious, you know, 'cause the only lefties I meet who are whiners, were glued to their armchairs for decades of Repukkke America, hoping some hero, somebody, anybody, would save them.

[Hello_Kitty]

13. Helping local candidates, getting voters to sign up for mail in voting

Just so you know, it's not just the whining leftists who aren't happy right now. Lots of anger among rank-and-file Dem voters about the way HCR is going, the war, unemployment, etc.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

15. Honestly? I think they need to shut the F up. After DECADES of Republican damage....

A man who is now in office a FEW F MONTHS for godssakes, is getting us to STEP 1 of the health care issue, which is MUCH MORE than we've ever gotten before, and he's doing this in the middle of a CRISIS caused by DECADES of REPUBLICAN DOMINATION.

It makes me vomit when I hear the handful of lefties (and yes, it is a handful, not a lot as you would prefer to think) who are upset that they can't get Obama to fix in A FEW MONTHS, the damage done by DECADES of Republican destruction.

[Hello_Kitty]

21. "Shut the F up" is a spectacular talking point.

Sure to usher in Democratic victories in 2010. :eyes:

You know, insulting people is not how you get them to vote your way.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

22. It's an excellent response to the handful of lazy-ass leftwing whiners

who merely warmed chairs during the decades of Repuke occupation and strangulation of the U.S., but are not indignantly loud because Obama hasn't fixed it all within months.

They can go ________ themselves.

[Hello_Kitty]

25. Yeah, I guess to a lazy keyboard commando like yourself it is.

When's the last time you made a phone call or knocked on a door in your precinct?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

37. Wrong. Unlike you, I fight only the Repukes nt

[Hello_Kitty]

38. So you don't make phone calls or walk your precinct. Got it.

No wonder you're so oblivious. If you did leave your house once in a while and talk to some voters you will find a lot of them are NOT happy with this bill.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

39. Let me repeat, since I think you failed to read what I said. I only attack Republicans.

Is that clear, or should I repeat it again?

[Hello_Kitty]

47. Got it, Keyboard Commando.

Loud and clear.

[dflprincess]

41. I've been active since McGovern ran

and I've held several party offices as well as worked on more campaigns than I can even remember.

I've stuck with the party through thick and thin and have, more times than I should have, voted for Democratic candidates that stunk but were considered the "lesser of evils".

And now I'm fed up. Massive majorites in both Houses of Congress and we control the White House and the "party of the people" is selling out the working and middle classes for campaign "donations".

We're not really fighting Democrats - we're fighting the Republican wing of the Democratic party.

[treestar]

19. What?

:rofl:

All the left said is kill it! They had nothing constructive to say!

:rofl:

Now you're taking credit for this "corporate giveaway" in any form? :rofl:

[Hello_Kitty]

23. Meanwhile, DLCers like you said "Yes sir, President Lieberman, may I please have another?"

Funny how y'all had a lot more criticism for "the left" than you did for guys like Holy Joe, Ben Nelson, and Bart Stupak. Who, you know, actually had the power to kill the bill and threatened to do just that. Yep, you DLCers definitely have your priorities in the right place.

[treestar]

29. How can you seriously claim to take credit for this when you'vve been

calling it a sell out corporate giveaway for two solid weeks?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Hello_Kitty]

31. Do you lack reading comprehension

I said the bill is better than it could have been because of pressure from the left. Ben Nelson wanted states to be able to opt out of the Medicaid expansion. I suppose if he'd gotten his way on that you DLCers would just move the goal post yet again and tell us that 14 million Americans getting Medicaid was never an important part of the bill and we were just imagining that it was.

[treestar]

32. I seriously don't think the left gets credit for this

It was the "corporatists" who made a deal with Nelson and Lieberman, which deal the "left" screeches should never have been made and that the bill was killed. This was "selling out" etc. Yet Nelson and Lieberman voted so we could have the bill. That's because of the "caving" to them, since they were the ones who could have killed it.

I guess "DLC" is supposed to be some kind of name-calling? :rofl:

[Hello_Kitty]

33. The name fits you

As does your sneering, condescending, out-of-touch attitude.

And gee, why do you suppose they had to make that deal with Nelson to keep the Medicaid expansion in?

[AlphaCentauri]

16. I agree about the lazy-ass whiners but democrats could do better

democrats have played along with republicans at least in the last 30 years.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. Yep, while Repukes were in for decades, I didn't see much energy spent by too many for fighting

the decades of puke-provoking Republican scourge.

[AlphaCentauri]

26. The majority of democrats stayed quiet with their share of power

Health care reform will not fix a problem the republicans created but a problem both parties have neglected / ignored for centuries so both parties are equally guilty for the state of the health care system as it is now.

Lets mention that leftist in the democratic party are just a minority, most democrats are centrist so the left doesn't have too much weight in the decisions of the democratic leadership. If any reform is half baked, incomplete or useless it would be the democratic center fault for staying quiet when their voice is needed.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

46. This reminds me of what happened to my sister-in-law at the metro in Madrid

She was going to enter the metro and some homeless man asked her for money. She dug in her purse and could not find anything but a huge bill and some small change, no small bills, so she handed him the small change then went down the stairs.

As she was walking down the stairs she felt an intense pain on her neck which she said felt like a giant bee stinging the back of her neck. It turned out to be that the homeless man, pissed off that he had not been given a bill rather than change, threw the change at her neck as hard as he could.

We've been living through DECADES of Repuke, fascist domination, and most Democrats have done nothing, nothing at all to fight that, and instead allowed them to destroy our country to the point where now our country is a disaster and we're in a depression.

However, NOW that we have a Democratic president who has reversed much of what the repukes have done, and brought our country the closest we've ever come to having available health care (EVEN IF IT'S NOT YET PERFECT AND NEEDS LOTS OF MODIFICATION), what do a handful of the Hamshers of this world do? Attack Obama.

A handful of "libs" prefer to be living in naziism or fascism than having something less than INSTANT CHANGE. Fuck them. That handful can go screw themselves. They're not part of the solution. They are doing the Republican's work, and for free. (Or maybe not!!!! Look at Ralph Asshole Nader, who was accepting GOP money all along!)

[AlphaCentauri]

48. The full democratic process is corrupt with money

Ralph Nader money from the GOP is just a symptom of how the system is setup so money can select the options the public will have, Obama and Gore are not exempt from it, they did play inside those rules democrats and republicans have setup to maintain their share of power.

Ross Perot candidacy should makes clear to everybody how the democratic system is broken but those centrists and lazy ass leftist stayed quiet to let the republican "revolution" continue on Bill Clinton and make him their instrument.

For the most part the centrists are the ones picking up the left overs from corporate selection, financing and ruling over congress by not pushing for full reforms only small changes. Any real change in America has to come out from the center by rejecting the right wing ideas and adopting the social issues that affect the common wealth of all Americans also centrist and leftist have to stop playing the right wing game, they set the rules and the rest play their game.

[treestar]

20. The Republicans did have a lot of power though

Thanks to the M$M and the Supreme Court.

And they are still dangerously close. They aren't vanquished by any means. Making this leftrage even crazier.

[AlphaCentauri]

27. Having the media on their side has been a great advantage for them

I wish Obama include in his legacy a real election financing reform, Corporate money has corrupted democracy.

[treestar]

17. + 1 zillion!

:fistbump:

[tabasco]

28. Brava!

:toast:

[Number23]

35. +20 Hear hear, girl!

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Brownstein being a condescending racebaiting douche, as usual.

The new Internet-based left, because it is so heavily reliant on college-educated whites generally less exposed to the economy's storms, also has a blind spot on kitchen table issues.

Oh yeah, please tell us about kitchen table issues, you Beltway Bubble hack.

[Laelth]

9. +1

Kill the bill.

Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the answer to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness.

:dem:

-Laelth

[amborin]

34. +1 and---follow the $$$$ prolly angling to be O's campaign director

he's married to McCain's former campaign director or some such

and formed the Atlantic Media Company.....

and--writes for the increasingly right-wing LA Times

and, check out this Crooks and Liars article on how wrong National Journal was about Obama:

http://crooksandliars.com/2008/02/01/national-journal-rates-obama-1-liberal-senator

[OKNancy]

6. I'm one who will be helped, so when I read here

it's kind of depressing. If I had insurance it would be 33% of my income, with this bill the max is 9%..probably less actually.

[Odin2005]

7. Typical "screw principles" screed.

[Undercurrent]

12. Thanks for posting

this excellent article, babylonsister!

K&R :dem:

[BeyondGeography]

14. Unpleasant truths

K&R

[Number23]

36. They most certainly are. Kicked and Rec'd

[stevenleser]

24. K&R

[jaysunb]

30. I'm always wary of Brownstein, but

he nails this....:shrug:

[Hydra]

40. "the CBO has estimated that only about 6 million people would choose a public option"

Right...that's why most of the people I know don't want the coverage they have or can't get any.

Here's to holding my breath for this to be the "95% of what I wanted"

[Armstead]

42. Ah a good Christmas Flame war -- Who cares except to say that;'s a bunch of horseshlt

Beltway Conventional Wisdom Fuckwads like him forget how long and hard "the left" (whatever that is) have tried for many years to get beyond the centrist nonsense and still keep running up against brick walls

[MadHound]

43. Whoomp, there it is!

The trivializing of the left, saying that they're unexperienced, dealing in abstractions, not grounded in the reality and realpolitik.

I've been hearing that tune for the past thirty five plus years, and the thing that I've learned from hearing that particular screed repeated so often is that the corporatist, centerist, sell out wing of the Dems have got theirs and now they're going to screw the rest of us. Lather, rinse repeat.

How's that for the realpolitik, reality based analysis.

[Armstead]

44. Thing is -- In retrospect "the left" usually has been proven correct

Those pesky progressives fought against NAFTA, MFN for Chins and other "free trade" selloputs of the US economy and workers. Those fringe lefties tried to prevent deregulation of broadcasting and banking. Anf let's not forget that carzy anto-Iraq War movemnent.

In all cases progressives were told to sit down and shut up because they were naive "purists."

And on all those issues in hindsight, gthey were proven to be absolutely correct while the corporatist centrists were proven wrong.

[MadHound]

45. Oh you know it, I know it, hell even the corporatist, centerist, sell out wing of the party knows it

But hey now, there's money to be, and what's doing the right thing, especially the long term right thing in comparison to make a shitload of money for themselves and their corporate masters?