The Chris Moeller Archives

What's the matter with Democrats?

Salon's David Sirota has perfectly summarized tonight the Democrats' agenda in trying to shove their health care bill through the Congress. While the Republicans were busy wrecking the country over eight years, the Democrats were taking careful notes. It's all about "selling giveaways to (corporate) executives as a middle-class agenda."

The sophisticated process began during the 2008 Congressional and Presidential campaigns with a phony pledge to deliver a "public option" on health care...


Sirota's colleague, Glenn Greenwald, further suggests that Rahm Emmanuel was precise all along in his legislative strategy on health care. From the very beginning, Obama's Chief of Staff advocated a "scaled back" insurance bill friendly to conservatives and industry, knowing that liberals would automatically fall in line behind whatever measure was drawn.

Greenwald writes:
Everyone who has ever been involved in negotiations knows that those who did what most progressive DC pundits did here from the start-- namely, announce: we have certain things we'd like you to change in this bill, but we'll go along with this even if you give us nothing-- are making themselves completely irrelevant in the negotiating process. People who signal in advance that they will accept a deal even if all of their demands are rejected will always be completely impotent, for reasons too obvious to explain. The loyal, Obama-revering pundits who acted as the bill's mindless cheerleaders from the start (this is the greatest achievement since FDR walked the Earth) were always going to be ignored; why would anyone listen to the demands of those doing nothing but waving pom-poms?

Fifty-seven House Democrats signed a pledge saying they would never support a health care bill that didn't contain a public option. All 57 are now preparing to vote for this particular one, even though it has as many provisions pertaining to the rescue of Sandra Bullock's marriage as it does in implementing a government-run "option".

The larger point is this: It's not the first time their promises have proven to be empty. Eighty House Dems pledged in writing that they would stop approving war funding unless there were provisions to withdraw troops within the same legislation. Then, 58 of the 80 proceeded to betray that vow last summer. Who would ever take these lawmakers seriously again? Nobody in the party leadership does anymore, if they ever did, but maybe still the legions of idiots who continue to pledge their political support, part with hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in campaign donations, and still steadfastly believe that their "progressive" representative in Washington would never take his or her support for granted.

posted by CM @ 9:23 PM