Harold's Left:
One of the greatest tools we have in understanding the current violent backlash to health reform is to look to the past and observe what right-wing extremists have done in response to any sweeping social legislation. One of the most important reforms in American history was during the Civil Rights bills of the mid 1960's that sought to tear down the barriers of racial segregation that defined Southern, and perhaps American, life. There were new political parties created, just as there are now. Then the Dixiecrats, now the Tea Party. There was a "states' rights" reaction which saw various governors and officials outright ignoring the rule and state legislatures adopting the confederate flag in opposition. Currently, we see nearly 15 states filing law suits against the federal government in opposition to health reform. Lastly, there was a rise in violent backlash, as the enemies of progress sought to stop the train of change.
Certainly today, as several Democratic offices have been vandalized and Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Tom Perriello have both been put in danger. Some 10 Democrats have requested extra security, while some have asked the spouses to move from their districts in fear for their safety. RNC Chairman Michael Steele commented last week that Republicans should "start getting Nancy ready for the firing line".
This is exactly the sort of action that goes against our principles as Americans who believe in the democratic process. When Bush was in office, sure many progressives were outraged at some of the actions he took, but the use of violent innuendo by the leadership and actual violent action by some of the constituency is appalling. We need to hold their feet to the fire anytime they even imply that violence is an option against our leadership.
Harold's Left:
1. Health Care Reform is an assault on liberty
What's New? According to Republicans everything is an assault on liberty. They thought social security was the beginning of the American "Red" revolution. Ronald Reagan called Medicare the "sunset" of American freedom. Nearly any program meant to actually help Americans is seen as an assault on freedom to these folks. At this point it is confusing as to why we even listen to them anymore.
2. "Deem and Pass" is illegal and unprecedented
Unless the new meaning by Webster's Dictionary for 'unprecedented' is having done something over 200 times in the past, this makes little sense. Republicans have used this very tactic for a number of bills in the past.
3. Reform will allow the government to chose your doctor
This has literally no basis in fact. This bill is about regulating insurance companies so they can do more to actually provide effective coverage to Americans. The relationship between doctors and patients stays the same. Patients will be able to keep their same doctor, which is important to everyone, myself included.
4. Democrats are "ramming this through" with no regard for public opinion
The complexities of this bill in addition to the misinformation machine by Fox News and the Republican caucus has certainly made a dent in public opinion. When people are polled about specific aspects, however, people show they are in favor of the various elements of the bill.
5. Reform is a 'government takeover'
Ohh... that scary, scary thing called government. The thing that runs my (awesome) TRICARE insurance program. The thing that runs the American military, and thousands and thousands of programs that keep America afloat. That argument aside, this bill is not even close to a government takeover of health care. A government takeover would mean that we got rid of private insurance and had the government run health insurance. A government takeover would mean that the government made the drugs, took over the hospitals, and provided the doctors. Literally none of those things are happening. So why do they say it? To make people scared of course, it's their only argument.
6. Republicans want health care reform too, just not this kind
So why is it that meaningful health care reform was never an issue when Republicans ran congress since the mid 1990's? Must be because they wanted it so badly. The truth is, they don't want it. They like the status quo because change is always scary for them. It's literally their job to be the adversary of progress. Maybe they should stop pulling punches and tell the truth, they hate reform.
7. The universal mandate will be unconstitutional
Right... just like forcing a restaurant to admit blacks for lunch was unconstitutional. The fact is that we are the only developed nation that does not require our people to have health insurance. We end up paying nearly $1050/per person in premiums because of emergency room visits from people with no health care. Not only that, we pay more than twice as much for insurance as any other nation and get half for it. Universal health care lowers prices, period.
8. Reform is too expensive and will bankrupt the country
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported this morning that the bill will reduce the deficit by 130 billion for the next decade, and 1.3 trillion in the decade after that. What's interesting is that when Republicans passed a 500 billion dollar Medicare drug bill that was unfunded there was not a peep from the GOP. When we spent 1.5 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan, not a peep about financing from the GOP (except Ron Paul). The fact is that this bill the largest deficit reducing bill in a generation, so once again the GOP argument is silly.
9. The national health care crisis has been exaggerated
The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the United States at 37th in overall health care performance. I don't know about you, but for the richest and most powerful nation in the world, 37th is hardly impressive. We are in the mid-20's in infant mortality and equally low in life-expectancy. We easily have the highest proportion of uninsured in the developed world and some of the longest waiting room times in the world. On top of all that, Americans pay an exorbitant amount of money on health insurance every year. So if Republicans don't think we have a crisis, well it would not be that surprising considering many conservatives claim global warming does not exist.
10. There will be "death panels" that may euthanize citizens the government does not feel are productive
No comment, just too ridiculous to even respond.
Harold's Left:
Ahh... the classic conservative mantra that people are only poor or unemployed because of their personal failures and laziness. It's nothing new in the strategy of a movement that has been defined by exclusion, denial, and outright ineptitude.
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), has held up crucial legislation in the Senate that would allow the government to continue allocating unemployment benefits to the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in the last couple of years. But, of course, only all of the lazy stupid people lost their jobs. Furthermore, unemployment benefits only give incentive for the unemployed to stay unemployed... right? Wrong.
This notion that anyone who receives government benefits is somehow a lackluster citizen that is living off the system is silly. However, it's part of what drives not only the Republican debate on unemployment benefits, but health care reform as well. Republicans have this sentiment that "I don't want to pay for anyone else", even if many of us were forced to pay for an Iraq War that was hardly justifiable. This sentiment is rooted in racial prejudice and managerial bias.
Why racial prejudice? Because since the 1960's the Republican Party has made it point, both implicitly and explicitly, to lead white voters in the South to believe that any social program that is designed to help the unfortunate is really a program designed to help blacks. Instead of whites from Appalachia voting for programs (like health care reform and unemployment) that would help them, they end up loathing programs because they believe they are going to help "someone else".
The only good news for the Democrats on this is that it highlights to the rest of America some of the underpinnings of why conservative ideology is bad for the average American.
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