Disclaimer: I love Keith Olbermann. He is generally correct. In fact most of his analysis today on his special comment was mostly correct on the Healthcare Reform Bill being a gift to insurance companies. But any for profit insurance system would be just that. There is already a DailyKos.com Diary that details the technical reasons to support the bill. Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com also has three posts that better illustrates the points (Post1 Post2 Post3).
Keith is proposing that unless the mandate that all purchase or get insurance is removed the bill must be killed. The entire idea of the mandate is to ensure that we have millions of healthy people paying for insurance to spread the risk as everyone eventually gets sick or old. It would be irresponsible to remove such a mandate.
More importantly those wanting to kill the bill are shortsighted to the political implications of such an occurrence for Congress. President Obama is likely to survive a perceived wasted year on healthcare reform as did President Clinton. Congress would not for they would have been proven incompetent even with a super majority.
It is OK to not like a bill but it is important to understand that Democrats are not a monolith and will not vote that way unless the populous imposes that. Unfortunately many Progressives want to impose their will without popular support. If you want the moral authority of blanket imposition then the ideas must be sold and reflected in the polls. Unfortunately that is not the case.
As I have mentioned in many posts, we as Progressives know what is mathematically best for the country’s healthcare. Those on the Right seem to live in an alternate reality.We must find a way to sell it. Do not despair however. If we are unable to sell it, the natural capitulation of the system will do so later likely with deservedly catastrophic consequences for many who themselves opposed what would have saved them.
Again to all those shouting kill the bill. Be pragmatic and understand that more than ever we must maintain our sanity.
Viewers are encouraged to subscribe and join the conversation for more insightful commentary and to support progressive messages. Together, we can populate the internet with progressive messages that represent the true aspirations of most Americans.
