Truth is we could get Medicare for all if we had publicly financed federal campaigns.

[flpoljunkie]

But we don't. So we have to settle for this watered down public option in the House--which will probably be jettisoned in favor of a 'trigger'--Thank you, Joe Lieberman.

The bills introduced in this session to publicly finance campaigns are going nowhere, even though there are 114 co-sponsors of H.R. 1826. The companion bill in the Senate, S. 752, introduced by Dick Durbin in March of this year, has a pitiful five co-sponsors.

Our Congress is beholden to special interests, both in banking and health care, and their lobbyists who fill their campaign coffers. Molly Ivins was right. It is nothing more than 'legalized bribery.'

Yet, here we are hoping for the crumbs of a watered down H.R.3962--The Affordable Health Care for America Act--which is in jeopardy because of anti-abortion zealots (represented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) and vile immigrant bashing (total denial of access to health insurance exchanges).

Man, do we have along way to go.

[NightWatcher]

1. and lobbyists will never allow the politicians to vote for serious campaign reform

and give up their control, er I mean bribery

it's become a political mobius strip and a lost cause I'm afraid

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. Yep!

A political mobius strip to be sure.

[xchrom]

2. indeed.

at this point it seems reasonable to have dealt w/ corporate influence first and healthcare second.

cause thse giant over complicated bills are going to give us the kitchen sink -- but not healthcare.

[RepublicanElephant]

4. k&r nt

[patrice]

5. Absolutely! - and that's not a word I use very often.

[Cleita]

6. Yep, we are going to have to work on it.

The good news is that publically financed campaigns and instant run off voting, which we also need, can be done at local level. They would never be passed by the Congress of millionaires that we have today.

[andym]

7. I wish it were so...

I think campaign finance reform might be a prerequisite, but there's still a great need to change popular culture to support the idea of large government programs. Where I live in CA, there's no problem, but across this country from the South, to the Mountain West and parts of the Midwest, there appears to be a large group of citizens who strongly believe in tax cuts (and no middle class tax increases of any kind) and small government. That needs to change if we want Medicare for All.

I was hoping that the public option would be large enough to undercut the insurers and out-compete them in both quality and price to help show everyone that the government can be better than private enterprise, but it looks like the program will be too small.