Health care reminder: We're all on the same side!

[fiorello]

This is from Steve Benen (via Paul Krugman's blog), and it's a great reminder:

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THE KIND OF DEBATE THAT'S LONG OVERDUE.... Maybe this is an esoteric point, but it occurs to me that the quality of the policy debate between competing progressive contingents is infinitely better and more interesting than the policy debate between Democrats and Republicans we witnessed over the last eight or nine months.
...
Much has been made this week of the often-intense dispute between activists and wonks -- progressive reform advocates who think the Democratic plan has merit and is worth passing, and progressive reform advocates who think the Democratic plan is a failure and should be defeated. It's an important dispute, with significant implications.

But notice the quality of the debate. Note that Howard Dean, Markos Moulitsas, much of the FireDogLake team and others are raising important questions and pointing to real flaws. At the same time, note that Ezra Klein, Jonathan Cohn, Nate Silver and others are offering meaningful defenses of the Democratic plan, based on substantive evaluations.

Progressive activists and progressive wonks are at each other's throats this week, but they want largely the same goals. Their differences are sincere and significant, but the intensity of their dispute is matched by the potency of their arguments.

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Personally I want to pass the bill - partly because I have a personal stake (family member with pre-existing condition), partly because I'm convinced by Nate Silver and Paul Krugman - I am most upset by the fine print that lets insurance companies sell across state lines (effectively overriding all state health care laws - please please cut this out!!!). But the main thing is to recognize that we are all on the same side in this.

Links:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_12/021506.php

from Krugman's blog comments:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/health-care-and-iraq/

Krugman's op-ed is discussed in another thread.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/opinion/18krugman.html?ref=opinion

[MNDemNY]

1. Sorry, this does more harm than good.

This bill, as it sits, must die.

[YOY]

2. +1

n/t

[Laelth]

3. Yes, our debate is intelligent and useful.

But this bill still stinks. Kill it.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Clio the Leo]

4. Here's a song my father and the rest of the old folks sang...

.... the last time the Dems passed legislation this significant. The song (as you can tell) comes out of the labor movement, but it was applicable then and it's applicable now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g

[BlueIdaho]

10. Some of us were there

Which is why we mourn the modern party's willingness to compromise away real change. During the civil rights movement there were plenty of well intentioned folks who told Dr. King and his followers they should settle for whatever they could get. After all, it was better than what they had. People marched and people died to pass the legislation that changed the face of America. Maybe that's why we are sad to see health care reform become an insurance regulation bill.

[natrat]

5. that's bullshit saying the politicians want the same thing as the us, complets bs

[freddie mertz]

6. The president told us all to fuck off.

The way I read that, I am not on his side anymore.

[HughMoran]

7. I agree, though the tone of the arguments is more in the mold of Left vs. Bush

We taken the anger against Bushco and used the same sort of inflammatory rhetoric against people who want essentially the same thing. It hasn't lead to a particularly constructive dialog - though even a screamfest gets the issue aired.

[Armstead]

8. Shut up you hosebag

Just kidding :)

[HughMoran]

9. .

:P