Despite all the gloom and doom following Scott Brown's win in MA, it dawned on me...... maybe Teddy isnt that upset afterall. Why?
He won't have a healthcare plan that could potentially be named for him that doesn't cover all Americans. He won't have to witness a health care plan that appeals only to the politics of the problem, not the policy issue and certainly not the human aspect. He won't have to witness a health care plan that has little reform for the real devil: health insurance companies. He won't have to see that the politics of the possible means that the leadership elected to reform things in large numbers in 2008 have left that fire on the sidelines, and instead sacrificed that mantle to a bunch of lunatic tea baggers, who have no idea what the hell they are talking about.
Brown's win may be the end of the current health plan. I don't plan on shedding a tear in regard to that. If Obama and the Dems want to take control of this and save themselves, they must start over in small, digestible steps. First, cover all Americans with Medicare over 55. Simple to understand, easy to digest. And a no vote by the GOP is easily understood. Then insurance reform. By itself. Then, each step along the way, divide and conquer.
Obama is being killed in this matter because he tried to do too much in the context of one bill. It must be more easily understood. The same goes for EVERY bill that must be passed. Lets face it: the electorate is not that sophisticated. We may sit here and debate the ins and outs of health policy and the advantages of cap and trade all day long. But we are the small minority. The rest of the country does not give a flying you know what. They only want to be for or against something. It is not dumbing anything down. In fact, the elegance of any bill is in its simplicity. We have allowed the inside the beltway crowd to write our bills. NO MORE. It IS time to take the mantle back. F... all of these Washington D.C supposed genius's. Their time is over. People, in many ways this could be the best thing that has happened to us.
I don't think Teddy will be sad at all with tonights win. Especially if it wakes us all the hell up. 3 years of the GOP in Massachusetts is not that long and it just may save us all. We have seen what is possible with our complacency. It was inevitable. We went along with the DC crowd as good Democratic soldiers. No more. Does anyone think that single payer would have been any easier or harder to pass? We would be exactly where we are. And the voters could understand: if this bill passes, I get insurance!! NO ONE KNOWS THAT NOW. And as a result, we are now losing to an opponent who posed in Playgirl magazine. WTF!!!!
We have now seen what happens when we, the grass roots deliver a victory to our party how we must not give that mantle to the inside the beltway crowd who could give two shits about us, unless they need us to get elected or to raise money.
We still have large majorities. We still have power. And we must all now, in the name of Teddy Kennedy WAKE THE HELL UP.