The Daily Background
| “Unacceptable”
by Arlen Parsa
That was MoveOn’s assessment of the latest heathcare compromise. They sent out a big email blast about it yesterday starting with the line “How could they?“
Oh brother. The latest compromise is of course, not unacceptable at all to the thousands of people whose lives it would save annually. Does it include a broad-based public option that anyone can buy into? No.
But it makes huge strides in covering the uninsured far and above what we have now. Great progress is only achievable incrementally. And this is the biggest incremental advancement we’ve seen since 1965.
Step back and think about it. Think about how this country operates. What in your past experience with the United States made anybody think that it was possible to go from having the system we have now to single payer overnight?
Some progressives need to realize this and, well, move on. Like Obama says, let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the achievable here. Besides, the conference committee with the House is only going to make the bill stronger if it all holds together. Let’s get this bill passed and work to strengthen it later. If we dawdle too long, it’ll all fall apart and delay another overhaul by another 15 years (and dramatically weaken Obama’s domestic agenda a la Clinton 1994).
Of course it is unacceptable. By the time they get done with this the only thing that will be left is money for the rich in some way shape or form
That?s more than senblsie! That?s a great post!