alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

July 4, 2009

I Happen to Have Howard Dean Right Here

by AltHippo @ 1:46 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

There’s an old adage that conflict sells. And, anyone who disagrees with the adage is just cruising for a bruising.

That’s why I think the Post is tweaking this story up. To sell newspapers.

Like when I got to this part: “Hoho KO’s Obama”. Okay, that’s not exactly what it says. A more accurate quote is:

Founded by former Vermont governor Howard Dean, Democracy for America argues that inclusion of a Medicare-style public option in health-care legislation is “non-negotiable.”

You’d get the impression that this noted liberal group is breaking with Obama on the issue of healthcare. I question this impression. A couple of weeks ago Howard Dean spoke at DC for Democracy, the local chapter of Democracy for America. Dean spoke at length about healthcare, but emphasized he was not talking about single payer, but what has become known as the “Public Option.” Certainly, Dean is supportive of Obama, as is DC for Democracy.

Being generally supportive doesn’t mean acting in a state of obeisance. So, if Obama is asking progressive groups to stop attack ads, I’m sure that groups such as DC for Democracy appreciate his viewpoint. They’re not going to change their stripes, however.

And just between me and you, I haven’t been impressed with Ceci Connelly’s recent work. Let’s just say that she’s been writing to the theme of progressives vs. Dems recently. You may recall this from Open Left, for instance:

When asking me about the Progressive Change Campaign Committee’s TV ads (which begin airing Monday in DC) holding Senate Dems accountable for taking millions from insurance interests and being on the verge of opposing a public option supported by 76% of Americans, Connolly would ask me ridiculous questions like, “Why are you attacking your friends? Wouldn’t you agree that these Democrats are better for you on most health care issues than Republicans?”

I had to patiently explain to her that the public option is the defining issue of the health care debate — if Senators like Baucus and Nelson aren’t with us on that, they are not our friends.

Going back over the wording it maybe that the phrase “Medicare-style” are what’s creating the apparent debate. That wording would elide Single Payer (”Medicare for all”) with the still evolving “Public Option.”

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One Response to “I Happen to Have Howard Dean Right Here”

  1. Beca Says:
    November 1st, 2009 at 8:50 am

    When did it become not OK to disagree with your ‘friends’? This sick concept promoted by the blood thirsty main stream media, that political parties are like sports teams, demanding the same crazed loyalty and crazed fan loyalty base as sports teams demand, erodes our democratic process into nothingness.
    The Health Care debate should not be a Democratic party vs the Republican party, as the media likes to portray it. And certainly we should not allow them to further erode it into Liberals Democratic members vs Progressive Democratic members vs Moderate Democratic members vs Conservative Democratic members. It’s not about that and we all know that. The health care debate is a war between us, the American people and the Corporatist cartel. That Republicans and some Blue Dogs decided to be owned by this cartel is almost insignificant, when we see the real teeth of our enemy.
    This is why it is important to call to the carpet those members of our own party who appear to have been pulled by the corporatist cartel–that doesn’t mean that there is a ‘rift within the party’, it just means that we are providing checks and balances and as such, we will call out those party members who veer away from our basic phylosophy, our basic premise of existence.
    On the issue of wording, how about using the term “Generic Health Insurance Plan” when speaking about the Public Option? Wouldn’t that help people understand what this is? wouldn’t this also debunk the opposition reasons of cost and driving the private insurance industry out of business?
    Most if not all people in this country know what a generic product is. They know that it is less expensive than their brand-name products, they know that the quality is the same, it just doesn’t have the frills a brand name has, they also know that no generic product has thus far over competed a brand name product out of the market. So how about it? why not call it the Generic Health Insurance Plan?

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