Sack Up Already, Democrats

Krugman:

The real risk is that health care reform will be undermined by “centrist” Democratic senators who either prevent the passage of a bill or insist on watering down key elements of reform. I use scare quotes around “centrist,” by the way, because if the center means the position held by most Americans, the self-proclaimed centrists are in fact way out in right field.

While driving this morning I was listening to somebody absolutely rip the insurance companies a new one on NPR. Just blistering them. What brave Democrat could this be, I thought?

Republican Joe Fucking Barton:

Yes. Smokey Joe Barton. Stopped clocks, blind squirrels, etc, but still. I offer this as an example of the rule that it does not take a great deal of intelligence to notice when someone is fucking you over. And America is starting to catch on that it's not going to get better, and people are getting pissed off, because we elected you to fix this, not to take a backseat in terms of advocacy to people like Barton. So quit acting like you're surprised it's this hard, and quit bitching that it's difficult for you politically, and FIX IT, because collectively, we are sick of your whining, and we have been here before, and it wasn't fun, and we're not interested in doing it again. Knock it off.

A.

Comments

[virgotex]

Ironic, since Barton's anti-regulatory actions have likely put hundreds of folks in the hospital due to pollution laden air in north Texas.

[pansypoo]

but you are talking about roots. amerika likes pruning, not planting.

so, WHY should ewe let these companies take our money and not GIVE us what they say they would?

[spocko]

They listen to the people who have the money. The lobbyists from the insurance companies. Not to the people who voted them in.

[Susie Madrak]

I don't know. There's something about politicians in general that seems to just shut down on empathy, maybe so they won't feel overwhelmed by people's needs.

Just as I said to my ex-husband's oncologist who wouldn't stop by his hospital room while he was dying, "That's the job you signed on for. Get over it, or go do something else."

[hoppy]

Don't you wish Americans were as involved and willing to work for what 72% of us want as Iranians are? If we are to succeed at this we will have to make things uncomfortable for the foot dragging senators, for the insurance companies, for the AMA, the pharmaceutical companies, and for lazy Americans in general. One way to do that is huge public demonstrations. A much better way is a one day general strike. The odds on that ever happening in our somnolent nation of sheep are about zero.

[Lex]

OT: A., did you see Dodd has come out, so to speak, in favor of gay marriage?

[Athenae]

Lex, I saw that! Had a post to go up later. :)

A.

[Ghost of Joe Liebling's Dog]

"Sack Up Already, Democrats" -- seems to me we've been saying that since January 2001 at the least.

They didn't for six years of being a minority Congress, they didn't for two years of being a majority Congress, and they haven't this year either.

Sack, ain't-got-none Democrats. I wish they did.

What could possibly be so scary and awful about advocating something that not only virtually all of your own party are loudly in favor of, but a big damn chunk of the opposition party -- and both of them trust you to do a better job on than the other party?

Instead, we have Diane To Be Candid With You, I'm Far Too Wealthy To Care Feinstein and a big, happy band of roll over, play dead, pee-in-the-air puppies hell-bent on demonstrating their bottom-of-any-heap status in the political/social heirarchy ...

Three quarters! of the country wants a "public option" and Die Fie and her friends want to play slow-no, can't really, in all candor, see that the votes are there for it.

Jesus.

[pansypoo]

we need BETTER democrats, not corpocrats.