I idled the better part of my week's vacation in the blissful remoteness of Southwest Missouri, trying my best, as they say, to forget it all. It was an unchallenging task. In that hilly -- hillbilly -- environ, the locals content themselves with shipping off the same congressman every two years merely to vote "No" on everything of possible progress; modernity is unwelcome there, except, of course, in its satellite and cable TV manifestations, which during my stay regularly ushered the news of Secret Service snafus and rather ungraceful golf-pro getaways.
Other than those intrusions into my peaceful consciousness, as far as I knew the outside world was stumbling along precisely and reliably as before. So it was with no little disquiet when, upon my return to that world, I opened the news to find, in a lede by the Associated Press, that in the U.S. Senate's endless pondering of health-care reform "the 60 votes aren't there any more [sic]."
What had I missed? When were the 60 votes there, let alone more than 60? As it turned out, though, indeed, nothing had changed. The AP was only referring to the 60 votes to proceed with ceaseless debate.
The "Democratic coalition," reported the AP in a stunning attempt to find some news, "is fracturing already" -- some of its parts "say they'll jump ship" on any disagreeable abortion language and other parts "say they'll go" if a public option isn't intact and in general "there's no clear course" for passage.
To wit, nothing had changed. All, I thought, was still boorishly right with the world: The U.S. Senate is still selfishly divided and still hopelessly deadlocked. The 60 votes to move any vital legislation aren't there today, they weren't there yesterday, they won't be there tomorrow.
For now, assigning blame for this paralytic state of affairs is pointless. Sure, Republicans persist in seeing minority governance as a purely obstructionist game, Democrats continue to wander in the wilderness of disunity, and the brooding, balance-determining Joe Lieberman still dictates to the Senate out of childish revenge. But, it is what it is.
And "it" is about to get worse.
As the NY Times' Prescriptions Blog noted over the weekend, Majority Leader Harry Reid has asked each of his Democratic colleagues to limit their health-bill amendments to one, since each amendment is subject to time-consuming Congressional Budget Office analysis and, naturally, "Any amendment lacking the support of 60 senators can be filibustered."
Yet one Democratic senator said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he alone has "about 10 separate amendments" to propose, and others, collectively, possess bundles of amendments on matters ranging from the titanically controversial -- e.g. abortion and immigration provisions -- to the politically insignificant, such as federal funding for "new medical residency slots."
What's more, noted the Prescriptions Blog, "all the cost projections for the health care bill will have to be updated by the spring, to reflect new budget figures." By the time the Senate could possibly, actually pass a bill, Republicans -- among whom I would count Mr. Joe "Sixty" Lieberman -- will claim none of its numbers means anything, so they had best start from scratch.
But probably consuming more time than anything will be a barren debate over a variety of useless public-option provisions -- let us allow states to opt out; no, let them opt in; no, let's trigger the poor battered thing to oblivion -- culminating in a filibustered extravaganza because, again, as the AP breathlessly revealed to absolutely no one's edification, the 60 votes aren't there.
Ah, but the voters will be outraged over the lack of a public plan, you say? They'll really give those senators and their conspiring House members what for in 2010? They demand a public option and by God they'll have one?
Well, think again. For as the Times also reported over the weekend, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll a couple of weeks ago and found that among supporters of health-care reform, "only 2 percent cited the public option" as their "main reason" for support. At about the same time a Kaiser Family Foundation survey discovered that even self-identified Democrats ranked a public option "seventh in importance, far behind 'affordability' and 'accessibility' of medical care."
I regretfully submit that the public has come to care little about any of this. Which leads me to suspect a related downer: The electorate's turnout in 2008 was essentially a hissy fit, less eagerly pro-change than vociferously anti-Bush.
I further suspect that Congress suspects that, too, so it'll continue stumbling along, divided and deadlocked on everything from health care to climate bills to job creation.
I didn't miss a thing.
Buzz this on Buzzflash.net
"only 2 percent cited the public option"
We know that it's impossible for more than 50% of Americans to have below average mentality ......... so let's just say 98% appear to be below what we'd hoped is average.
How the heck did all those other countries end up with rational health care systems ......... more advanced political and educational systems, or better genetics?
Welcome Back to Carpy's Daily Suicide Notes!
Carpy,
You are pathetically depressing, as usual. All you offer is hopelessness and dispair.
When are you going to stop writing practice suicide notes in Buzzflash and finally finish yourself off?
But when you do, please do the world a favor. Off yourself in "the blissful remoteness of Southwest Missouri" so that your carcass can become rodent food. Then your life would have had meaning.
Meanwhile back from Carpy depression land, progressive websites like this one are not giving up! They have drawn a line in the sand on a legitimate public option and are indeed taking effective action!
yep. His vacation was mine as well.
giddy with delight at his own side's struggles ain't the type of blog post of which I clamor for more. I didn't see him; I didn't miss him. Time to take the active approach to that adage.
Cause and Effect
Well Carp, I see a week sniffing pine has recharged you to do what you do best--be the bearing of bad tidings and doom and gloom. You must have really been Jonesing, going a full week without proclaiming the death of the public option. However, you may well be right about it. Never underestimate the ability of democrats to fuck up a good thing.
The president--THE PRESIDENT--OUR PRESIDENT--OBAMA--was the one who wanted to allow Max Baucas to string this thing out all summer in hopes of a bi-partisan pipedream. Now, the senate schedule is completely fucked and they are hopelessly behind, and that is on HIM--no other.
Harry Reid is unwilling or unable to provide even one iota of leadership in corraling his caucas. I get e-mails from Blanche Lincoln every other day with her crowing about her new chairmanship of the Agri ctte fer chrissake! Has he even put that on the table as a bargaining chip? Lieberman at Homeland Sec? If you can't hold your party together on procedural votes you have ANARCHY. What is Obama doing to help Reid on this?
But to get to a strategic point about the dems losing power in 2010, it could well happen. In the latest Research 2000 poll repugs are overwhelming motivated to vote while dems feel lethargic about it. Hmmm...wonder why that is. It couldn't be that Obama governs like a moderate republican and Harry Reid runs the senate like a mollusk. No, that type of cause-and effect is too rational and logical to understand.
No, according to the brilliant mind of The Carp, progressives performed a mass hissy fit in 2008, and having rid themselves of that messy emotion and a hated dunderheaded president, are now free to sit back in a symbiotic state of simplistic stuporosity while the newly energized conservatives run roughshod.
Carp, until you begin to understand cause-and-effect, you will make one lousy analyst. You know what you see in front of your eyes but you have no clue why you see it.
Obama and the dems have left the base and are governing like corporatists. Whether the issue be the banks or the health care bill or the war. When analying why the dems get blown out in 2010, there is no other cause and effect worth mentioning.
Not all the Dems have left the base
Only the Blue Dog DINO-Fascists have left, and they really never were with the base to begin with.
We need to vote them out of office next year during the Democratic Primaries and replace them with truly progressive candidates who will represent WE THE PEOPLE, instead of the upper 1% plutocracy and their multinational corporations.
Went Native, PM?
First, let's disabuse you of your backwoods blindness: I regretfully submit that the public has come to care little about any of this ... The electorate's turnout in 2008 was essentially a hissy fit, less eagerly pro-change than vociferously anti-Bush. The people of the Missouri backwoods do not represent the nation at large!
What the national public cares nothing for is yet another disappointment! The Democrats have proven to be poor stewards of the public trust, and deserve to lose power next year.
But last year, before their true colors were revealed, there really was reason for hope. Change in control had come and there was reason to believe that many pressing needs would be addressed. But as Obama let yet another softball lob fall to the ground as if too hot to touch, more of us went back to the sidelines and began again to search for proper representation. That hardly indicates that we no longer care about the issues at hand.
You really should look at some of the other articles BuzzFlash presents around yours before you display your prowess with that warped backwoods long rifle. You might discover how badly Obama has failed us. Just yesterday, David Michael Green and Michael Moore each launched salvoes at Obama's shortcomings, joining those already in action: Colbert King joins Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert already deeply engaged. Today, Robert Parry and John Nichols unlimber and aim toward the Oval Office. I hardly feel that their J'accuses merit a Republican-style sniffling dismissal as the people coming not to care about any of this.
For we do care, and deeply, and we are all saddened and discouraged to face the truth that our elected representation is working so hard against us for the benefit of those who would enslave us. It means that the last two years' effort went for nought and that we must again rise up angry. Only this time, we are better prepared for the battle having tasted treachery and defeat. We won''t be fooled again, and woe betide anyone who stands between us and the realization of true change.
So pick the ticks off your brain and stash the shootin' iron. There's work to be done.
you forgot Dave Lindorff
http://blog.buzzflash.com/lindorff/297
People are finally noticing the FauxBama manchurian emperor has no clothes.
Sadly, way too late.