Over the past few days, there’s been a great deal of moral protest, outrage, and even fury expressed at Firedog Lake and The Seminal about the “opt-out” compromise. The basis of the outrage is the idea that we all ought to stand together in health care reform, and insist on the idea of “everybody in, nobody out.” I’m all for that principle. It’s one of my mantras in health care reform. And I’m also all for moral outrage and even fury in the service of a good cause. But if we really all ought to stand together on the opt-out, and advocate for “everybody in, nobody out,” then:
Why shouldn’t we all stand together on enhanced Medicare for All?
Why shouldn’t we all stand together on a Jacob Hacker-style Public Option?
Why shouldn’t we all stand together to reject a House bill (HR 3200) that will leave 17 million uncovered?
Why shouldn’t we all stand together to reject a Senate Bill (the HELP Bill), that CBO has forecast will still leave 34 million uncovered?
None of these questions are intended as arguments for accepting the opt-out compromise now, and against standing together on the opt-out. What they are about instead are the following questions:
Why are we getting so morally outraged about the opt-out’s violation of “everybody in, nobody out,” now, when we didn’t get morally outraged when all these other compromises came down the pike?
And why don’t we get morally outraged now about all the previous “opt-out” compromises that have been made for nothing in return, except even more pushing from the right-wing to water down the reform?
What we need to do now is to get morally outraged at the whole legislative process up till now, and work to defeat everything “on the table” in Congress, and go back to square 1. And square 1 is enhanced Medicare for All. And the first thing we ought to do in the context of pushing that, is to seek a vote on S703, Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill, and, along the way, force a showdown on the filibuster and use the “nuclear option” to get the 60 vote nonsense off the table for good, so we can pass health care reform with a simple majority, and without the need for any deficit-neutral nonsense.
Again, I’m all for outrage, and even fury; but it needs to be directed toward the right things, and they are all the earlier outrages committed in this health care reform legislative process starting with taking Medicare for All, single-payer off the table.
”Everybody In, Nobody Out!
(Also posted at firedoglake.com where there may be more comments)