Many progressives, even though they’ve been working for a PO-based health care reform bill, have 1) never given up Medicare for All as the goal of their activity, and 2) decided, in the first quarter of 2009, that Medicare for All could not pass the new Congress. They then reacted to their realization by concluding […]
Entries from November 2009
What Might Have Been; What Still Might Be
November 22nd, 2009 · 5 Comments
Tags: Complexity · Epistemology/Ontology/Value Theory · Knowledge Management · Politics
Strategy, Tactics, and Movement Politics in Health Care Reform
November 19th, 2009 · Comments Off on Strategy, Tactics, and Movement Politics in Health Care Reform
It’s important to sharply distinguish strategy from tactics in health care reform. I think strategy is about your goal and overall orientation toward getting health care reform, while tactics are about the low-level things you do to get from point-to-point in getting the strategy implemented. Tactics are influenced by strategy in the sense that tactics […]
Tags: Politics
Kill It, It’s the Enemy of the Good
November 17th, 2009 · Comments Off on Kill It, It’s the Enemy of the Good
Absent a substantial change in direction by Congressional Leadership and the President, I think it’s time to do whatever progressives can to kill the health care reform legislation currently moving through Congress, and then to immediately reset to Medicare for All, single payer. As HR 3962 bill sits now, it’s worse than no bill at […]
Tags: Politics
Deficit Hawkism and National Suicide: Part Two
November 6th, 2009 · Comments Off on Deficit Hawkism and National Suicide: Part Two
As I wrote in Part One of this series, “deficit hawkism” is the ideology that prioritizes bringing tax revenues and Government expenditures into balance ahead of other far more essential national needs and priorities. Right now, deficit hawkism is becoming increasingly prevalent, and its expressions very strident. It’s not limited to Republicans, but is bipartisan. […]
Tags: Politics
Grayson Is Disingenuous Again
November 3rd, 2009 · Comments Off on Grayson Is Disingenuous Again
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Alan Grayson appeared on Keith Olbermann’s show this evening defending the House compromise health care reform bill presented last week by Nancy Pelosi. In a repeat performance of his interview on Ed Schultz’s show a few days back Alan gave us his interpretation […]
Tags: Politics
My Wife, Bonnie, Says: “Nancy’s Bill Needs An Amendment”
November 2nd, 2009 · Comments Off on My Wife, Bonnie, Says: “Nancy’s Bill Needs An Amendment”
On reading my evaluation of the “band-aid” period between 2010 and 2013, specified in Nancy Pelosi’s compromise bill, Bonnie commented: ”I think the House ought to include a special subsidy for the 31,000 families of uninsured people who will die annually from lack of insurance during the band-aid period, so that they can afford to […]
Tags: Politics
“The Only Show in Town”
November 2nd, 2009 · Comments Off on “The Only Show in Town”
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) is justly famous for saying that the Republican health care plan is for people to go ahead and die quickly when they get sick. But, a few days ago, in an appearance on Ed Schultz’s MSNBC show, he expressed […]
Tags: Politics
An Evaluation of Nancy’s Masterpiece: The Band-aid Period
November 1st, 2009 · Comments Off on An Evaluation of Nancy’s Masterpiece: The Band-aid Period
We’ll see many policy analyses and evaluations of Nancy Pelosi’s compromise health care reform bill as it gets closer to a final vote. This one won’t be thorough, since the bill is one of daunting length (1990 pages) and complexity, and I haven’t had the time to do a really detailed analysis. But I’ll do […]
Tags: Politics