Let’s play a game, pass the public option buck… on the backs of women.
Nancy Pelosi has already allowed Bart Stupak to become the Henry Hyde of health care. As I’ve been writing for months now, Democrats with a majority and the presidency have chosen to make women’s full reproductive health care a bargaining chip, further solidifying that when it comes to compromises, women’s self-determination is always the easy bet, because no one is willing to take a stand for us. All of this on top of Speaker Pelosi’s craven collapse on the public option, even as Senate Democrats are daring her to include it in what she passes to the Senate. It makes no sense. The majority of Americans support the public option, so Pelosi would have plenty of cover.
If pointing fingers was an art, the current Democratic majority would win for creativity.
Speaker Pelosi will blame the Senate that the public option isn’t included; Sen. Durbin will blame Pelosi; and Pres. Obama will blame Congress.
That’s your Democratic party in action.
As for Mrs. Pelosi’s weird little Twitter event with the boys, any wonder why women aren’t present? I tweeted it here and here, then simply got disgusted. (This paragraph has been updated.)
Meanwhile, you’ve got unions and MoveOn.org threatening to target Democrats who won’t vote for the health care bill in Congress. So, you can add these groups into the mix of so called “progressives” willing to sell women out so we can give Pres. Obama his “historic win.”
The damage the current health care bill does is to further codify Hyde, as I’ve said innumerable times, further allowing weak and unprincipled Democrats to use women’s self-determination as a bargaining chip. Read this research if you’re unconvinced. Currently, states can assist poor women with reproductive aid, which the Senate bill would curtail. The disingenuous “conscience clause” is nothing more than an excuse for people to further limit women’s reproductive options under cloak of someone’s “conscience.”
Imagine that someone’s “conscience” thought separate but equal was actually correct. Would we protect that, too? Of course not, it’s just women who must compromise. Always. When will it stop? When abortion is turned back to the states completely, with Democrats now aiding that move backwards, without a single progressive standing up to say no, enough.
Why is it that it’s always the right-wing who “stands on principle” against women, without anyone on the left willing to do the same.
So, once again it’s Democrats arguing among themselves to hurt women’s reproductive choices. It hardly matters to Obama, Pelosi and the Democratic majority that women’s reproductive access becomes more difficult in the process.
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again. The bill Speaker Pelosi and Pres. Obama are calling “historic” is a very bad bill. Some are arguing that women will get benefits through the bill, down the line because Democrats are delaying the benefits of the bill until Obama’s safely re-elected president; arguing that these “benefits” make the bill important to middle and lower income women. Is that a trade off for having women’s self-determination further limited? Democrats are arguing it is, while maintaining feminists are wrong to stand against this bill. Many of these Democrats men. Isn’t it just like a “progressive” man to tell women what constitutes what’s good for women and what defines a “good” feminist.
It’s a bad bill. It’s doubly so for women.
If the HC bill that is passed doesn’t change the status of existing law on abortion and who pays for it, how is that selling women out? That you, and others, want abortion to be unrestricted and paid for with tax dollars is laudable. But unrealistic. Poor women will have their health care subsidized by this bill. Most of their health care except abortion at least. I don’t want my tax dollars used to fight illegal wars in far away places but that keeps happening. I guess none of us gets everything that we want in this life so we have to settle for the little that we do get. Peace
You are wrong on the facts, but it’s not like my repeating myself for the umpteenth time is going to make a dent.
There are already reasonable restrictions having to do with a woman’s responsibility via trimester limitations, which are acceptable.
State funds for abortions for poor women is legal in some states, which the current bill would challenge, further codifying Hyde. It’s more steps away from women’s full access to reproductive health care.
Like too many other men, you too think women should continue to sacrifice freedoms ALREADY WON.
Is exhaustion from the health care debacle,er debate, considered a pre-existing condition?
YES.
Following Pelosi’s all-male Twitter event was the end.
I guess we are all repeating ourselves. The reason we are not getting a PO is because Obama’s deal with the insurance companies is more important to him than the people who will benefit from a PO period.
But also because Congress won’t do their jobs as a competing body that is supposed to represent the people.
This is especially true for “the people’s House,” which Pelosi is mocking by what she’s done on the public option.
Aiding Obama, that’s Pelosi’s only goal, no matter what it costs everyone else.
TM NOTE: We are having all sorts of server issues today, which we are addressing currently, with In the News impacted as well. Thanks for your patience.
Dick Durbin, and the Senate are acting in bad faith. He knows there aren’t 51 vote for a PO, probably more like 40 or 45 tops. He also knows that the President has already made his deal, so how you can blame Nancy Pelosi for this is beyond me. People never seem to listen. Jello Jay and two-way Harkin have been acting in bad faith since this whole thing started.
I guess you’d rather see her buck the President, like Tip O’neill did Carter, eh? That seemed to work out really well.
Taylor:
This is crazy. What do we expect? Look, just as Netanyahu knows we don’t have the cohones to challenge him, Obama & Pelosi knows all we can do is bitch but then we will all fall in line like sheep and support their stinking health care bill anyway. That’s what we Democrats do; we are full of righteous indignation but we have no spine. Only Dennis Kucinich has the conviction to put his money where his mouth is. Congressional Democrats will ALWAYS find a way to swallow hard and cave at the last minute. They are weak.
The question persists: Is there anything a Congressional Democrat believes in strongly enough that s/he will not, cannot compromise on? I tell you if this bill wanted to bring back slavery or child labor these spineless bastards would cave and vote for it.
GaBuck says:
15 March 2010 at 1:39 pm
IT was never Pelosi. It was always Obama — THE BALD FACE LIAR.
He never wanted a public option, but he never had the guts to come right out and say so. So he settled for a set of rotating villains. There was always someone else to blame but him. God knows why they felt they had to protect him. Now it’s Pelosi’s turn to take the fall.
The fact is though there are a lot of blow-hards in the house who have been on TV talking up the PO and how much they loved and supported it for months now. Well. . . since the vote is so tight now is their chance to make a difference.
Where are they?
Why doesn’t Weiner come forward and do as Lieberman did a few months ago and state: “I will not vote for this bill unless there it includes a PO”
Where is Debbie Wasserman?
Heck, there is the whole so-called Progressive block.
I suppose they weren’t really serious.
Ramsgate says:
15 March 2010 at 1:54 pm
Right.
It’s pretty inconceivable to imagine how Dick Durbin would allow a vote on the PO when he and Harry Reid spent weeks whipping against it.
I think you can safely say that there is a lot of bad faith all around the caucus regarding the PO, beginning especially with the President.
Thanks for this post Taylor. I feel like when I watch the news and read many progressive blogs I’m being brainwashed to support something that my gut tells me is just all wrong. That Stupak and a bunch of Blue Dogs were able to hijack this bill for political purposes is an outrage and every woman should call Bart Stupak’s office and ask him why he has politicized this and why some lives are more important than others.
Why are all these conservative Bible-thumpers always given a free pass by the media when they are so shamelessly hypocritical and clearly prefer sidling up to Big Pharma and Insurance companies than getting average Americans a basic health care safety net? It doesn’t sound very “family values” to me.
Nurses have been advocating for single payer for years but they originally threw their support to Obama when he *originally* seemed open to the public option. Obama and the dems should have used more pro-public option health care groups from the very beginning instead of just one photo op. I hope the ANA and state organizations have been lobbying members of Congress. Granted, us nurses don’t have as much money to throw around as Big Pharma.
The whole “well something is better than nothing” should be the Democrats new motto because that’s how pathetic and uninspired they truly are. They have both houses of Congress and the WH and they couldn’t lead a bunch of ants across a picnic table…
So, because Democrats are weak and don’t lead, they will be suddenly been seen as strong and show leadership by killing this bill?? Do you want them to start over? If that happens, you won’t see ANY reform.
There are good things in this bill. Even if it JUST stopped pre-exisitng conditions, it would be a bill worth passing. For those expecting a better bill: It was never going to happen. I understand the frustration with the dems and the PO. They certainly screwed this up, but it’s not a failure (unless it doesn’t pass).
I just don’t get the mentatlity on this forum. ::shrug::
Jennifer says:
15 March 2010 at 2:40 pm
I just don’t get the mentatlity on this forum. ::shrug::
It’s not just this forum, it only seems that way sometimes. A good many of the folks that post here didn’t support Barack Obama in the primaries; therefore, he gets no slack here. The same is true of Dems in general lately.
Yes, this bill is better than nothing I suppose, but that’s pretty weak tea compared to what might have been, had the will been there in the first place. Pols are Pols as Big Tent democrat would say, its simply a waste of time to fall in love with them, because sooner, or later, they will all lie to you. Of the 40 odd Senators who signed the Bennett letter for a PO vote in the Senate, probably better than half signed because they knew leadership was whipping against it. House Dems are no better in that respect.
Taylor, is obviously opposed to the bill, believing that its not only bad policy (which I’m in general agreement with) but bad politics as well, which I’m not so sure about. but I do agree that its an odd position to take that killing the bill and starting over is good leadership.
Jennifer says:
15 March 2010 at 2:40 pm
“It was never going to happen.”
On this point I definitely beg to differ. One does not begin negotiating by giving away the store.
In any case, the problem is this the place where Democrats ALWAYS END UP — Between a rock and a hard place. If THEY follow their convictions in the beginning, they would not have to do what is expedient at the end.
Moreover, Democratic politicians nowadays believe in nothing, and as such they are not prepared to fight for anything but their own political skins. That is why — women’s rights, public option, Medicare for all, you name it, they can all fall by the wayside, they don’t give a damn.
There are no grand causes anymore. It’s all about money & getting themselves re-elected.
This behavior will never stop until we stop enabling them.
Ramsgate: “In any case, the problem is this the place where Democrats ALWAYS END UP — Between a rock and a hard place.”
Yes, and they’re so good at it they bring their own rocks while positioning themselves in front of a brick wall.
Ramsgate: “This behavior will never stop until we stop enabling them.”
Absolutely agree. They certainly aren’t going to hold themselves accountable.
The notion that passing this sorry excuse for HC bill is still some sort of victory is absolutely pathetic. Call me naïve, or Pollyanna, or whatever else you think fits, but I voted for Obama because I thought he might make a difference. He’s a smart guy, with lots of charisma, and I still believe a heart that’s in the right place. What I didn’t understand about him is that he doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to be the leader our nation needs.
The HC bill in its present form is just bad legislation. It attempts to forward the idea that small incremental gains are still progress, but it does this while moving backward on certain key issues. How any self-respecting democrat can support a bill without a public option or one that negatively impacts women’s access to reproductive care is beyond me.
We need a real leader. If President Obama was anything like the person who I thought I was voting for, he would square up with the American people. Regardless of what support he may get from either side of the Congress, he would look us in the eye and honestly state his position. He would open a real dialog about we as a people need and want, and he’d stop playing party appeasing politics.
We need a president who will bring us to share in a common vision and strive to bring it about, not because its popular, but because it’s right!
__________________________
Dave Paulson
http://www.thinkersjam.com
I think, therefore I jam
Dave Paulson says:
15 March 2010 at 3:54 pm
Perfect.
Taylor, I guess you felt that the Democrats were the last great hope for women’s rights. Yeah, they talk a good game but I’ve always felt the Democrats were no better than the Republicans in this regard. That’s why when I voted for John McCain in the last election, I knew women couldn’t fare any worse. I knew that Obama, Reid and Pelosi had no real convictions about anything–certainly not women’s issues. And what really cued me in that women could be sold out by Dems was the treatment of Hillary Clinton during the last election cycle.
Why women stand by the Democratic party and not hold their feet to the fire, I’ll never know. Ladies, it’s your own fault. Don’t cry now! It’s almost as if Dem women have some form of the Stockholm syndrome and until they can break with the past, women’s concerns will never be a priority.
Dave Paulson says:
15 March 2010 at 3:54 pm
Word.
…and welcome.
Jennifer says:
15 March 2010 at 2:40 pm
Hi Jennifer and thanks for the query.
Democrats are going to take it in November anyway, with the problem being that it’s a very bad bill, with the people around here caring about policy more than a politician who doesn’t have the spine to do what the majority of Americans want.
The other issue many find insulting is that the public wants a public option, so Democrats & Obama have them on their side, but they’re being ignored.
The people on this thread are trying to save Democrats from themselves, because they know the people will not reward them if this bill is passed.
The people on this thread want a public option and are willing to fight to keep the Dem party standing for something besides the politicians who keep selling them out.
The people on this thread aren’t suckers that support someone just because they have a “D” behind their name; same goes for bad policy. These people are smart.
At least that’s what I’ve learned from the people commenting here, as well as thru emails from lurkers. I don’t pretend to speak for them.
Great post. The chipping away of womens reproductive rights is a completely nauseating situation that “progressives” continue to tolerate. It does not deserve to pass.
Thanks Barb… and AMEN.
I guess, Taylor. They may be smart, just not realistic. I don’t blindly follow those with a D, but I’ve yet to see a decent Republican, save former Govenor Hunstman.
You didn’t convince me, I still don’t get the mentatlity. Oh well.