Healthcare: First They Came for the Banksters

[Joanne98]

With apologies to Pastor Niemoeller:

First they came for the banksters, and showered them with money and put them in the Administration in a way that was not change we could believe in.


Then they came for the military industrial complex, and sent more and more of our children to die in faraway lands that had never attacked us in a way that was not change we could believe in.

And now they've sold out our hope for a national health care system not run by millionaire gangsters in suits. And who is left to speak for us?

President Obama is playing the Bill Clinton game of throwing people a bone and telling them it's steak. Perhaps he's doing it because he thinks it's his only choice; perhaps it's because he's surrounded himself with Bill Clinton advisors (and Hillary as Secretary of State); whatever the reason, while it worked for Clinton, it won't work for Obama.

It worked for Reagan, and for the first Bush, and even worked somewhat for George W. Bush.

But it won't work anymore. Here's why.

From 1929 until the 1980s, most Americans were "high information voters." They were paying attention to politics. The Republican Great Depression of 1929-1938, World War II, the Korean War, Kennedy's election, and the War in Vietnam were all Big Events that caused Americans to pay attention. Americans of that era needed to know what was up in Washington, DC, because they felt the consequences directly.

This is why in November of 1954, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a letter to his John Bircher brother Edgar, "Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

The voters knew. Even as late as 1977, when George W. Bush ran for Congress from Texas on a nearly singular platform of privatizing Social Security, he lost badly. The voters knew.

Then came Reagan. He seemed so nice. He talked friendly. At the very minute - to the second - that he put his hand on the bible to be sworn in, those nasty Iranians let go the hostages they'd been holding (a kidnapping that had so humiliated the Carter administration that Carter lost the election).

America was once again a "shining city on the hill" and even though there were a few small invasions, Panama and Grenada and all, and a small recession, and a few S&L bank failures, mostly people lost interest in politics. TV was going big, home entertainment was huge, blockbuster movies were coming onto the big screen, and America was prosperous. Americans partied on cheap debt. We went to sleep. It was the beginning of the era of the "low information voter."

During the 1980s, the right wing was working hard. Reagan stopped enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and most of the media Americans consumed was consolidated in the hands of about a dozen very conservative-leaning corporations. Top tax rates were cut from over 70 percent to around 30 percent, so salaries at the top exploded, including those of the stars on TV...including the "news" stars.

The newly-rich TV news people began to hang out with the becoming-fabulously-rich business people, never again criticizing them because they now worked and played together and were members of the same clubs and their kids went to the same best schools. Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous became our new religion, "greed is good" our new mantra.

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/Healthcare-First-They-Cam-by-Thom-Hartmann-091217-831.html

[midnight]

1. This is really good Joanne....

Greed is good or money trumps peace?

[scubadude]

2. Thom, much of the bulk is correct, the conclusion is wrong.

In writing this article, you have made a huge assumption. You assume that President Obama wants what is right, as in old style Democratic liberalism. I argue that the President holds views much closer to the Republicans than to those old style Dems.

What the President and the rest of the Democrats are doing is what the Republicans have done for a long time. They put a face on what they do, claim it is for your benefit, and rake in the corporate donations. Clearly the parties are closer together in results than they ever have been before. Use Bill Clinton's years as a guideline and the result of that. Look how many of those guys are in important positions within the current administration. Look at the Republicans that are in important positions for that matter.

One might argue that there are differences within the parties and use as example the fact that there will be no support for the health care bill from the Republicans. That is true, but that is their face. That is their face.

Of course there are a few old fashioned hold outs amongst the Dems, but even they bow down when required. Half loafers indeed. So, when you compromise away your beliefs, what have you become? I say two sides of the same coin.

So, will putting lipstick on a pig work for President Obama? Only time will show how fierce the Republican opposition is in the next election cycle. My guess is it won't be be nearly as strong as it would have been if he governed as real Democrat.


Scuba

[Laelth]

3. I fear your conclusion is more accurate than the OP's.

If so, the Obama Administration has been very successful, indeed.

Kill the bill.

Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the answer to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness.

:dem:

-Laelth

[wuvuj]

4. 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/fool+me+once,+shame+on+you%3B+fool+me+twice,+shame+on+me.html

Idiom Definitions for 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'

This means that you should learn from your mistakes and not allow people to take advantage of you repeatedly.