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I know a lot of people had a great deal of "hope" that Obama could be OUR version of Runny Rayguns, the guy who crossed the ideological divide and made us all one people again and "ended the cold war" and all that nonsense. (Nice to know that ol' Gorby didn't deserve at least a nod for his contributions, eh?)
I called "bullshit" and didn't make any bones about it. We're too far gone now. Any semblance of civility and decency in the political waters is like chum to the sharks. The nicer we are, the meaner they get. Birther racists, "Death Panel" weirdos, "Tree of Liberty" water-carriers, sobbing pundits, and the infamous drug-addicted fat man. Not to mention the "Ten Fingers of Stupidity" and Anthrax Coultergeist weighing in with their frantic yapping.
There is no "post-partisanship." Hell, there's no "bi-partisanship." There's only one compromise the wrong wing will accept and that's abject surrender. Their owners, the long arm of corporate America, seemingly have their hands up the asses of a sizable number of Democrats (the so-called "blue dogs") and are even now getting them to chant the corporate mantra "Show us the MONEY." Single-payer, the only reform that would actually solve our crisis, is all but dead in the water, and the people allegedly working for us are apparently trying to figure out how to kill the "public option" without shooting their future careers in the head in the process.
I said during the primaries that I thought Obama was too status quo and too naive. So far events haven't exactly proved me wrong. He went in thinking he could play nice and play fair with a bunch of rabid dogs, ignoring the foaming mouths and frenzied barking, and is now recoiling in horror as he realizes exactly what he got himself into. People think he's playing chess, but I don't see much sign of it. Even with the Republican party as far on the outs as they are likely to get while still remaining remotely viable as a political force, anything resembling REAL reform is dying on the vine because no one with real visibility has the political courage to fight for it.
Even Dr. Dean, a man I admire greatly in many respects, tossed single-payer on the trash heap and is fighting the good fight for just the public option.
As I've said before, either our Democratic congress-critters don't know anything about negotiation, or they've sold us out from the get-go. The question is whether or not Obama will sign something as ultimately toothless as the blue dogs would like to put in front of him, something that will address none of the real problems and perform much like a bandaid slapped on a arterial wound.
I'm hoping he won't, but looking around at what's going on, I'm afraid he will. And everyone who argued that we shouldn't expect too much will be as much to blame as the sell-soul blue dogs and their lobbyist friends. We should have all stood together and asked for--no, demanded--the absolute MOST we could possible have gotten. Instead, many of us threw ourselves to the ground and groveled like abused puppies, peeing all over ourselves hoping that maybe, just maybe, we might get a treat. Like a health care reform package that didn't suck sewage.
Well, the jury's still out. Maybe we'll luck out and it won't be a giveaway to the insurance industry. And maybe Santa will bring me a space cruiser for Christmas this year.
As if.
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