If there's a single flaw among those of us on the left side of the aisle, it's that we tend to think of things as being frozen in time... that feeling which tells us that which is apparent at the moment is how it shall be, and wurrah wurrah wurrah if things aren't exactly as we'd like them.
Relax.
Health Care Reform will happen. It's like the old proverb goes...
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.
Now, mark my words... no way does the current bill in the Senate become law unless and until the "mandate" portion is stricken. If it's not pulled out by Senate Majority Leader Harry "Has Anyone Seen My Spine?" Reid, and the Senate somehow manages to pass the bill, it will be yanked out during the Conference Committee. Basic fairness dictates that you cannot force people to buy a product (aside from the Constitutional issues) and then restrict their choice as to where they can buy it. So those of you who are running around in circles biting at your own ankles because of the "mandate" can just take a seat, put some salve on those bite marks, and relax. Wait and see.
The process isn't over. It's barely begun. This is something that has been attempted in one form or another for decades. And the fact that there aren't enough Senators who care more for their constituents' well-being than they do for the big bags with the dollar signs on them that the insurance companies deposit in their accounts will continue to be an obstacle.
If you're gonna blame President Obama for anything, it would be fair to blame him for tackling HCR during a time of record unemployment. But he allowed things to get to this point, so backing down now will be seen as a failure and as weakness and will open the door wide for the same robber baron legislators we threw out in '06 and '08.
So, take that chill pill. Make some egg nog. Put on some Christmas music and turn on the tree. Look at the pretty, flashing lights. Relax. (Or, for my non-observing friends, observe the Solstice, light the Menorah, or do that which makes you feel peace and one with the universe!)
IF the Senate somehow manages to pass this monstrosity, the House will either strip the horrible portions from it or kill it there. Then, the House and Senate can do what majorities are SUPPOSED to do (and WOULD do if the GOP were still in charge). They will pass the portions of reform (like Medicare buy-in, etc.) that CAN pass on an up or down vote in the Senate WITHOUT 60 votes.
We may get it piecemeal, but we will get Health Care Reform.
Now, as to the future. Any Democrat who sits on his or her ass during the next election cycle -- SHAME ON YOU! This whole episode goes to show why we need MORE involvement, not LESS! Do you think that showing your dissatisfaction for Obama's efforts so far by staying home on Election Day 2010 will make things BETTER? Don't be an idiot!
Progressives should be more motivated now than ever! We should be righteously angry... not just at Obama... but at everyone who has been standing in the way of actual reform. We should marshal our forces to mount primary challenges to give voters a choice between PRETEND Democrats like Baucus and Lincoln and Nelson and the despicable Lieberman, and we should start NOW!
We need to communicate better. We need to be more aggressive. Just like we did in '88 and '00 and '04, we're letting the GOP define the message. We can't count on the Main Stream Right Wing Media to tell the story. WE have to tell it. We have to buy the ad time. We have to be ACTIVE. We need to SHOW people -- those who are in the middle or only marginally involved in politics that it ain't OUR fault they're not getting health care reform that they want. The Public Option is WILDLY popular! We need to start NOW telling everyone and anyone that we TRIED to give the voters what they clearly asked for in 2008, but four senators stood in our way. The House did its job, but the Senate failed! We have a 60-vote majority, but unless all 60 Democrats (or those who caucus with them) ACT like Democrats, those numbers are useless. We need to POUND on this message, that it took four senators to stall the clearly expressed will of the majority. We need to call them out and replace them when possible. And we need to make our majority STRONGER and MORE PROGRESSIVE!
If the GOP takes control or lessens our majorities in 2010 because we're acting like sullen teenagers, then what happens after that will be OUR fault... not theirs.
UPDATE: I included this in the comments below, but it bears repeating here...
I AM talking about fighting for what's right. The difference is, you want to score an automatic touchdown without ever even getting your hands on the ball.
Conditions are what they are. It is not Obama's fault that there are 4 Senators who stand in the way. What would you have him do? Publicly KNEECAP them on the steps of the Capitol?
The thing to do is to get what you can, replace the obstructionists, make it better next time, the time after that and the time after that.
I have Parkinson's disease. I've had it for 10 years. I walk with a walker and work from home because I am less mobile every day. I had to wait for 8 years to finally get a President and a Congress that was agreeable to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. It's probably too late to do anything for ME, but it's NOT too late for those who will come after me.
I did not rant and fret and fume and refuse to support Democrats because there weren't enough of them to thwart the GOP Religiofascist superstition about "snowflake babies." Electing MORE Republicans because I was pissed at the inability to get proper funding for ESCR would NOT have been helpful.
We need to start thinking in the long term here.