Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Hyperbole + Myopia + Political Stunts = Moving Backwards
I am sure anyone reading this has probably seen the news about protestors holding a sit-in at Governor Bredesen's office.
Sharon Cobb, whose work I respect a good deal, has been the mouthpiece of the protestors thus far.
Now, I feel it important to point out that I am a proud liberal and a proud Democrat. I believe that we are the party and the political persuasion that has always stood up for the little guy and protected the best interests of all the people over the interests of a select few.
In this case, though, the protestors have let their narrow-minded hatred of Phil Bredesen get in the way of what is best for the people who stand to lose their health care. By having this sit in, the protestors made two miscalculations:
1) They assumed they would be arrested as soon as they walked in. How silly. First of, the Capitol is a public building, and unless you are being violent or disruptive, you're welcome to stay. Plus, are they so blond as to think that Gov. Bredesen would just frog-march someone in a wheelchair out the front of the Capitol himself? These people have blinded themselves to the reality that the Governor was faced with a lose-lose choice and he chose the option he believed would hurt the fewest people. If TennCare was allowed to continue, the state would simply not have been able to stand under the weight of the program. That would have damaged social services for Tenneseans from DCS to Education to public safety. No one, including the Governor or any of his staff, want to take away people's insurance. And it sucks. It sucks that many people will be left without health care. But honestly, it sucks that Hillary Clinton's health plan was shot down in 1993 that would have avoided situations like this.
2) They assume that by attacking Bredesen politically, he will be forced to cave to their demands. By resorting to ridiculous hyperbole that they will "die at the hands of Phil Bredesen" and other nonsense, these enrollee advocates only serve to set their cause back. What on earth do you think Van Hilleary would have done with TennCare? Do you think he would have held meetings and tried to reduce the number of enrollees cut? No way. He would have cut the program as fast as possible, blamed poor people for not pulling themselves up out of poverty with the word of God. By working to weaken Bredesen instead of saving health care for as many enrollees as possible, they only provide an opening for people who would rather make life a lot harder on poor people around the state. I feel sure that many of you were the people who thought it would be fun to vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because Al Gore wasn't liberal enough for you - $1,000,000,000,000 in debt and increased tax burdens on the poor later, and, you'd think folks would have figured out that when you try to hurt Democrats who aren't left enough for you, you get stuck with some damned Republican.
So, protestors, it's time to stop complaining about how you're being treated in this sit-in and start acting in a real way on behalf of the people who need it: average enrollees. Instead of wasting airtime making demands for clergy to visit the protestors, start talking about how you would keep more enrollees on without bankrupting the state. Instead of making the ridiculous comparison between your voluntary protest and the crap that goes on in U.S. prison camps, why don't you show us how to fix TennCare and save people's lives?
Till then, you are spinning your wheels, losing valuable time, and setting back your cause and the cause of poor and middle-class Tennesseans for years to come.
Sharon Cobb, whose work I respect a good deal, has been the mouthpiece of the protestors thus far.
Now, I feel it important to point out that I am a proud liberal and a proud Democrat. I believe that we are the party and the political persuasion that has always stood up for the little guy and protected the best interests of all the people over the interests of a select few.
In this case, though, the protestors have let their narrow-minded hatred of Phil Bredesen get in the way of what is best for the people who stand to lose their health care. By having this sit in, the protestors made two miscalculations:
1) They assumed they would be arrested as soon as they walked in. How silly. First of, the Capitol is a public building, and unless you are being violent or disruptive, you're welcome to stay. Plus, are they so blond as to think that Gov. Bredesen would just frog-march someone in a wheelchair out the front of the Capitol himself? These people have blinded themselves to the reality that the Governor was faced with a lose-lose choice and he chose the option he believed would hurt the fewest people. If TennCare was allowed to continue, the state would simply not have been able to stand under the weight of the program. That would have damaged social services for Tenneseans from DCS to Education to public safety. No one, including the Governor or any of his staff, want to take away people's insurance. And it sucks. It sucks that many people will be left without health care. But honestly, it sucks that Hillary Clinton's health plan was shot down in 1993 that would have avoided situations like this.
2) They assume that by attacking Bredesen politically, he will be forced to cave to their demands. By resorting to ridiculous hyperbole that they will "die at the hands of Phil Bredesen" and other nonsense, these enrollee advocates only serve to set their cause back. What on earth do you think Van Hilleary would have done with TennCare? Do you think he would have held meetings and tried to reduce the number of enrollees cut? No way. He would have cut the program as fast as possible, blamed poor people for not pulling themselves up out of poverty with the word of God. By working to weaken Bredesen instead of saving health care for as many enrollees as possible, they only provide an opening for people who would rather make life a lot harder on poor people around the state. I feel sure that many of you were the people who thought it would be fun to vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because Al Gore wasn't liberal enough for you - $1,000,000,000,000 in debt and increased tax burdens on the poor later, and, you'd think folks would have figured out that when you try to hurt Democrats who aren't left enough for you, you get stuck with some damned Republican.
So, protestors, it's time to stop complaining about how you're being treated in this sit-in and start acting in a real way on behalf of the people who need it: average enrollees. Instead of wasting airtime making demands for clergy to visit the protestors, start talking about how you would keep more enrollees on without bankrupting the state. Instead of making the ridiculous comparison between your voluntary protest and the crap that goes on in U.S. prison camps, why don't you show us how to fix TennCare and save people's lives?
Till then, you are spinning your wheels, losing valuable time, and setting back your cause and the cause of poor and middle-class Tennesseans for years to come.
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