Right now, we cannot let the health care fight divide us as we head into the 2010 elections. As the health care debate/debacle proved, we still need some major improvements in the Democratic Party, both in terms of strategy and in terms of ideology/independence from major corporations. As long as there are corporate sellouts in the party, it's clear that we need more Democrats to have insurance against defections. We can't let Ben Nelson, who is nowhere near the mainstream of the party be the emperor of the country. It is incumbent on both sides of this debate to come together and acknowledge that each side has a) good intentions and b) good points.
Let's all admit that this bill is not great; that Obama and Senate Democrats should have done more and negotiated harder for a robust public option. Let's admit that Nelson and Lieberman may well not have been bluffing and that passing the bill through reconciliation would be troublesome at best and disastrous at worst. We need to realize that if we drop out of politics or give up on the Democratic Party, there will be no chance we will have better Democrats. It's not like there has been no progress. We've already used our activism and fundraising to bring some excellent progressives into office and have gradually moved states and districts to the left. This is a multi-year plan, just like the right-wing takeover of the Republican Party. We've made a lot of progress and there's still a long way to go. This is what the left side of the party needs to realize. It's not going to happen overnight.
We also tried doing the third party route in 2000. I was one of them, as I supported Nader, thinking that he'd get some solid support and move the Democrats to the left. Instead, Gore (sort of) lost, and the Democrats couldn't capitulate faster to Bush. I don't believe that's the answer.
But, at the same time, the answer is not moving to the center, blindly supporting Obama, or saying "well, that's good enough" when the Democrats sell out progressive principles. Democrats in the House and Senate and in the White House are politicians. Politicians don't stick out their necks when they don't have to. It's not in their nature, except for a few courageous souls. It's important that so-called pragmatists acknowledge that the left feels used and is not getting what we metaphorically and literally paid for. More centrist Democrats need to realize that insulting the left is not the ideal way to motivate the base. There has to be give and take. We need to criticize Obama when he's wrong and praise him when he's right. Uncritical support does him no favors. I WANT Obama to succeed. Any reasonable person does (eat shit, Rush Limbaugh). He also needs to realize that he's not going to succeed if he pisses off his strongest supporters.
In short, we all need to work together, like we did in 2006 and 2008. Let's pass this bill and then work like hell to improve it. A good idea would be to ram through the Medicare expansion through reconciliation. The whole bill in reconciliation wouldn't have been practical, but this more limited approach could work. Let's try to bring back the public option, or better yet, single payer. We've got a foot in the door now, let's keep pushing. In the meantime, we need to come together as a party, acknowledge that each side has some legit grievances and good points, and most importantly elect MORE AND BETTER Democrats. With a focus on the better Democrats, so we don't have a bunch of new Ben Nelsons whose asses we have to kiss.