As I've diaried earlier, I believe the late strategy to get Health Care reform through the Senate has been a disaster. It is another sign of feckless leadership (that I thought we were DONE with after voting in 2008) that we pursued a strategy of watering down a bill to get to 60 votes, rather than sending up a GOOD bill that clearly has public support (if one reads the polls correctly) and forcing Lieberdumb and Ben Nelsmug to filibuster with the Republicans. I do not think the public would look kindly on Republicans filibustering health care reform, and we would end up with electoral victories and an even greater majority in 2010, with the ability to truly pass a great bill.
It's the wise political choice, IMHO, rather than putting up something that much of the public-at-large, not to mention a large portion of this community (despite the current rah-rah-rah happening on the rec list) clearly find to be an unpalatable mess. This bill is a giveaway to the same companies that got us into this mess.
I've been inspired to immortalize this exercise in rhyme.
A mandate to buy private insurance with no public option and no early medicare buy-in? It's bad politics and even worse policy. I would go so far as to say that Lieberman's sole goal in obstructing this bill was to ruin Democratic chances in 2010. The President's approval ratings have fallen in direct correlation to the fate of the public option.
Cross-posted from Topical Limerick a Day:
...I'm most frustrated that this President has so lost the courage of his convictions that he didn't even try to call Lieberman or Nelson's bluffs... a better strategy would have been to bring a GREAT bill to the senate floor and force the Republicans and their obstructionist friends to filibuster, showing their true colors... America voted for BIG CHANGE in the 2008 election, and instead we're getting more of the same feckless, meandering leadership.
Why does the threat of a forthcoming filibuster
Make Obama back down when he coulda mustered
His courage and fought
For legislation un-bought
Instead he's lost what once was killer-luster.
And here's a copy of my first post about Mr. Lieberman (he doesn't deserve his honorary title):
Consider if you will Joe Lieberman's
Protestations that he's a beleaguered man
By his foes on the left
So he'll leave you bereft
Of the care that could turn back grim reaper plans.
I started the limerick site recently as a writing exercise. I haven't been doing enough writing, and this was a simple way to start a daily writing exercise with a simple form. Hopefully it will lead to more creativity in off-line ventures as well. Comments are welcome. Eat your heart out, Calvin Trillin.