Winning in November will require that we defend the choices made by the Democrats over the choices made by the Republicans.
One of those choices was voting in favor of healthcare reform - a decision that Republicans (deceptively) tell us is too expensive and too controlling, even though it actually gives Americans more choices and lowers the cost of healthcare by eliminating wasteful spending from Medicare.
So let's remember this: Obamacare, for all its flaws (no public option, mandated insurance coverage, big payoffs for industry groups), bends down the cost curve, it's paid for (and actually reduces the deficit), covers 30 million more Americans, and provides better consumer protections.
The cost of the Iraq War is around the same as the 10-year cost of Obamacare - around $800 billion. And while the Iraq War was paid for on a credit card (i.e., all "emergency" spending), the Obama-Pelosi healthcare reform plan is paid for by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse and by raising taxes on the big healthcare companies and corporations that don't provide health insurance for their employees.
It's absolutely indefensible to me that Democrats - Kossacks especially - would be so unwilling to defend health reform that insures 30 million more Americans, gives us choices, increases competition, and protects the long-term stability and security of Medicare.
Where we should be talking about the future reforms we need - i.e., opening up Medicare to more Americans on an opt-in basis, creating a more powerful nonprofit option (whether it's negotiated on Medicare rates or not, putting patients ahead of profits), and reining in insurance company abuses and rate increases - instead, we're too busy attacking and ceding political turf to the Republicans, who did NOTHING to support reform and even lied about it to scare voters.
Meteor Blades noted it in my diary yesterday. The Republicans are not just misinforming the voting public. They're engaging in a systematic campaign of dis-information to scare, mislead, and confuse voters. It's an intentionally deceptive and confusing strategy, designed to make American voters more frustrated, less informed, and less capable of participating in self-government.
It is up to us - those of us who actually pay attention - to tell the true story. And if you're concerned about the health reform law and its weaknesses, let's talk about ways to make it stronger. The first thing we can do is elect more and better Democrats.
Healthcare is a national security issue at its core. With the money we spent invading Iraq and killing tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, we could have provided security and stability for American families, improved our nation's economic position, and saved thousands of American lives.