I hold no public position and there is no way you could pick me out of a crowd of common Americans. I am pretty much like many others who post here on Daily Kos. The story of my brother's struggle is very much like the story of your uncle, sister, mother or father, or your friend or your neighbor.
And perhaps that is why it struck such a deep chord here and elsewhere on the web. It never would have gone anywhere if some years ago Marcos Moulitsas hadn't started a blog that he decided to share with the rest of us. And it never would have left these pages if all of you who read it hadn't clicked the social networking buttons at the top of the diary. (Slinkerwink has a diary up now that covers how that all works, and is well worth the read.)
So thank you to Marcos and all of my fellow Kossacks for getting Steve's story out there. And for the folks at, and in affiliation with, MoveOn.org for making such a great video out of a two hour discussion.
There have been a couple of questions that have come up that I would like to address below the fold.
For years now the Republican Party has been framing our national discourse. They have purposefully, intentionally misquoted the words of our leaders and misconstrued the actions of Democrats. So, did Wolf Blitzer actually suggest that poor people be left to die?
Those on the right will tell you that he was talking about a well paid 30 year old man who irresponsibly refuses to buy insurance at a fire sale price of $200 a month. Now, we all no that no thirty year old man can buy meaningful health insurance for $200 a month, although I would not be surprised to find that men like Wolf Blitzer and Bill O'Reilly can.
And if such insurance was available and not purchased, should that 30 year old man be convicted of irresponsibility and condemned to the painful death my brother suffered? And if so, just when was that law passed? How did I miss it?
No, they weren't talking about the irresponsible, or perhaps they were, the irresponsible Americans who irresponsibly got laid off when the responsible gamblers in DC and on Wall Street tanked our economy. Or, the irresponsible Americans who are working for the real small business owners who simply cannot afford to provide health insurance for their employees. The working poor.
I won't accept the smoke and mirrors of their framing. This is the final attack on the working poor. After 30 years of crippling our only representatives, the unions, they are now closing in on the rest of us, scattered, silent and sick. The question was indeed about the 49+million Americans who are uninsured. We must work to make sure that this is the question that is answered.
The second issue I wanted to address came in a question in the comments of the FP piece about the MoveOn.org video. I thought it was a valid question, even if phrased rather abruptly:
Viral? You mean to tell me that this guy had cancer that started in his lung and went to his tailbone and he did not know something was wrong? That is just crazy! If he had gone to the doctor when his cancer first started (maybe 3-5 years before) then he might still be here today.
I have been a DEM for many years but some of the diaries here recently make me wonder what has happended to the Kos?
by Bmeis on Fri Sep 16, 2011 at 10:39:46 AM PDT
My response:
Steve repeatedly tried to get medical help prior to his Thanksgiving visit.
Because health care for the uninsured is only provided in an ER, the waiting times for non emergent care can be twelve hours and more.
As the pain became more intense, he learned that in order to be seen, he had to arrive at the emergency room at 3:00am. You see, he could not sit on those plastic chairs for 12 hours at a time. He had a good friend who would come and pick him up and take him to the ER and wait with him to get care.
The problem was that in spite of the repeat visits, he was only given meds for his pain. No diagnosis, no treatment.
The spot on his lung caused no pain, he had no chronic cough, emphysema or any other reason to suspect something was wrong until it metastasized.
The irony is that if he had access to health care, he would have done just as Bmeis suggested, and used it. I think it is sometimes hard for those of us who have easy access to doctors to understand just how difficult life is for those who don't have any access at all.
AND WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT HEALTH CARE IN 2011?