So our old blog mate Nick Beaudrot and I were discussing his latest post on the political dynamics of health care reform and I was giving him my thoughts and just decided to post this to give a somewhat more complete sense of my feelings on all of this:
Nick,
I think there is just enormous inchoate rage that after we have all worked so hard these last two election cycles and seemingly accomplished our goals, we are being held up by and fucked over by Lieberman of all people, not to mention those worthless assholes Landrieu, Lincoln, and Nelson, while also having to fear the perfidy of Bayh, Baucus, and Conrad, among others.
Progressives made these victories possible -- it was our money, our advocacy, and our footsteps that brought about this huge sea change and yet, we don't hold the cards. And because of the unprecedented fuck- headedness of the Republicans including those two worthless skanks from Maine, Holy Joe holds the trump card every fucking time. Our fate is in the hands of a sanctimonious sociopath, a man with no moral compass other than his own self-regard and his deep sense of grievance and bitterness towards the left.
It ain't exactly a recipe for happiness.
I fear it is making us lose our collective minds. As you know I have tried to stake out the "fucking grown up" position, but it is wearying.
Right now I am watching Keith Olbermann and Markos Molitsas trash the Senate bill and basically issue a call to blow things up -- which I think is a disaster. (kos is being a lot more tempered than Olbermann, who is in full-on rant mode.)
But what is so frustrating is the Blue Dog Senate douche bags have forced bad policy and bad politics on us. This should have been a signature moment for us all, an historic moment on par with the passage of Medicare and Social Security. Because of Ben Nelson and Lieberman, we are stuck with a bill that is hard to sell, not nearly as good for average people as it should be, and may actually be an electoral liability. It's inconceivable in a way.
Possibly the worst thing that happened was getting that 60th Senate vote. It created unrealistic expectations -- those of us who have long known Nelson, Landrieu, Bayh, and Lieberman knew they would never adhere to the party line. Not for any decent substantive reasons, but because they are people who reflexively believe that splitting things down the middle is always a sign of wisdom. (Oh and they are corporate whores too.)
So our compatriots rage and despair. I despair and rage. It's pretty much a fucking gut punch to find ourselves at this pass. But that's where we are.
Merry Fucking Christmas to you and yours!
Sir Charles
