Taking it to the Streets

A week ago, after my Sunday morning “Meet the Press” and “This Week” fix, I emailed HDC co-chair Brian Rendel with a fire in my belly. Healthcare town halls were being derailed by small, vocal groups of rowdy protesters. Public support slipping. Sarah Barracuda at it again. Obama on the defense. Furious over the irrationality of it all, I was ready to take the fight to the streets. Or so I wrote, kind of. Brian was slightly less angry and a lot more rational: why not blog, he suggested?

And so, fire still in my belly, I did what any good revolutionary would: headed to the bar with a pad and pen. To play darts. In between loosing badly, I jotted down my thoughts:

“Fifty million uninsured Americans! Can’t afford to do nothing! Unfair wealth distribution! Peace, land, bread!”

I looked to my affable dart opponent.

“Do you have healthcare insurance?” I asked.

He screwed up his face and shook his head no, as if to say, Who do you think I am, Bill Gates?

I told him about the legisation currently in Congress. I told him about the protesters shouting down congressmen at town halls, calling them socialists and Nazis. Had he heard?

“No. That’s awful. But I’m glad they’re trying.”

I asked the bartender: “You were in the service. Are you covered?”

He shook his head too, “That’s for career people.”

Some of the very people who depend most on helathcare reform are not keyed in to the debate playing out on television, in the papers and echoing through the blogosphere. But their support is crucial.

This is bigger than the fight to win the presidency. Democrats won, but let’s face it: Americans voted for change in a change year. Obama didn’t promise Americans, and he certainly didn’t promise the left, an easy road to change. If we can’t win the fight for affordable, non-discriminatory healthcare with a popular president in support, a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, and a majority of Americans either worried about rising costs or simply without coverage, it will be proof that our government has been hamstrung by corporate interests.

A week later, and the good news is that the Obama administration has gone on the offense. An op-ed in the New York Times and a series of town hall meetings may help change the tone of the debate. The bad news is that the public is still undecided about the healthcare plans currently on the table – even though just a few months ago, an overwhelming majority, some 75 percent, supported heavy reform. That, and it looks like the administration is ready to back away from the so-called “public option.”

What can we do to help? Let’s hear your thoughts.

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