From Washington Post:

Lacking unity on an alternative agenda to Obama’s health-care plans, Republicans have instead focused on a strategy of rallying public opposition and wooing the conservative Democrats in Congress, whose votes will ultimately determine the fate of any health-care bill. That plan depends in large part on Congress going on break before it votes on a bill. On Monday, though, Republicans made clear that they see an opportunity to derail the legislation now.

Here are the current members of the Blue Dog Coalition (from House.Gov):

Blue Dog Leadership Team

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA-03), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog Whip

Blue Dog Members

Altmire, Jason (PA-04)
Arcuri, Mike (NY-24)
Baca, Joe (CA-43)
Barrow, John (GA-12)
Berry, Marion (AR-01)
Bishop, Sanford (GA-02)
Boren, Dan (OK-02)
Boswell, Leonard (IA-03)
Boyd, Allen (FL-02)
Bright, Bobby (AL-02)
Cardoza, Dennis (CA-18)
Carney, Christopher (PA-10)
Chandler, Ben (KY-06)
Childers, Travis (MS-01)
Cooper, Jim (TN-05)
Costa, Jim (CA-20)
Cuellar, Henry (TX-28)
Dahlkemper, Kathy (PA-03)
Davis, Lincoln (TN-04)
Donnelly, Joe (IN-02)
Ellsworth, Brad (IN-08)
Giffords, Gabrielle (AZ-08)
Gordon, Bart (TN-06)
Griffith, Parker (AL-05)
Harman, Jane (CA-36)
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD)
Hill, Baron (IN-09)
Holden, Tim (PA-17)
Kratovil, Jr., Frank (MD-01)
McIntyre, Mike (NC-07)
Marshall, Jim (GA-03)
Matheson, Jim (UT-02)
Melancon, Charlie (LA-03)
Michaud, Mike (ME-02)
Minnick, Walt (ID-01)
Mitchell, Harry (AZ-05)
Moore, Dennis (KS-03)
Murphy, Patrick (PA-08)
Nye, Glenn (VA-02)
Peterson, Collin (MN-07)
Pomeroy, Earl (ND)
Ross, Mike (AR-04)
Salazar, John (CO-03)
Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47)
Schiff, Adam (CA-29)
Scott, David (GA-13)
Shuler, Heath (NC-11)
Space, Zack (OH-18)
Tanner, John (TN-08)
Taylor, Gene (MS-04)
Thompson, Mike (CA-01)
Wilson, Charles (OH-06)

Now, I’m not necessarily one to promote bullying or threats as a tactic of persuasion, but what we have here in the healthcare debate are a group of people who see obstructionism of this issue as constructive. I’m sure there are some that are genuine about getting a healthcare plan through, but, being a cynical person, I assume most of them are either owned by their healthcare lobby, motivated only by politics alone - or just plain cowards.

Whatever they consider themselves to be as politicians or human beings, we have a duty in this debate to brand them as obstructionists if they decide to become the Ralph Nader’s of this reform bill. As a blogging community we actually have the power to shape the votes of these folks - and the power to punish them if they don’t show the backbone necessary to do the job. Most posts from the Daily Kos alone show up on the first page of a Google news search for any particular subject - and I’ve found that lists like these are very closely monitored by Washington (one of my most viewed posts on my own blog involved republicans who voted against the stimulus but took the money. Every other visitor to the site was from either the Congress or the Senate according to my tracking software. One senator even enlisted a blogger to debate me on that particular subject and put in a good word for him).

Advertising, branding and PR are powerful tools. While we all need to call their offices and push them to pass this bill, we also need to threaten that we will duplicate this list on thousands of blogs and brand the proper people as “Healthcare Reform Obstructionists” or maybe “Hx’s”. (Come up with something more catchy, anyone. I don’t work for BBDO).

Going after the republicans on this one is a lost cause. They’re so thoroughly owned by special interests that their only action can be whatever is worst for us. Fuck them.

These folks above will turn this debate. Not Obama. Not Harry Reid (useless) or Nancy Pelosi. The republicans spent years strong-arming their fence-sitting members. We cannot shy away from doing the same here.

What this group needs to know is that no matter what they do in the future or have done in the past, their obituary will say “Obstructed healthcare reform, subjecting millions to bankruptcy and certain death.” They may feel their conservative stance on this issue in commendable. What they need to know is how long its tentacles are and how vulnerable they are to get caught in them. We ACTUALLY as a group have the capability to produce this kind of result.

Duplicate this list above and speak your mind on this.

Verbal Paintball blue dog democrats, healthcare reform, republican obstructionists

From MSNBC:

When asked about a Republican alternative to the Democratic health-care reform plan, Boehner replied, “That’s the real crux of this — how do we help those who don’t have insurance get it and, secondly, this does nothing about the cost of health care in America. And if we are serious about fixing our health-care system we [have] got to go to the cost and the cost side is pretty simple. We have to do something about reforming junk lawsuits that drive up the cost of health care for all Americans.”

When pressed for more specifics like cost of the GOP plan, Boehner said, “We are continuing to draft our bill, and we hope to have it soon.”

Look for the GOP to continue to tie health-care reform directly into the issue of the poor economy. Expect more statements on fiscal responsibility, how health-care reform hurts small businesses and how it’s too much, too soon.

Here’s the real problem with the healthcare debate: it’s EVEN a debate.

Senators like Cantor and Boehner DO NOT CARE whether you have a shaky healthcare plan from a company that might not be around in two months. They could give a shit whether you have a pre-existing condition that precludes you from ever getting the kind of coverage that would cover it without constant challenges from the billing department and the potential that your healthcare insurer will drop you like a bad habit.

They don’t care about these kind of things because it is not their concern. They WANT to be ignorant on the issue. Listen to them. They have a million reasons at their disposal as to why the Democrats program won’t work and not a single good explanation of what will. They are OWNED by the same companies that have saturated the airwaves with commercials telling you that the Obama plan is “socialized medicine” and will set this country and your wallets back. Look at their faces. Look deep into their eyes when they spew this filth on the Sunday morning talk shows. Behind that indifferent stare is a brain that is gleaming with calculations of how much money will fill their coffers for their next campaign. It makes perfect sense to them to blame you and your lawsuits for the problem. In their world, that benefits them.

You see - you, the taxpayer, are collateral damage to these pieces of shit. Consider that strong language? Well, how would you feel if you had a parent or loved one about to collapse under an unjust healthcare system and the only thing standing in the way of them and the next generation getting some relief are these indifferent, callous fuckheads.

I’ve never been one to wish bad things on anyone. It’s ugly in concept, let alone actually applying it. Still in all, I’m reminded of George Wallace and Ronald Reagan. Wallace spent most of his life fighting to retain segregation and promoting hatred. During his Presidential campaign he was shot and paralyzed. By the time of his death he had renounced his earlier ways. Could it have been that as a paralyzed man he may have faced some of the adversity that blacks have faced in society - at least enough to give him a small amount of enlightenment? And as for Reagan, who helped cultivate the power of the recently demoted religious right - would have been so eager to support some of their issues, including stem cell research, if it could have helped him in his future. Ironic as always.

The best way to be out of touch in this world is to say “no.” When you find yourself promoting a way of life/work/thought that is mired in the past, built on lies or prejudices or narrow thinking, it’s good to understand that you are wrong before you even begin going down that path. There will also come a point when your narrow thinking diverges into discrimination - and possibly visceral hatred. Those who choose to hold onto the past, like the current crop of republicans regarding healthcare, can only get uglier and more divisive in their rhetoric. They don’t know this because they’re too caught up in hateful thought.

Cantor and Boehner will likely go home to their families tonight, sit at the dinner table, enjoy the simple pleasures of life and feel pretty relaxed and comfortable within their small little world. They can use us as “examples” and “chess pieces” because they have that luxury. But God forbid the real world enters their privileged little lives and either they or their loved ones have to face challenges that only the “little people” have to generally endure. What will they think then? Fortunately for them in the here and now, ignorance is bliss.

Verbal Paintball boehner, cantor, healthcare reform

This country is fully of wusses: From CNN:

A new national poll suggests that a bare majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s health care plan.

But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning indicates that most people are worried that their health care costs would go up if the administration’s proposals are passed and only one in five think that their families would be better off under the Obama plan.

Fifty-four percent say their medical insurance costs will increase if the Obama plan becomes law, with 17 percent feeling their costs will decrease. Around one in four say their costs will remain the same. And only one in five say their family will be better off if the president’s plan becomes law, with 35 percent feeling they would be worse off, and 44 percent saying they would be about the same.

It all comes down to taxes and fear, doesn’t it? Imagine if we lived in a country where EVERYONE realized that countries do not run on fumes and the majority’s gut reaction wasn’t based on being an absolute shivering little coward.

When you’re talking about healthcare reform, there is, of course, a million ways to skin a cat. The republicans - over two decades - have had ONE idea - let the insurance companies and the drug companies do their thing. Unfortunately - for anyone but the stupidest in our nation - this is the same as being lazy and not doing anything. Furthermore, it doesn’t work. We’ve had this approach for as long as we can remember and people are suffering because of it.

Clinton tried his best to make the change but got bogged down in a healthcare plan that the republicans could attack easily. Then he backed away from it and that was that.

While I don’t bow down to fear or the creeping psychology of it (I was in Manhattan during 9/11 and saw things no one should have to see), I do worry that this might be the last good chance in my relative youth for universal healthcare to break through. It goes without saying that it’s a necessity. Every advanced country has some form of it. Hell, we do too! (Medicare/Medicaid).

The ONLY thing that stands in the way are the fears of a large minority, the willingness of the republicans to take advantage of that fear and this fantasy some people have that this country that taxes are unnecessary. Hey PEOPLE! Don’t want anymore taxes? Watch your infrastructure crumble. See your parents and grandparents die because there’s no social security check in the mail. Watch millions of children and poor adults homeless on the street, dieing of things no one has died from in 200 years because hospitals won’t take them, and watch the republican’s largest supporters laugh at you as they clink their wine glasses together and pat each other on the back at how great the free market has worked for them.

Taxes won’t hurt you. Fear of the unknown will. Get a backbone and support Obama’s plan and think about what you’d be offered if McCain was president.

Current News, Politics cnn poll, healthcare reform, Obama, republicans