{"id":403792,"date":"2010-03-08T12:30:50","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T17:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/firedoglake.com\/?p=71669"},"modified":"2010-03-08T12:30:50","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T17:30:50","slug":"lynn-woolsey-closing-barn-doors-since-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/403792","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Woolsey: Closing Barn Doors Since 1993"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Lynn Woolsey writes an op-ed in Roll Call today<\/a> on her commitment to a public option, pandering to liberals who would indeed have to be “f*#king re#!rds” for it to make any sense. It comes on the heels of her public announcement<\/a> that she will break every single pledge she’s ever made to vote against a health care bill without a public option.<\/p>\n

It’s a paean to the importance of said public option, but the kicker is at the end:<\/p>\n

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Piecemeal tweaking of the health insurance system will not address this growing problem. We need to reform our health care system, and the public option must be included.<\/p>\n

I will fight to include the public option in the final version of the health care reform legislation.<\/p>\n

If it is not included, however, it will rise from the dead once again.
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\nThe day after the health care legislation is passed, I will introduce a bill calling for the public option.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) is co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Really? Wow. That is just brave and amazing, Lynn. You’ll introduce a bill that has absolutely zero chance of passing? That is about six degrees dumber and less convincing than anything Harry Reid ever tried.<\/p>\n

And you really think there are people out there who will kick that football?<\/p>\n

Let’s pretend for a minute there’s anything of value in a public option by itself. It was always a half-assed measure, a pre-compromise made by you and others in Congress who professed to be supporters of “single payer” but somehow couldn’t find their way to make the most efficient and fiscally responsible approach to health care part of the conversation. It was important to have a public option included in this<\/em> health care bill to keep it from being quite so big of a ripoff for taxpayers and a little less of a boon to the insurance companies, not to mention the only thing that stood as as a barricade to outright fascism (yes, now that the bill can’t pass<\/a> and images of brownshirts and swastikas and marching Nazis won’t derail the conversation, we can call it what it is — because that is the textbook definition<\/a> of forcing citizens to buy the unregulated products of private companies that have been granted monopolies).<\/p>\n

But let’s say for the sake of argument that a “public option” really is the cat’s meow. Is anybody stupid enough to think that some bill you introduce as a face-saving measure the day after you cast the only vote that matters<\/em> stands any chance whatsoever of passing? Do you understand the political process, Lynn? All that business about a bicameral legislature, those old dudes in that other big room in the Capitol? They call it the “Senate.” Let’s pretend (again) that you manage to get your pre-compromised (again) bill through committees and through the House.<\/p>\n

How exactly do you plan to surmount the Senate<\/em> problem, the one that is preventing a public option from being included in this bill? You know, the one where they say there aren’t 50 votes for a public option now?<\/p>\n

Does it strike you that this is still going to be an impediment when your fabulous brand spanking new “public option” is introduced? The day after you fully plan to cast the only meaningful vote making it irrelevant?<\/p>\n

Did anyone from your staff try to stop you from publishing this?<\/span><\/p>\n

I can’t tell from afar whether you think we’re all “f*#king re#!rded” enough to buy this, or if this actually makes sense to you and that monicker is more accurately applied elsewhere. But it doesn’t really matter.<\/p>\n

Your complete contempt for the political process, and the public’s understanding of it, is without parallel.<\/p>\n

Remember this?<\/p>\n

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It’s your signature. On the July 31 letter<\/a>, pledging to vote against any bill that doesn’t have a public option. And you’ll never be able to blot out the memory of it. That’s the beauty of the internet — it will always be there, for anyone with the power to Google.<\/p>\n

It’s been a profound experience watching Bart Stupak actually fight for something he believes in, versus your leadership on health care.<\/p>\n

You need to step down as the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, Lynn.<\/p>\n

Tags: CPC<\/a>, House of Representatives<\/a>, Lynn Woolsey<\/a>, Progressive Caucus<\/a>, public option<\/a>, Roll Call<\/a>, single payer<\/a><\/p>\n

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Lynn Woolsey writes an op-ed in Roll Call today on her commitment to a public option, pandering to liberals who would indeed have to be “f*#king re#!rds” for it to make any sense. It comes on the heels of her public announcement that she will break every single pledge she’s ever made to vote against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}