As much as I think Jane was wrong headed in the PO advocacy over single payer, it is worth noting she is the only one among those advocates who is actually sticking to her principles. I think it was naive of her that she maybe didn't realize the MoveOn guys, the HCANers, etc., would abandon her when the chips were down, but I give her some credit for sticking to it, even if I disagree with the policy. DK taking 16k in contributions and then turning around and dropping his principles because Obama gave him a ride on Air Force One would be a VERY bad thing for those of us on the Left who already feel we've lost our voice to the access bloggers and the progressives.

politicians who only promise to do - or not do - things? Why do they think their $25 or $50 or $100 matters, even if it's bundled into a $16,000 check? Because, clearly, it does not.

This thing where someone writes a letter and puts it in front of a politician and says, "if you sign this, we will raise money to help keep you in office" is just stupid, and I don't understand why people continue to do it. Maybe they fear the wrath of Hamsher or something, I don't know.

Jane's hopping mad - at Kucinich, at Donna Edwards, at Diana deGette - at all the people for whom she went to bat, for whom she flogged her readers. I don't blame her - or anyone else - for being pissed off at these members of Congress who say one thing and then do the opposite, but I also don't think things would be materially different now had she been 100% behind a single-payer effort months ago (and it isn't just health care - it's financial reform and bankster bailouts and Patriot Act renewals and the cronyism and having the Catholic Bishops on speed-dial - it's endemic). She still thinks we can work with the Democrats in Congress, but I am convinced that unless and until Congress asserts its independence as a separate branch of government, instead of functioning as Obama's bitch, there to make sure his backroom deals - which I think span more than one industry - don't get deep-sixed, she - and we - are wasting our time, and our money.

Sounds defeatist, I know, but that's where I am more and more these days. Do I want to elect Republicans? No, I don't. But if these are the Democrats I have to choose from, I don't want to elect them, either. Will Democrats lose if people like me stay home, in droves, in November? Yeah, I think they will. But that's a sword I will no longer accept as hanging over MY head; Democrats did this to themselves, so their loss is little more than ritual suicide.

Jane's made some tactical mistakes, yes, but she is not solely responsible for the massive betrayals we've seen in the last few years; Democratic leadership, the DNC, the DSCC, the DCCC, Rahm Emanuel, the WH: that's where the rotten smell is coming from. It's like the dead mouse in the wall that stinks and stinks, and unless you want to rip a hole in the wall to get it out, you just wait for it to decompose completely and one day, you notice the smell is gone. We may have to let the Dems decompose until the smell goes away, and then maybe - maybe - we can start over with a better product.

Sorry for the massively depressing comment, but that's how I'm feeling today.

I hope Kucinich didn't fall for a "pass it now and we will put in an ERISA fix later" line from Obama. But what can you do. If Kucinich broke his word it would be a very very serious thing.

no "trade" for favor declared. I weep.

Wow, we literally have not one liberal/progressive/whatever in Congress opposing the insurance bailout...nice.

because in the past (as mayor) he stood firm against overwhelming criticism.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/...

There's not one single Democrat who will stand up to Obama.

Not one.

Way to go, "progressives." Thanks for helping a Chicago Machine politician take over the country.

so a self-identified Dem, even though it is Kucinich..well, I guess I expected too much.

I am really sad. well, that is the way it goes.
one thing for sure, give your money and energy to causes, not politicians.

Kucinich has had four separate meetings with the President. He said what he felt was at stake. I shared my concern with the legislation. Can’t say there was anything new. But the moment of decision and what he felt was at stake and the hope to make any change down the road gave me more to think about. I went into that last meeting with the desire to listen to what he had to say. We forget to talk to each other in Washington. He hasn’t changed my mind about where health care ought to go, but this is about the bill.

…I understand that the things I want in this bill are unlikely to be in this bill. I have to make this decision on the bill as it is.

…When I got the invite on AF1 with a record of not supporting the Administration on a number of policy issues, I thought the proper attire was a parachute. But I wanted to listen to what he had to say. The previous meeting was at the White House. I was there with a bunch of people who supported the bill. I left it with a sense of compassion for our President and what he’s going through with this. Regardless of anyone’s position, we have to be compassionate towards those called upon to make decisions for this nation. While I have disagreements, I’ve made a decision.

…Obama committed to continue to work with me, but he made no specific commitments. Basically, he said this is the bill. I’ll continue to work with him down the road, because this is certainly not going to be the end of it. There are other areas of concern that I have with respect to health care. Americans make choices every day that adversely affects their health – diet and nutrition. I know from my own experience.

…If I can vote for this bill, there are not many people who shouldn’t be able to support it.

My bold.

Link

Even Kucinich has bought into the meme of this being about Obama bringing health CARE to millions of people.

Just utterly disgusting.

public option strategy among activists. Unfortunately, Jane is the last activist standing who hasn't already caved to ObamaCare so they could celebrate the HUGE progressive victory. This is getting scary. Since the activists for the PO deserted it so long ago will they even reflect on how their strategy failed? I have to guess they will not.

See the Times, and Ryan Grim in HuffPo:

Kucinich had been one of the few remaining holdouts who felt that the bill did not go far enough. Kucinich, a former presidential candidate, objected that the bill did not include a robust public insurance option tied to Medicare rates and did not include a provision to allow states to enact single-payer legislation if they so chose. His support gives House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a much-needed vote as she looks for 216 members to move the package through this week.

Kucinich came under intense pressure from liberals, with blogger Markos Moulitsas, the founder of DailyKos, going so far as to suggest he should face a primary challenge if he votes no. House leadership, however, largely considered his vote lost.

On Monday, Obama flew on Air Force One with Kucinich to a health-care rally to the lawmaker's home state of Ohio. During the flight, Obama pressed Kucinich on the merits of the bill. Obama also brought Kucinich to the White House along with other members of Congress, though Kucinich left that meeting indicating he would still oppose the bill.

Obama's ability to sway Kucinich undermines the White House's longstanding position that it couldn't get a public option through Congress because it didn't have the votes. The president, it turns out, does have the ability to sway a member of Congress, even one as committed to a position as Kucinich.

So, Kucinich gave his vote and didn't get anything for it? WTF?

I like the comparison of the Dems to a dead animal rotting under the house. That's about the size of it. If even Kucinich doesn't stand up, the party, institutionally, is useless. Worse than useless, they're in the way.

Massa was the only liberal in Congress willing to stand on principle so of course you gotta get him out. I really wish he didn't have a recurrence of cancer, he'd be our only fighter.

BTW, remember when Kucinich tried to taint Hillary's New Hampshire win by declaring "election fraud" and demanding a recount while eventually endorsing a candidate who actually worked hard to rig an election and prevent votes from being counted? I remember.

Did the know-how to bargain effectively die out with LBJ?

to the point of willingness to give up actual freedom? Material success trumps civil liberty? Pretty much yes, in many different societies....

As I am reading about Kucinich's flip and reactions here, a new book is being discussed on The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC FM (audio shortly, never a transcript -- but the author should be on other NPR programs on his book tour):

John Kampfner describes how emerging middle classes around the world have often been willing to sacrifice certain democratic rights – such as free speech, an open media, and free elections – in exchange for prosperity and security. In Freedom for Sale: Why the World Is Trading Democracy for Security he shows how capitalism and democracy are not as inextricably linked as we once thought.

He covers eight countries where this is becoming very apparent, four authoritarian and four notional democratic. We're in the last category. The UK is perhaps further down the slippery slope (those CCTV cameras are just about everywhere, about 20% of the world's total in use are intalled in the UK!).

The understanding in the authoritarian nations seems to be that the middle class will be given some freedoms in the private sphere as long as they make no waves in the political sphere. The middle class is willing to give up those freedoms as long as they have the freedom to make money and live in peace.

Sound familiar?

The author traces this to the 80's and really kicks off with the fall of the Soviet Union. Capitalist democracies tend to be less, well, democratic without an economic system competitor. Contract law trumps Bill of Rights, for example, for those who feel they are "making it."

He notes that the UK did not spend energy and time on controlling the forces which caused the recent economic disruption but instead focused on the individual. In the UK a person arrested for allowing his dog to poop in the street without cleaning it up can be subject to wiretaps for the rest of his or her life. One social or lifestyle misdemeanor can put a person on the Watch List.

Commenter Jackie from Waterloo, Canada, wrote:

I just finished reading The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein... it illustrated the points Mr. Kampfner is making, more to the corporate side of things... I am very interested in reading Mr. Kampfner's book

This is such an important issue to our society, thank you for shining light on it.