What I Learned From the Health Care Debate

So this is what I learned from the last weekend of the health care reform debate.

First, lay a coffin at a White House fence and you’re subject to arrest.

Spit and yell abuse at members of the Black Caucus as they enter the Capitol and you’ll be left in peace. The same goes for screaming epithets at Barney Frank.

If you’re going to mass half a million strong for immigration reform, don’t expect coverage on CSPAN when they’re covering live events in and around Capitol Hill — not if there are hundreds of epithet throwers somewhere close to cover.

And I learned that after all, it has to be said, some Democrats do have spine. Unfortunately the rest could take some lessons in how to negotiate from the teeny weeny criminalize-abortion caucus and Rep. Bart Stupak.

Finally I learned that Nancy Pelosi is one hell of a house leader. She really can corral a majority when she wants. In fact, she and President Barack Obama can be really persuasive, when they want to be.

So let’s not hear any more bunk about the impossibility of the aforementioned immigration reform, or repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, or actually coming up with some real financial regulation.

WThey can do it when they want to.

The one thing that remains a mystery is how to make them want to. If you don’t have a mountain of cash, that is.

LAURA FLANDERS is the host of GRITtv, which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. More…9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, public television and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GritLaura on Twitter.com.

 

WORDS THAT STICK

Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including The New York Times best-seller, BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species.  She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women’s and girls’ visibility in media and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org