Larry's Impassioned But Common-Sense Letter to Democratic Leadership

Editor's Note: Normally, I would not include such long letters, but I was so moved by this excellent letter from one of the F12oo that I had to include it.

I was particularly impressed that someone took such care and so much time trying to communicate with the leadership they have supported - especially at a time when so many others have simply given up.

President Barack Obama

Senator Harry Reid

Speaker Pelosi

Subject: Health Insurance Reform

Dear President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi:

I am writing to let all of you know how disappointed and dismayed I am about your approach to Health Insurance Reform since the January 19, 2010 Massachusetts Senatorial election. During the last two weeks, your approach to continuing the fight to reform health insurance has been tepid at best. I think that this is exactly the wrong approach at this time! Health insurance reform is too important for the good of the country to let an opportunity one hundred years in the making slip away. I respectfully urge you to seriously reconsider your current approach to health insurance reform.

Usually, politicians give pep talks to the people to get them educated and “fired up” about particular issues. At this particular point in time, I believe that it is you (the politicians) that need the pep talk from the voters on how to proceed on health insurance reform. This letter is intended to be that pep talk. Please understand that I don’t intend this letter to be disrespectful (I support your positions on most of the major issues facing the country today), but I believe that direct and blunt words are now required on this subject.

It is time to seize the initiative on health insurance reform instead of ceding it to the Republicans by default! It is time to stop cowering in the corner and do something before it’s too late!!!

Following are eight points of emphasis supporting these two summary statements. They include my personal assessment of the current situation and some recommendations for your consideration.

1) Don’t let the Republicans control the Health Insurance Reform Agenda:

While I absolutely don’t agree with their health insurance positions, the Republicans have had better talking points and a better narrative on their health insurance positions over the past year than the Democrats. Yes, they have used gross misrepresentations and fear, but unfortunately it has been effective. You need to develop a strategy and narrative to seize the health insurance reform agenda from the Republicans. In addition, since not one Republican in the House or Senate voted for health insurance reform, there is no longer any need to pander for their support. They have made it clear that their principal goal is the failure of the Obama Presidency, and the best way to achieve that goal is for health insurance reform to fail. This needs to be a key part of your revised narrative and talking points.

2) Develop a better narrative on Health Insurance Reform and Use It Effectively:

You need to focus on developing a better, more compelling narrative and better talking points that effectively counter the Republican misrepresentations and appeals to fear. If you don’t, Democrats will continue to lose ground in the court of public opinion on health insurance reform. Your talking points need to be blunt and hard hitting and they need to point out the inherent selfishness of the Republican’s health insurance positions, the fact that they have not supported any meaningful health insurance reforms, and that their principal goal is the failure of the Obama Presidency. When the Republicans complain about not being included in the House/Senate conference committee, they should be forcefully reminded that not one of them voted for either bill and not one of them has indicated even the slightest willingness to compromise on health insurance issues. Further, you need to continue to emphasize (but more forcefully) that there is agreement on 80 to 90% of the health insurance reform issues, and that the status quo is untenable. Finally, you need to ensure that most, if not all Democrats use these talking points and continue to repeat them often, so that they get sufficient media coverage.

3) Don’t Over Think the Massachusetts Senatorial Election Results:

Yes, the election of Senator Brown was a defeat for the Democrats, but don’t let it paralyze you, and most of all don’t let the Republicans dictate what it means. I think that the election of Senator Brown was caused by a mediocre Democratic candidate, frustration with the slowness of the economic recovery, and Brown’s appeal to voter selfishness on health care (Massachusetts already has health insurance reform in place, so why should they have to support and pay for health insurance reform for the rest of the country?). If the results of this one election cause you to backpedal on your positions on major issues, you will be giving the Republicans exactly what they want, and you will be letting down the people that are responsible for your election.

4) Don’t let a historic opportunity for Health Insurance Reform Slip Away:

You have all stated that the country has been trying to reform the health insurance system for more than a hundred years. You also recognize that this is the closest that we’ve ever come to actually achieving it. To get this close and let it slip away would be unforgiveable! Yes, it has been and will continue to be difficult, but this is one of the reasons we elected you: to fight the good fight for those who cannot. We need to get some form of health insurance reform passed after all of this effort. We need to do it for all of the people who don’t have insurance, for all of the people that have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, for all of the people that have had their coverage cancelled because they got sick, and for all of the people that have gone bankrupt because they got sick. If we don’t pass health insurance reform, this issue is going to continue to be serious drag on the economy for years to come.

5) Move quickly and do whatever it takes to pass a Health Insurance Reform Bill:

Time is of the essence and you all know that! The closer we get to the November 2010 Congressional elections, the less likely it is that a health insurance reform bill will pass. Given how long this process has taken already, we no longer have the luxury of taking more time to start over or pursue significant changes to the basic approaches contained in the House and Senate Health Insurance Reform Bills.

What are the options? There appear to be two main options on how to proceed: (1) The House swallows its pride and votes for the Senate Bill, or (2) Use the reconciliation process to (strengthen the bill.) Health insurance reform is too important to let it die once again. It took 17 years after the Clinton Health Care Effort failed to even try again. Can the country afford to wait another 15 to 20 years for Health Insurance Reform? I think not. Should Democrats unite and do what is right for the country instead of worrying about whether they will get re-elected? Absolutely. It is time to be pragmatic, take what we can get (even though it is far from perfect) and move on to the next issue – reforming the banking system. It is better to get 80% of health insurance reform than nothing!

Another possibility to consider is to call the Republican’s bluff on filibustering a combined House/Senate bill before having the House pass the Senate bill as it stands. As I see it, this would involve forcing the Senate Republicans to filibuster the bill for weeks or months and not doing any other Senate business until they stop the filibuster and allow a vote on the Health Insurance Reform Bill. The idea would be to put pressure on the Republicans and to show the country that they are the obstructionists on this issue. Perhaps eventually, one or more of them would change their mind and allow a majority vote on health insurance reform. I realize that this is an unorthodox and potentially risky approach, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

6) The political cost of failure to pass Health Insurance Reform will be far worse than the political cost of passing an imperfect bill:

You may be worried that health insurance reform is now unpopular, and that if you continue to push strongly for it, Democrats will suffer for it in the next election. I believe that this isn’t true. In fact, I think most people would welcome health insurance reform. I believe that the political consequences of failure to pass health insurance reform will be far greater than passing a bill that some people don’t like. In my opinion, if you lay a goose egg on health insurance reform, none of you will be reelected, and the Democrats will likely lose their majority in the House and possibly the Senate in the 2010 elections. You have far more to lose by your inaction on health insurance reform than you do by forcefully fighting for it and doing whatever it takes to get it passed.

7) Show the country and the people who elected you that you can “play hardball” when necessary:

The Republicans are clearly playing hardball on the issue of health insurance reform. They have stated their intention to make the failure of health insurance reform a significant part of their efforts to cause the Obama Presidency to fail. As part of that effort, not one Republican in the House or Senate voted for the respective health insurance reform bills. While your efforts at bipartisanship are admirable, it is clear that the Republicans are not receptive to it on health insurance reform. Thus, there is no need to pursue a bipartisan approach on health insurance reform any further. Bipartisanship requires a willingness to participate and compromise, and it takes two willing parties to make a bipartisan approach work. If the Republicans are unwilling to participate in the process and/or compromise on any issue, despite your best efforts to involve them, it is not your fault. At this point, continued pursuit of a bipartisan approach on health insurance reform is naïve at best.

In short, it is time to play hardball and do whatever it takes (including some serious “arm twisting” by the House and Senate leadership) to get health insurance reform passed, and not worry so much about what the opposition says or thinks. I believe that the majority of Americans support the basics of health insurance reform, but are frustrated by the process of lawmaking. The truth of the “sausage-making simile” comes to mind here. Unfortunately, the process has been long, tortuous and ugly, and people are tired of it. The majority of the people in the country elected you in part to get this done. It is time that all Democrats come together to agree on some form of health insurance reform. Yes, the House and Senate Bills are far from perfect, but they are both far better than the status quo. It is time for everyone to realize that 80% of what you want is much better than nothing. Standing up for principles is fine in most situations. However, there are times when pragmatism wins out. I believe that this is one of those times, because, like the Apollo 13 saga, “failure is not an option.”

8) Make Health Insurance Reform Happen because it’s the right thing to do and it is what the Country wants and needs:

Do this for your own political future, for all those who voted for you, but do it primarily for those who don’t have health insurance and/or access to quality medical care because the current system is unfair and not properly regulated. Do this to honor the memory of Senator Edward Kennedy who fought tirelessly for health insurance reform throughout his career in the Senate. Please ask yourselves: Would he be proud of your current approach?

But most of all, do it because it is the right thing to do and it is what the people of the country want and need. Thank you for all of your hard work that has gotten health insurance reform to this point. Thank you for your consideration of my ideas on these issues. Now let’s get this done for the American People!

Sincerely,

Lawrence __________

(Editor's Note: I am not disclosing the last name of the sender for his privacy.)

Copies to:

Senator Barbara Boxer

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Representative Barbara Lee