Health Care Reform's White Knight
In what was perhaps the biggest surprise of the week, former DNC chair Howard Dean has come out against the current health care reform bill, claiming that it is simply a "bailout" for insurance companies, and judging by the bill's language, it is a hard charge to refute. Dean has also gotten some back up from the SEIU and from MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.
The needle that broke the camel's back was the mandate that all citizens are required to purchase insurance, which is something that is opposed from some of those on the right as well. This would swell the coffers of insurance companies, and if you read the rest of the bill, would not dramatically change the current climate of health care. Americans already spend more on health care than any other nation, and this would (in theory) raise that figure.
But the most dangerous part of Dean's charge is that it is starting to gather some anti-Obama, and perhaps anti-democratic sentiment. Olbermann has surprisingly suggested that if Obama signs the bill (assuming it passes the Senate), that the progressives within the party would support another candidate in 2012.
It has also been somewhat bewildering to see how the left has treated its once former DNC head (Dean). Many thought he was snubbed at not being offered any type of position within the Obama administration. He was also very publicly ousted as DNC chair when Obama was elected. It is somewhat ironic because Dean was actually the architect of the grassroots movement that elected Obama.
One thing is for certain: if the bill is watered down, the Dems lose, and if they don't pass it, they lose as well. The only thing that can perhaps salvage the Dems chances in 2010 is passage of a strong bill that is more like its House counterpart, this is likely the only thing that will bring progressives to the voting booth next year.
