For two years I was told that Democrats cannot filibuster because it's kind of extreme or something. I was told that we needed to elect a Democratic President to make any difference. I was told that we needed 60 Democratic Senators to do damn near anything. So we could break the Great Republican Filibusters, which are a dime a dozen apparently.
LIES! All of it. This now appears to be a scam of the highest order.
Last year, for several months I spent days at a time calling into Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, and New Jersey. I told hundreds people to vote with me so that we could change the world: better health care, better environment, better schools, better cars, better morals, a better future. I canvassed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. All weekend. For several months. I told hundreds of people that their vote would make this happen. Because the Democratic Leadership told me that they would make it all happen.
Yes, the Democratic leadership told me this. The very top players: Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. And we accomplished what they asked. Plain and simple. 60 Senators and President with a mandate. We added nine Senators in one election year! That's stunning work. Plus a House with the biggest majority in decades. WE all accomplished exactly what they requested. But it was all a lie.
Because now they've scrapped single payer health care. It was not even discussed. Not even on the table. Not even under the table. Now they're scamming us out of a public option. A "public". "option". They can't sell that phrase to the country? Really? The public likes options. On anything. On dinner on video games on cell phones and on healthcare. Give it to us! It's not a mandate. It's a fucking option. How can they not sell this? Are they even trying?
Now there's people posting here regularly who tell me to email my Senators. And call some guy named Max Baucus. And mail my Congressman. And then I get emails from Mitch Stewart at BarackObama.com telling me to come to a phone bank somewhere and call more of the same people who probably think I'm an idiot, liar now. But I'm not and idiot, liar, I just got scammed. Then Patricia L from BarackObama.com wants me to donate more money to...something for health care. So they can convince who? But I donated over $400 to Barack Obama during the campaign. I got him elected. We all did. Because he told us that he would pass health care reform!
I don't have time to send more mail and phone bank another five weekends. It's all I can do to keep my job so I don't lose the optionless health care that I do have. I'm an entrepreneurial capitalist and I don't have more money to give away so that the spineless, plodding Democrats can sell ads that no one watches. We spent a full year doing this hard work. And We won. We freaking won!
And so they have the votes in the Senate and in the House. They know why they are there. If we wanted bipartisanship, we would have voted for a bipartisan government. Seriously, they don't have 60 Senators by some accident of fate. But we didn't do that. So stop scamming us with bullshit excuses and requests for more cash to waste on some faux campaign to convince a public who already voted you into office. And start making good on your campaign promises. Time is running out.
And I close with professional liar, Nancy Pelosi on The Daily Showin 2008 discussing a time line to end the war in Iraq:
Stewart: "But we had Harry Reid over here. Senator Harry Reid came on the program and sat across from me. Can I tell you something, it was crazy. Six minute interview, he was asleep for four of the minutes. He left, and I just kept asking questions to the chair."
Pelosi: "It's a tough job. It's a tough job."
Stewart: "I've never seen anything like it. Was he, is he... is he just sad, or what happened? Can't you put more pressure on him more publicly, are there ways...?"
Pelosi: "No, it's not him, it's the sixty, you need sixty votes. So he gets the Democratic votes, and that is a majority. But you still need nine more votes. That is why this election is so important. I mean, the, the idea, we, we have been able to accomplish a lot, we passed our energy bill, the minimum wage first time in ten years..."
Stewart: "Couldn't you take stronger uh, in terms of the war, why not just withhold funding? That could be done."
Pelosi: "Well we did that, we did that this last time, and we sent the bill over with no funding, and conditions for how we would stay there. The bill came back from the Senate with the funding, and no conditions on how we stay there. We need..."
Stewart: "So then you guys would say..."
Pelosi: "We need a new President. That is what we..."
Stewart: "...couldn't you say at that point..."
Pelosi: "No."
Stewart: "We do need a new president, I would say that. Let me ask you this..."
Pelosi: "Our election in 86, we thought the President would listen to the will of the American people. It was very clear they wanted an end to the war."
Stewart: "Wait, wait, which election? 2006?"
Pelosi: "2006. Now, that was step one. 2008 we get a Democratic President, we bring the war to an end, and return to a position of leadership in the world."
Whatever. They better get this done in the end.