The Popularity of The Public Option v. The Unpopularity of Republicans

In honor of yesterday breaking the record for hottest day in Washington State since the beginning of the 20th Century, I'll keep this brief (I've got Pabst to drink, and an industrial-sized fan to pray to).

Glenn Greenwald, one of the best writers on politics, media, and that one outdated document some white slave owners ratified way back in the quaint ole' days of 1789, posted these figures from a recent NYT poll that I hope the media, and anyone who considers his or herself a Democrat or progressive would take seriously


Look at the favorability ratings of Democrats versus Republicans (47% to 28%) in Congress! Moreover, Limbaugh's Party has a 61% unfavorable rating!

Now, despite the incoherent fear-mongering about the public option killing grandparents and so on, look at what percentage of Americans would want "a government administered health insurance plan...that would compete with private health insurance plans."

With a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, along with a President who is advocating for a strong public option to compete with private insurers (what the majority of Americans want), we might expect to see exactly that type of bill passing after the August recess----if our representative system actually works!

But why then are many of us so nervous----especially those of us who've voted for Democrats recently?

Probably because we know, at least deep down, that Matt Taibbi is right when he says: "Our government doesn’t exist to protect voters from interests, it exists to protect interests from voters."

So there should be no more excuses: Dems must quit the fake "bipartisan" consensus (always when Dems are in power, never the inverse of course), Blue Dog-Baucus pussyfooting nonsense, and pass what the people want and need in order to join the rest of the world's civilized countries.

Otherwise, why vote for a party whose actions belie their stated goals, and even their own name?

Democratic? We'll see!