This is sort of an open letter to Bill Maher, regarding his bit on the Rachel Maddow show last night.
Bill, let me start by saying that I admire you. I think your show is hilarious, and I like how you're not afraid to say something even if it isn't politically correct to say. I appreciate your advocacy for liberal values. I'm not writing this to yell at you or call you a pinhead.
Last night on Rachel's show you said that you think the liberals need to listen to what Paul Begala had to say in his op-ed about incrementalism, especially referencing the historical example of Social Security. But Bill, Paul Begala is wrong, and so are you.
I'm not writing this to Paul Begala because I like you more, and frankly consider you to be a more forceful and true advocate for liberal causes, rather than just Democratic causes.
Here's the clip. (sorry, having trouble embedding the video directly)
Paul writes that we should look to the example of Social Security. When Social Security was passed, it didn't cover everyone. It wasn't a perfect program, it certainly wasn't as good as it is now, but the important thing was to get something passed to get it out there so it could be built on later.
As a progressive, I would like a good program out of the gate, and I will continue to fight for one, but I understand that ultimately we might have to settle for weaker reform than we'd like. Hell, of course I understand that... I want Medicare For All, and the very concept of merely a public option is an explicit admission of the political reality that we won't get everything we want right away.
But here's the catch. When FDR created Social Security, he actually created Social Security. He created a public program. He didn't create a mandate that all Americans invest in private hedge funds or Wall Street banks. He didn't try to create investment cooperatives that would try to manage your retirement funds in a non-profit structure. He created Social Security, a public program.
And Social Security, though it didn't cover everyone, wasn't even an option to those it did cover and who had to pay into it all of a sudden.
In this modern analog, the public option is Social Security. And if we don't create it, we can't later build on it or improve it.
In fact, the argument you made on Rachel's show is almost identical to the circumstances surrounding the public option. It probably won't be available to everyone right away; that's something we'll have to add on later as we improve it. The liberals are willing to be incrementalists, but they insist on at least taking a first step.
Though your argument perhaps does pose an interesting question: is Medicare actually the analog to Social Security? Do we already have our public program (that doesn't cover everyone), but now it's our job to improve it, to make it universal, even if it's by adding one segment of society at a time? I think that's the better plan, and I also think that's the better politics. It would be much easier to sell expanding Medicare coverage than creating a new program from scratch. But I digress...
The last thing I wanted to write is to give you an answer to a question you asked. You asked where Obama's supporters went, now that we're down to the hard work of governing? The answer is simple: we didn't go anywhere. We're right here. We haven't moved.
If you don't see us near Obama, it's not because we left. It's because he isn't standing beside us anymore.
I don't say that in some fatalistic way, but it's true. Firedoglake has raised over $150,000 in under 2 days to support congressmen who are standing firm for the public option. Hmm... progressives who rapidly raise vast sums of money online for candidates that are supporting their causes. Where have I seen that before?
Those are the same people that raised millions for Obama's campaign. That's where Obama's supporters are. We aren't on the sidelines; we're still fighting for the causes we believe in, and the causes Obama campaigned on. It's not our fault if Obama's team is pitting him against us.
Rahm Emmanuel commented that he thought we were "fucking stupid", but if you ask me, he's the one being fucking stupid. He has this army of progressives who are so ready to be out fighting for health care reform that they've said to hell with waiting for Obama to lead them and started taking matters into their own hands. All the administration had to do was actually stand up for what Obama campaigned on and they'd have had thousands of us at every town hall, marching on Washington, you name it. But he decided to side with Max Baucus, Chuck Grassley, and Ben Nelson instead, men who couldn't inspire a dozen people to march on Washington if they offered free pizza and beer when they got there.
We, the progressive community, those searched-for supporters of Obama, have shown a willingness to compromise. Of all people, I wish you would stop demanding that we continue to do so, because you're one of the people who aren't afraid to stand against the bullshit that happens in Washington. How about instead, you start aiming your wit and voice at the corporatist members of the Democratic party, who are the ones that have refused to meet us halfway, or even three-quarters of the way. Maybe it's time that they showed some incrementalism of their own.
UPDATE: Just wanted to add this...
