Still more on single payer: Where are the Obots?

This day, I'm proud that I decided to step away from the Cheetohead horde. I'm proud to take my place with those liberals who view Obama and the current Dem leadership with a chary, cynical eye.

Right now, we have an historic opportunity for health care reform. Paul Krugman said these words a few days ago:

We’ll still have to see what the reform looks like — especially whether the public plan survives. But kudos to the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership: this is the big one, and so far it looks very, very good.

The Kossack progs have decided to let Nancy and Barry do it. But I don't trust Nancy and Barry. They've made clear that whatever they do, they don't want to do single payer.

What is single payer? Go here for the definition and the arguments in favor. Single payer is not socialized health care -- it's socialized insurance. Physicians would not work for the state. Under single payer, citizens would regain the ability to choose their care. Right now, under the HMOs, they do not have choice.

Under our present system, we pay more for health care than do the citizens of nearly every other country, yet we get worse care. Why?

This is because private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume one-third (31 percent) of every health care dollar. Streamlining payment through a single nonprofit payer would save more than $350 billion per year, enough to provide comprehensive, high-quality coverage for all Americans.

The profiteers are a luxury we can no longer afford.

Alas, Nancy Pelosi has said that single payer is "off the table." However, a Pelosi aide privately confessed that Nancy needed "street heat" -- in other words, she wants a demonstration from the people that they really, really demand single payer.

Enter Corrente and the Confluence and Cinie and Puma PAC and this humble blog. The PUMA-oriented blogs have inundated the congressional leadership and have literally broken Nancy's fax machine.

And what of the pro-O progblogs? Where are they?

Go to DU. Go to Kos. Go to Buzzflash. Go to Americablog. Go to Huffington Post. They offer nothing. On this rare, once-in-a-lifetime occasion, they have decided to trust Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the other Dem leaders. Barry and Nancy want to toss billions at leech-like insurance profiteers who add nothing to the system. That decision doesn't bother Moulitsas, Skinner, Karlin and Huffington.

How dare they accuse us of being Republicans in disguise?

I must confess, though, that Kos did offer an interesting video on Obama's unsatisfactory health care plan -- interesting in more ways than one. In essence, FOX has smarmily edited an Obama presentation in order to convey the impression that he supports Brit-style socialized health care, even though he does not:



(Media Matters made the initial catch.)

This clip has layers of unintended meaning:

1. Even though Obama still wants to hand over massive profits to the private insurance leeches -- thereby insuring that all Americans continue pay far too much for health care -- Fox and the conservative movementarians will continue to portray the president as a socialist.

I say if you're going to do the time, you might as well do the time. Or rather: If Obama is going to wear the label regardless of what he does or says, he might as well do the right thing.

(Which he won't.)

2. The Kos Krowd seems to have no problem with the fact that Obi's real stance is a far cry from single payer.

3. In the video, Obama lies. He claims that he wants universal coverage, although he plans to achieve that goal "in a different way." But the plan he outlined during the campaign left many millions of Americans uninsured, and does little to reduce costs for the middle class.

What to do? Keep putting heat on Nancy Pelosi and on your congress-critter. Obama will not propose a single-payer solution -- but he would not dare to veto such legislation.

Those of you who still have contacts in the Obama-worshipping progrblog community -- tell those people to go here and get on board.