“Healthcare” Passage Brings Opportunity
Parks Helms summed it up best with his famous quote, “I’m mad! I’m angry!”
He wasn’t speaking about healthcare, but he’s not alone with that sentiment.
With the passage of the “Comprehensive Health Insurance Reform” bill Sunday night by a 219-212 vote in the United States House of Representatives, millions of Americans who had actively been voicing their opposition to the bill were given a painful slap in the face.
In a seemingly “Twilight Zone-esque” live speech to the nation after the vote, President Obama stated that the vote proves government “still works for the people” and that “change in this country comes not from the top down, but from the bottom up”. Which “people” he was referring to given the negative poll numbers and extreme opposition the bill possessed is beyond comprehension. It’s downright laughable to suggest passage was attributable to grassroots activism in support.
Here we are though. With House passage of the bill and the reconciliation language to be sent to the Senate, ultimate passage seems all but certain, barring procedural magic.
This shouldn’t be looked at with fear and negativity. It is a tremendous opportunity being handed to conservative Republicans and Tea Party activists. We just need the will to take it.
I had the privilege on Saturday morning to drive to Washington, DC to spend the day protesting the bill with 39,999 new friends and patriots. Contrary to reports of only “a few thousand” people and “racist slurs running rampant amongst a crowd of uncontrollable ne’er-do-wells”, the positive spirit of the rally was palpable.
People were angry, yes, but friendly and respectful towards each other. I witnessed examples of people sharing food and sunscreen with strangers, folks handing expensive cameras to someone they had never seen before in order to have a picture taken, a group helping an elderly man in a wheelchair get lifted up the steps and onto the lawn rather than wheel around to the ramp across the park. I saw Americans coming together for a common cause. It was inspiring to say the least.
Twice missing an opportunity to buy a ticket for the Americans for Prosperity bus to DC, I carpooled with a gentleman named Sam and my friend Monica.
Sam had only heard of the rally the previous afternoon when he attended a similar rally in Rock Hill, SC protesting Congressman John Spratt’s support for the bill. That rally was the first he had ever attended. He had grown tired of receiving letters from Spratt’s office thanking him for his support of the bill when his letters were clearly in opposition.
Sam is a happily married 37-year-old father of two boys. He is extremely active with his sons’ sporting endeavors, is a student of history, and is an avid Glenn Beck fan. He is someone who has always voted, but simply didn’t make the time or feel compelled to be an active participant in the political process, other than to send the occasional letter.
This bill finally changed that.
He decided that providing for and spending time with his family was one thing, but that the extreme changes in the direction of this country necessitate him to stand up and fight with the opposition lest his children grow up without the same opportunities that his generation had.
I’m willing to bet that Sam’s story is not unique.
Assuming the bill quickly passes the Senate, there is still good that can come from this outcome. We will be free to wholeheartedly turn our attention towards organizing ourselves into the largest conservative grassroots movement ever seen. We have the power to make the 1994 GOP victories look like a trial run in comparison to the numbers we will elect this time around. We can change the face of Washington…if we have the will.
It starts with us, those who have been involved and have our hands a little dirty already. It then blossoms by reaching out to the Sam’s of the world and harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of those new to the fight. It takes making sure that everyone who wants to be involved has an outlet to get involved. It means reaching out to the number of conservative grassroots organizations we have locally and figuring out ways to work together to accomplish what we all believe in without ego getting in the way of the ultimate goal. It means finding a candidate (or two, or three!) to dedicate the next few months of your life to.
The opportunity to “change it back” is right in front of us. It won’t be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is.
The President and Congress have shown us that they will not listen to the people. It is therefore time for “We the People” to show them what happens as a result.
I agree with you that we have a unique opportunity, but I wonder if trying (yet again) to “change the face of Washington” is the best course of action at this point. I think the last (and first) line of defense we have, and really have always had, against federal overreach is our state legislatures. Organizing to change the face of Raleigh should, in theory, be much more doable than changing Washington, with the added benefit of restoring the dual sovereignty model to the states that the Founders intended. Our focus shouldn’t be on just repealing this one piece of legislation…rather, the opportunity before us is to neuter Washington across the board and show the boys on the Hill that not only are we not going to enforce this bad bill, we’re not going to do their dirty work for them now AND in the future.
Valid point Adam, though perhaps one effort can spill into the other.
Victories at all levels are important. The voters energized by a local candidate are likely to vote for a similar candidate at the national level.
I totally agree with your end result, but wouldn’t it be great for our state reps to not have to fight tooth and nail to arrive there? It would certainly make for a cleaner transition, which I think benefits all parties.