Thursday, October 1, 2009

On Alan Grayson

First, watch this:



Now, I am a liberal, and have been known to get a little bit fanatic, and yes, I gave the guy $100 yesterday.  But instead of arguing that Republicans are bad, I have a completely different reason for supporting Grayson as this time - he made, for the very first time, the argument Democrats should have been making from the get-go.

Look, everyone knows someone who got fucked by their insurance company.  44,700 people die every year because they lack health insurance.  70% of all bankruptcies are caused by health issues (and over half of those people HAD health insurance).  We pay more than any other country on health care (by a factor of two), but among industrialized nations, we're among the least healthiest.  And for the past 50 years, people have been clamoring for health care reform.

So why the fuck didn't the Democrats start this thing out by saying that health care reform is meant to SAVE LIVES?  Why hasn't Obama mentioned his mother, who spent her dying days fighting her health insurance company, once during the debate?  While the Republicans were talking "death panels" and other completely made up shit, not one Democrat came forward with a gut-level argument for health care. 

Grayson, who comes from Central Florida, of all places, finally did that.  Of course, he basically stole the joke about a few health insurance companies ("x insurance company is great until you get sick.") but at least he's making the argument.  Why has no one asked any Senator how many people have to die before you're willing to reform health care?  That would be a question that I'd love to hear Senator Lincoln's response to.

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