Every once in a while, Richard Kirsch, does a “happy dance” article celebrating his own Health Care for America Now campaign for health care reform, whose outcome of course was the wonderful bill legislated by the Congress last Spring. Kirsch, who is now a Senior Fellow at The Roosevelt Institute, posted his latest happy dance at The Nation, whose “liberal media bias” was nowhere in evidence near his article.

I have only a few comments to make on his description of the process of bringing this “progressive victory” to us all, since, no doubt, Kirsch is the leading expert on this process. However, I will say something about an aspect of the process which he’s neglected to describe and then go on to talk about the results of his noble efforts.

Ahhh, the power of the Democrats! To all of you who said that Dems couldn’t get anything done, to all of you that said Congressional Democrats couldn’t find the President’s desk with a map, a flashlight, and guided tour from Desirée Rogers, to all of you that said this White House did not know how to play political hardball, I say: Behold!

Just look what has happened in the last fortnight (or so): the president actually put his health plan on paper, the Senate leadership and the White House decided that budget reconciliation wasn’t such a bad idea after all, Democrats in both houses of Congress came together on a sidecar strategy, leadership has started whipping votes like there’s no tomorrow, President Obama has taken his show on the road in campaign-style events to sell his reform plan, and he, the president himself, is having one-on-one meetings with Democratic members (yes, that’s Democratic, not Republican) of the House to arm twist and horse trade. And, the great grassroots organizing forces of the left—from OFA to SEIU, from DFA to HCAN, from MoveOn to what the serious folks call “the liberal blogosphere” (not the marginal blogs, of course [smile])—have been mobilized in an all-out, no-holds-barred, damn-near scorched earth effort to move every last member of the House off the dime and on board the health care highway.

Hell, the White House is giving away NASA bases, and the SEIU is threatening primary challenges to anyone that votes against the “Senate-plus” health care overhaul—even if that means running kamikaze, third-party candidates. All to counteract the horrible, obstructionist, downright evil efforts of notorious Public Enemy Number One. . .

If indeed there is fraud going on by leaders/members of Congress saying one thing to the public and conspiring in the back room to implement some thing else, then it is time to call the names and expose the culprits. All these shenanigans will damage Democratic Party reputation and result in loss of large number of votes come November. They seem to not realize that they will be shooting themselves in the foot

Kip Sullivan is essential reading for those who wish not to forget that the public option movement has been a case study in skilled cooptation of well-intentioned progressive groups and impulses. This post highlights his latest contribution.

A rebuttal of ‘we’ll fix it in conference’

According to Progressive Democrats of America and OpEdNews, the Kucinich Amendment has been stripped from the bill.

Update: 10/7/09 As of 3:45AM: 3 have been charged & released. 2 await processing. 1 has a court appearance, 9AM today.
Update: Marc Stier (PA HCAN director) and Dennis Short (SEIU) were released at 5AM.

Five health care activists arrested today, 10/06/09, for civil disobedience at a protest at CIGNA headquarters in Philadelphia, PA;

Stacie Ritter went to CIGNA CEO Edward Hanway’s home to try to talk with him about her family moving into his estate’s carriage house, on October 1st, 2009, to help them recoup from their financial bankruptcy. High medical expenses caused this bankruptcy after CIGNA denied insurance coverage for Stacie’s now, eleven-year-old twin daughters’ much-needed, ongoing care for brain and developmental damage. Hanway was not home. Stacie Ritter will try again today, October 6, 2009, at CIGNA headquarters at 1601 Chestnut Street, at 11:30AM and is willing to risk arrest to do it.

Health care reform activists and Labor, some 600-800 strong, rallied and marched in Philly yesterday, under threat of rain, in the din of thwoop-thwooping TVNews copters overhead who covered it live, and evening rush hour traffic honking their support. CIGNA whistleblower Wendell Potter,AFLCIO Exec VP Arlene Holt Baker, National Physicians Alliance Dr Valerie Arkoosh, UFCW1776 President Wendell Young, and Stacie Ritter, the Mom of two leukemia-stricken 6-year-olds whose care was denied by CIGNA, were just some of the speakers. Philadelphia Police estimated the turnout at 600; the union leaders who were also there estimated the turnout to be about 800.