Rally? For heath care? Why bother?

Originally posted Friday, Aug 27, 2009, at BlueOregon.com

Tomorrow at 10 am in Terry Shrunk Plaza, Organizing for America and Health Care for America Now! are hosting a rally for health care — "Let’s Get It Done!" There is an impressive line-up of speakers, and it's being held across the street from Ron Wyden's office. I'll be there, and I think you should, too (and you should bring some friends and family members with you). The question, of course, is why even bother? What damn good will it do?

And the answer is, as the answer in all things political: it will do whatever good you are willing to work to accomplish. Stay home, and it does no good at all. In politics, what happens is decided by those who bother to show up.

We know who has been showing up on health care reform: Health insurance company lobbyists, by the millions of dollars. Republican Senators intent on deep-sixing anything Pres Obama wants to accomplish. Blue Dog Dems who have yet to understand there was an election last year that meant something. Tea-baggers, birthers, even those who stand a trigger-pull away from suggesting Obama should be killed. In short, those who want anything except meaningful health care reform have been the ones showing up and getting things done ("done" being obstruction and distortion). That's why health care reform is in trouble. Not because of deficits or Obama's strategy, but because ordinary Americans are not on the front lines winning this battle.

It's one thing to say you want this to happen. It's one thing to demand that Congress and the President do the right thing. For eight years, I demanded that Dubya eat shit and die; didn't happen. Never was gonna happen. Wishing for health care to happen without getting busy and making it happen is defeatism at its worst. Not doing anything is an option only if you want nothing to get done.

If you are serious about making a change, whether it's health care reform or reductions to the military's budget or good schools or anything — anything at all — you have to do things that may not seem like fun, that push you far outside your comfort zone. I think a great way to start is to come downtown tomorrow morning and stand up for health care reform. You'll be with people who agree with you, it'll be a beautiful morning, and you'll find out what you can do to make a real difference in this debate.

We will change how politics is done is this country if, and ony if, enough of us who are not lobbyists, CEOs, corporate hacks, MSM talking heads and wingnut luddites do what we did last year: hit the streets, talk to people, work to make the change happen. We cannot wish and hope for change; no amount of wistful yearing for a better country will make that better country appear out of nowhere. Only dedicated action at the grassroots can make change a reality.

The good thing is that you do not have to do all the work yourself. Hell, you don't even have to do very much of the work. You just have to do something. One thing a week, or every other week. Show up for the rally tomorrow. The next week, volunteer to go door-to-door for a few hours. Call Wyden and Merkley's offices and tell them to support real reform, to support the President. Write a letter to your local paper. Every week, do one thing for health care reform, one thing for democracy, and ask those around you to do one thing as well. The lobbyists and obstructionists, after all, are doing many things. But you can be part of the movement that defeats them. They may have money but you have something far more powerful: A vote. Elected officials pay more attention to activist voters than to lobbyist donations because only the former keep them in office.

So, I'll see you tomorrow morning in downtown Portland. Bring a friend or two; bring the family and then go out for lunch after. While you're there, sign up to do something for the cause (Treasure and Betsy have lots of sign-up sheets, and I get "We Can Do Better" will be there, too). Because hopeless causes only exist when we allow them to. We can have meaningful health care reform despite all the negative signs we see from DC, but only if we take up the challenge and make the reform happen. After all, we have an advantage none of the anti-reform crowd has: The guy in the Oval Office? He's on our side. Let's show him we're on his.