What Would Paul Wellstone Do?

The Dems could use the sort of passion and commitment Wellstone had in abundance.

“If we don’t fight hard for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we really don’t stand for them.”  ~  Paul Wellstone

As the House of Representatives stands poised to finally vote on healthcare (or maybe not vote depending on which parliamentary trick Nancy Pelosi plays),  Republicans and the vast right-wing are howling like raped pigs,  yet there is really no reason to pump ya fist if you’re a Democrat.

Come November there will be fewer Democrats in Washington than there are now.  It won’t be because the GOP  came up with any better ideas.   In non-presidential election years, the party in power usually takes it on the chin.   This year though the Democrats may deserve to be hammered .  Because of their own ineffectiveness and timidity  they have brought much of the pain upon themselves.  Estimates vary about how much blood will be spilled,  but nobody is predicting Democrats will gain seats in the fall.  The question is will Harry Reid win his reelection bid and stay Senate Majority Leader (doubtful) and will the Dems lose control of the Senate and House?

If they do that might not entirely be a bad thing.     Passing healthcare reform will cost the Democrats dearly.   Not passing healthcare reform will cost them even more.   In this time where courage is in short supply and standing up for principle is necessary they need a Paul Wellstone.   And they don’t have one.

The late Paul Wellstone, the liberal icon from Minnesota  who died in a 2002 plane crash once said, “I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.”   There are too many Democrats in Washington who don’t.   When he’s not on one of his bipartisan kicks, I think President Obama can be counted as part of  the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.

As far as  Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, Bart Stupak, and the other sell-outs  that make up the Blue Dog Democrats bloc I have my doubts.   The only thing these guys seem interested in is covering their own asses and making sure they get reelected.     The strength of the Democratic Party is its diversity and it is truly a national party with a variety of perspectives.  Unfortunately on major issues  the party breaks up into Balkanized factions that have little in common.

Given a choice between a weak Democrat who’s with the president sometimes and a committed Republican who you know is against his policies all the time, I’d rather have the Republican.   Better to know who your enemy is than to wonder who your friends are.   I’m willing to live with the Democrats out of power if that means getting rid of the DINO’s (Democrats In Name Only) and replacing them with committed progressives who aren’t trying to be Republican Lite.

The Republicans will make healthcare reform their number one campaign issue against the Democrats.   They believe allowing people to suffer and go without medical treatment and medicine is a winning issue with voters.   At least with their voters who presumably are all in perfect health and never will lose their jobs or coverage.

Well, what of it?  I would rather support a representative, senator, governor or president that stands up for what’s right than a bunch of cowardly chickenshits who only do what’s easy and politically expedient.   The Democratic and Republican parties are already almost subsidiaries of Corporate America and real, systemic reform is darn near impossible to get without spilling blood in the street.   There was a slim chance healthcare reform would include the public option, but single payer was never seriously considered.   Obama, Pelosi, and Harry Reid knew even with a Democratic majority there was never a real commitment to push for either.

It may cost the president and his party in November if a number of Democrats go down to defeat, but deeds have consequences.  There are a lot of voters just like me who voted with enthusiasm for them in 2008  only to be disappointed, disillusioned and disgusted by how badly they have botched healthcare reform.  Even now Pelosi is chasing for enough votes to pass it in the House.

The Democrats had exactly three things they needed to get done before the elections:  stop the economy from collapsing, pass healthcare reform and get Americans back to work.  One out of three is not good enough.

Whatever I was expecting from the Democrats was not the timid and weak way they have exercised the mandate they were given.   Nor did I expect the president to squander his momentum wasting time in the futile pursuit of cooperation from the untrustworthy likes of Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.   What was Obama expecting from people who screamed “You lie!”  and predicted if they could stop the president on healthcare it would be his “Waterloo?”    You can’t work with people dedicated to ensuring you fail.

Wellstone knew sometimes you have to start a fight to win one.

Wellstone, like Obama, was a community organizer and knew how tough it is to wage a grassroots fight against entrenched, powerful interests and their minions all too happy to defend a corrupt and ineffective status quo.    This is the moment for Obama and his party to stand up for principle and run on their record or stand down and go down in bitter defeat.   It’s their call to make.  Too many people fall through the cracks the Republicans are ignoring and need the help healthcare reform can offer.  But there is no Wellstone or Ted Kennedy alive to prod, push and shame their colleagues into doing the right thing.  They’ll have to find the guts to do it all by themselves.

Wellstone cautioned,  “A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people’s lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.”

The insensitivity of Pelosi and Reid to the Democratic base  has left them looking weak, indecisive and put the Democrats a nightmarish situation where they could both win and lose at the same time.  The president’s dithering and mixed signals confused his own party and emboldened the opposition.   The Democrats could have gotten healthcare done months ago when they had the momentum and the public support.   They failed to act and now they have neither.

The Democrats could use the sort of passion and commitment Wellstone had in abundance and their current leadership seem to lack.   His brand of unapologetic liberalism has been abandoned for cold pragmatism and cutting side deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Now it’s all on Obama and the Democrats to deliver or suffer the consequences of failure.   Upon their own heads so be it.