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The Profound Impact of Kucinich's Vote for Obamacare

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Message Jerry Call
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Rep. Dennis Kucinich's decision to vote for Obamacare was more than a capitulation to President Obama and his special interest groups; it was a blow that decimated the spirit of the working class and especially those that looked to Dennis for leadership. Dennis' decision confirms the fact that the interests of the American working class are no longer represented in Washington.

Dennis said recently, "I wanted Single Payer; the "robust public option' was a compromise. It's up to the White House. He [Obama] knows what he has to do to get the votes [to pass Obamacare]". It's too bad that Dennis didn't heed his own words because the onus fell completely on Obama to concede at least something to the American working class. Dennis, other members of Congress and the working class (without a vote or seat at the table) have now given up any alternative to the continued predatory behavior of the insurance companies. That is not compromise; that is total capitulation.

Dennis said in his interview on Democracy Now on Thursday that, "Just as soon as this bill is completed, we need to pursue reforms within the context of a for-profit system, and continue to pursue Single Payer." Well, if we can't hold out for what we believe in now and get at least a Robust "Medicare' Public Option, we certainly won't get it in the foreseeable future unless we withhold a vote now for Obamacare. I truly empathize with Dennis, and he held out longer than most, but he no longer holds any moral high ground to suggest that we do anything; neither do Reps. Grayson, Weiner or any of the members of the so called Congressional Progressive Caucus who left Dennis swinging in the wind. For Rep. Grayson to pledge his vote for Obamacare early on and then come up with a "Medicare Buy-in' bill that he knows full well will never pass in a Democratic or Republican congress is at best grandstanding and at worse being duplicitous in diverting people's attention from the importance of opposing Obamacare.

President Obama recently characterized his Obamacare as a compromise between the "far left' and the "ultra conservative right'. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that it has been a struggle from the beginning between the interests of the corporations and the interests of the American people, and Obama has sided with the corporations on this and every other issue to include the military industrial complex's war in Afghanistan, the Wall Street bailout, the continuation of the Bush tax cuts, the capitulation on global warming legislation, and the list goes on.

With the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of corporate election spending, this administration's across the board advocacy for the protection of corporate interests. And now with the capitulation of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the people's last hope of representation, we truly have a Fascist state whereby corporations and government are now one. Our corporately controlled media of course has facilitated this transformation.

The American people will be faced with a decision in November to find and vote for a candidate that is independent of corporate interests, or vote for a corporate Democrat or Republican, or just stay home and await the inevitable fall of the American Fascist Empire.

Â

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I became an activist in 2008 after being inspired by Dennis Kucinich in the early debates. I was particularly overwhelmed by his outline for a single payer healthcare system. Years earlier I was diagnosed with cancer and made a pledge that if I (more...)
 
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