Which is why this Congress and this administration will never allow a vote on Single Payer.

Medicare for All is simple, easy to explain and absolutely impossible to refute with any rational argument. An honest, good-faith Single Payer bill would have a hard time *not* passing Congress, unless some Dems wanted to go on the record as voting against the clear interests of their constituencies. If we'd actually had an extended debate on the subject, you'd have seen an outpouring of support from the progressive base that would make the 9/12 protests look like a .. um.. tea party.

Right now, with a new, popular president and a peaking of the disgust with Republicans and health insurance companies, we had a rare opportunity to enact something truly transformative for this country. That's why everyone in D.C. has worked so hard to keep this debate "off the table."


At this point it's probably too late to get real healthcare reform, but we should not forget this lesson. Next year, when Obama and Geithner and Summers put forward their weak, Wall-Street-coddling, guaranteed-to-crash-again financial reform, we need to be prepared. We need to have alternative legislation ready and we need to demand an honest debate and an up-or-down vote.

No more of this "it won't pass Congress" B.S. Even a losing vote on real reform is a win, as it will determine -- clearly and on-the-record -- who's with us and who's against us.