Originally posted by Alberto Saavedra on DailyKos on Tue Dec 15, 2009 at 10:10:17 PM
Some healthcare legislation will pass in DC in the next few weeks. And Obama will sign it. Commemorative pens will be used. And pictures will be taken in the White House lawn. Obama will give a nicely worded speech. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will ham it up.
But this will not be the glorious event it could have been. The progressive base will not rejoice but the insurance companies will, people without health insurance will not celebrate but teabaggers will, healthcare activists will not high five each other but Republican politicians will.
This healthcare victory will be a Pyrrhic one (at best).
The only hope we will have is that a progressive state passes a good Single Payer Public legislation that is then adopted by other states.
The state with the best chance to do this is California with the CaliforniaOnecare.org campaign. I’ll tell you why I have become a very enthusiastic supporter of this well organized movement below.
Before I proceed let me establish one thing; I think Obama is a great President. Although he has not done much of what I hoped he do, he has done one thing that in my view makes all the difference in the world; Obama has regained the moral high ground for America. This alone is enough for me to be a loyal supporter of Obama.
But healthcare matters to me so I will keep on fighting until healthcare is available to all, with or without Obama’s support.
The California One Care campaign is where spotlight will move to next.
Why?
Its purpose is to get California Senate Bill 810 (SB 810) passed.
SB 810 is Single Payer full care for all.
It has the support of all the Democratic legislative leadership and most Democratic legislators
California One Care has a detailed roadmap that even takes into account a Schwarzenegger veto and leads to victory (not a Pyrrhic one) by 2012.
It is the tip of the iceberg of a strong coalition of volunteers and committed organizations.
Its upcoming 365 TV spot ad campaign starting with the one by Lill Tomlin will be effective. I have seen the first 32 and I was excited.
California OneCare is also backed by Heathcare for All which has been pushing for Single Payer legislation in California for 15 years!
In the coming weeks, I will highlight much more about California One Care and the looming healthcare battle that will be fought over the next years in California. Many other states (I hope) will also push for similar legislation but California is the ball game. Victory here is victory everywhere.
We expect the insurance companies to play hardball and we are preparing. But we will need all the help we can get. Everything from blogging, boots on the ground, donations, letters to the editors, phone banking, etc.
The action will start in February, when SB 810 is brought to the floor in Sacramento.
