If we lose healthcare reform, what are you willing to do?

I hope this is a rhetorical question, but I've been wondering what we would do if that were the case. Would you be willing to turn out the corrupt pols, even on our own side? Would you be willing to participate in a general strike? Would you be willing to march on Washington? Would you be willing to refuse to obey whatever incarnation of the status quo they cobble together? Where would you direct your energies?

OR

Would you throw your hands up and accept what they hand to you?

replies. Please accept my apologies.

One thing I absolutely would do is support focused efforts to throw Democratic health-care enemies out at the earliest possible opportunity. Make a glaring example out of them.

Spending all this amount of time talking about this, while the economy was crumbling will result in very bad things for Democrats.

Even if most policy experts hail the solution as a step backwards, smoke and mirrors and proper lip service may convince half the party that the solution was acceptable. Then, well, its just all about the status quo in party politics. Those who are upset will be written off as malcontent progressives.

You are a cog in the machine. You can creak, but you will still turn.

I think it is time for people to learn how much they can live without in the name of common good and the true meaning of community.

if we could only depend on our Friends on the other side.

system left intact.

1) No more donations to the democratic party, DNC, etc. Not a dime.

2) Depending on where my reps/senators stood on the issue, if they voted against or were in any way obstructionist I will not vote for them. Will never vote for an (R) but possibly either third party or abstention from that particular ballot.

3) I will donate to any primary opponnent of any of the blue dogs, since I can't cast a vote for or against them since most are (I believe) outside of my state.

organizations and politicians with a note stating that they won't be seeing any money from me until I see a Medicare option extended to everyone who wants it or needs it. Also, I have made a suggestion on other threads that if you know of someone who died as a result of lacking adequate health coverage or being denied life saving measures by their insurance that they should invest in getting a copy of the death certificate and sending copies to their Congressional reps, senators and to the White House with a brief letter stating what happened to that person. It would be a great way to jam up their fax machines too. Many of us are spread out too far and wide to join in a storming of the Bastille type of general strike, however, we can use the electronic means at our disposal to do the next best thing.

and caring for it to matter.

we need to have something like the iraq body count scrolling on our tv's 24/7 so that those corporate insurance whores have to witness daily what their inaction is doing.

It also makes a statement if in volume. It's as if you are doing a sit in without running the risk of being arrested. Also, letters are nice but can remain unread, however, a death certificate is what it is and harder to ignore.

arreested. We were willing to be arrested for civil rights and women's rights to become law. Why aren't we willing to be arrested in large numbers or take to the streets for economic justice?

were back in the sixties. Of course law enforcement seems to have meaner ways of crowd control as well today. I was watching the protests in Pittsburgh in which a crowd of students, who had nothing to do with it, got caught up in being beaten and arrested with the protestors. I'm I guess more into quasi-guerilla tactics today where you don't put your life on the line so you can fight another day.

There would need to be a way of making a significant economical statement as it impacts these companies. You can't tell me that we don't have enough junk out here we've bought over the past decade that we can't live without making such purchases for a while. Can't we pool food and transportation and aren't there enough people working in various industries who wouldn't be willing to pool skills and talents for community benefit? Are our skills and our knowledge only of value when there is a corporate check behind them? We need to begin thinking of ourselves differently.

most of what I own, other than books, are necessities. I wear my clothes to thread bare as well, so much so, that the Good Will and Salvation Army don't want them. I haven't eaten out in a year with the exception of an occasional fast food burger. However, I don't think it will make much difference anyway since the real money being made today is in screwing people who are forced to buy mostly useless products like eye gouging insurance and overly expensive drugs. Also, the working class shlub is paying the majority of taxes which are also being funneled to the rich through our war schemes from the last administration. That's where you need to turn off the spigot. But the idea of "storming the Bastille" is not only to let our leaders know what we want, but to scare the crap out of them as well. Otherwise they will keep doing business as usual and ignoring the people with impunity.

if we are unable to solve the biggest blight on our economy and something that is killing 40,000 a year.

Yes, I would be willing to march, strike and work to get these parasites out of office. Pretty much anyone who was not on board with reform is off the bus as far as I am concerned.

Sorry to say, I would absolutely consider it a major failure of both President Obama and the Democratic Party. I would definitely consider any other options hat may avail themselves - a primary run at President Obama, Third Party, whatever.

something I point out every time I call them.

will support a general strike--would be about time.

will NOT bow down and accept an order to buy into a corrupt system.

am seriously investigating moving to another country.

He's not the one sitting in Congress theoretically writing laws.

Where politicians and Media weren't allowed.

Consider me a dropout.

I'm sorry to say that, but I'm just being honest.

For the time being that will serve, but if we lose this battle this nation will be financially destroyed.

If protests are organized, I'll go.

If I'm asked to write my legislators*, I will.

But as far as being proactive about changing this hopeless sham system?

Nope.


*Does not pertain to requests from the Obama administration.

work twice as hard in order to get more moderates voted in.

affiliation to Independent. It won't help my health status, but it will make a statement.

I am eligible now to apply for citizenship, but decided to wait for the outcome of the current mess to see if it will be economically possible for me to stay here. I love the US, and my friends here, but it just wouldn't make sense if I find myself broke and destitute down the road in my retirement should some medical situation arise. I don't plan on spending my small retirement income that I worked so hard for all my life to fill the coffers of corporate insurance, and live in poverty because of that.

This is a great country, and a great place to live EXCEPT for one thing..... health care costs. Also,if some kind of reform doesn't pass that includes a "public option" similar to a Canadian style of single payer, I guarantee you, there aren't too many years left for the good ol USA anyways. IT will be broke, and you'll find people all over this country seeking other places to live more in tune with peoples needs. It will come down to a matter of survival over patriotism being the bottom line.