[WS:] Even more curious is the fact that this exact scenario was played several times in the past with the heated ideologues winning each time. It looks like Dems are incapable of learning from experience or being insincere in their pursuits.
I tend to think it is the latter. They respond to popular pressure by putting the health reform issue on the agenda, but then they gut it because passing it is not in their interest. It is not just because some of them are in the pockets of insurance companies or big pharma, but because passing any meaningful reform is against thier interests as a political class.
Political parties position themselves as mediators between different interest groups and government. The less the government responds to the needs and demands of these groups as a matter of statutory policy, the greter the need for "mediators" i,e, political parties to facilitate interaction between government and society. Therefore, far form being venues of democratic control, poltical parties are paraistic middleman that on the one hand cripple the functioning of government and then offer their services to mediate bwteeen governmetn and society.
In other words, political parties (both Repugs and Dems) are a protection racket offering citizens to secure some goods or services from governmetn in exchange for political contributions and support. And since they also control the government, they make sure that the need for their "intermediation" never expires and sabotage any attempts to make the governmetn work in "auto-pilot" (as most bureaucracies do) withou the constant need for mediation from your local congressman.
A meaningful health care reform is not as much against interest of the capitalist class (as Eurocapitalists not only can tolerate welfare state, but also find it quite useful) but against the interest of political parties in the US. That may explain why Democrats seem to repeat over and over again the same behavior - introducing a reform proposal and then throwing it to the wolves.
Wojtek
On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 9:20 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> [Curiously, opinion has gotten more anti-gov since the debate heated up.
> This is what happens when you have heated ideologues on one side and tedious
> wonks on the other.]
>
> <
> http://www.gallup.com/poll/123332/Many-U.S.-See-Health-Insurance-Personal-Responsibility.aspx
> >
>
> September 30, 2009Many in U.S. See Health Insurance as Personal
> ResponsibilityMajorities place responsibility on government when no
> alternative is presented
> by Lydia Saad
>
>
> PRINCETON, NJ -- In a recent Gallup survey, 89% of Republicans, 64% of
> independents, and 61% of Americans overall say Americans themselves --
> rather than the government -- have the primary responsibility for ensuring
> that they have health insurance. Six in 10 Democrats say the government
> should be primarily responsible.
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