Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) didn’t exactly lie yesterday when he told a small group of East Nashville religious leaders and their congregants that he “supports a public health care option without a trigger,” but he didn’t exactly tell the truth either.
If you’re like me, when someone says they “support” something, it means that they will wholeheartedly get behind the thing they “support.” They will stand up for it, advocate for it and push for it even when push comes to shove. I don’t think that’s what Jim Cooper meant. I think he meant something quite different, but lacked the necessary… well, uh… exactitude to say just what he meant.
After listening to his further comments I came away with the strong impression that Cooper supports a public option only rhetorically. Just as Bill Clinton “never had sex with that woman,” Jim Cooper “fully supports a public option without a trigger.” I no more believe that Jim Cooper is serious about reforming health care than I believe that Michael Vick has acquired an abiding respect and affection for dogs.
Let me venture out on a prognosticating limb here and conjure up a preview of what Cooper’s pitch might sound like once Congress gets back to work, followed by a translation. If I’m wrong I’ll eat bugs.
Cooper’s pitch will go something like this: “I fully support a public option. I think it’s a good idea, but it’s just one way of getting needed reforms and getting everybody covered. The problem is that we can’t always have everything we want, just like we saw back in 1994 when Bill and Hillary Clinton tried to fight with Congress about health care reform and failed. A president just can’t fight Congress and win.
“The fact is that the Democrats just don’t have the votes needed in the Senate to pass a reform bill that includes a public option. But, we can get the votes to pass something else, something effective that doesn’t include a public option—something that utilizes the power of a free market and competition to tackle the problems with the existing system. The objective is to pass a bill that gets rid of the abuses in the health insurance industry, gets everyone covered and reduces cost. We can accomplish that objective by compromising on the public option.”
Here’s the translation: “I’m going to do everything in my power to kill meaningful health care reform dead as a doornail just like I did when Bill Clinton proposed it back in 1994. What’s more, I’m going to kill it with the same gun. I’ll fall in line behind reform and shoot it in the back.
“I’ll damn it with faint praise, water it down like drought potato soup, and offer a bill of my own—stick a label like “America’s Responsible Health Care Act” on an empty box and pass it with the help of frustrated and beaten down Democrats and a bunch of Republicans eager to support fake reforms. When 45 million uninsured Americans scream the next day that they still need coverage, I’ll disdainfully point out that we just passed sweeping reforms, but some people just can’t be satisfied! It’ll sell to those rubes who keep electing me. I’ve been running the same shell game for 25 years, and they haven’t caught on yet.”
Jim Cooper presents himself as a thoughtful, soft spoken, benign man who has spent 25 years studying our health care system. He never hesitates to point out that he teaches health care policy as an adjunct professor in Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Every time he says it I’m reminded of a burglar who wrote a wildly successful book on home security back in the Sixties.
So, how do I feel after sitting at a table and listening to Jim Cooper for an hour and a half? Well, I’m impressed. He’s more dangerous than I realized.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Mary Ann
While I realize that all of the people who will read this blog about Jim Cooper are political activists it is my hope that they will take a deep breath and go an extra step this time. Americans need Universal Health Care with The Public Option. For over 40 years the US Congress has discussed, debated and done nothing to allow all citizens to have the right to decent medical care. It is time for the voting public to act on their own behalf. I suggest that we borrow a page from the republicans. Instead of “Tea Parties” held in public places we could have Do-it-yourself “E Parties”. Our “E Party” activities would be:
l. Share this blog (and other pieces like this) to all friends on Facebook, Linkin and other social networking sites.
2. Email it to all on personal address books and others.
3. ALWAYS SEND A COPY OF YOUR ACTIVITY TO: http://www.cooper.gov.house/ with a comment that urges Congressman Cooper that a TRUE DEMOCRAT versus a BLUE DOG DEMOCRAT is who you will campaign and vote for in any future elections.
Mary Ann, perhaps the Dishonorable Congressman Cooper, needs to see that he stands on precarious ground. He might reconsider his reelection possibilities if he realizes his voters are not willing to support his efforts to deny Public Option Health Care to all Americans.
Just a thought (albeit a pretty long thought). I’m game – hope others are too! http://www.cooper.house.gov//