Hey Michael Moore....Come Out And Plaaaaaayy..........

[gratuitous]

7. I know I'll be accused of Green Lanternism

But there was never a push for single payer. The administration negotiated it away before they even sat down with the intransigent opposition. I'll bring up a parallel situation: Right now, one of the hobgoblins occupying the conservative mind is repealing the 17th Amendment (direct popular election of Senators). They've put it in the Republican Party platforms of several states, including most recently Texas. Also right now, repealing the 17th Amendment has severely limited chances of passing. But the Republican Party continues to beat the drum, rally support among their voters, put it in state party platforms, and discuss it seriously among themselves.

The idea will probably go nowhere. Probably.

But if this hare-brained idea is going to be enacted, this is where the hard work gets done, and the day may come when we have to have a serious discussion about it. What if Democrats made a push for single payer the way Republicans are flogging repeal of the 17th Amendment? Which issue is more beneficial to the American people? Which issue, though, looks more likely to get serious consideration in the next five years?

Who as to "answer" the call for single payer? Does someone get support for it (by which I'm talking about votes and campaign contributions), or are they relegated to the nutjob pile by the popular media without the media's ever getting pushback from the people who would benefit from taking health care out of the realm of profit centers?