General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Making the perfect the enemy of the good." [View all]ehrnst
(32,640 posts)I wasn't saying anyone advocates for a coup. Seriously?
I was saying that the only governance where you are guaranteed "undiluted" uncompromised laws is in an authoritarian regime, and we don't have that. We have politics, and compromise comes with that - it's never "undiluted....."
Yes, the public needs to put pressure on Congress, and specifically we need to put pressure on our Democratic reps. But don't think that's the one thing that got the GOP repeal stopped, because it wasn't.
Not trying to harsh anyone's buzz, but the next time all that pressure from the people comes to fore, and it still doesn't get the GOP in line (see also Betsy Devos' nomination) don't heap the blame on Dem reps for being "weak" because the Graham-Cassidy bill was defeated when we pressed on them last time, so why didn't it this time? Because the insurance industry, the medical community and the governors were all pressing, and Graham-Cassidy barely got defeated....
Pressure gives Dems reasons to bring things to the table. I have worked in not-for-profit progressive orgs, and I know exactly what happens to signers of "petitions" as opposed to people contacting reps directly. Reps would come to us and say, "I have been getting way more pressure to pass this (anti-progressive) law than to fight it. Get people to contact my office, so I can say that my constituents want this."
So, don't waste time "signing petitions" for PACs, contact reps directly. Yes, if massive numbers of GOP constituents contact them, they will worry about keeping their jobs.