Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Knocking on doors for health reform

Last Saturday I decided to jump off the sidelines and do something to offset all the crazies with guns who are shouting down health care reform. Answering the call of Organizing for America, the Democrats’ network of volunteers promoting President Obama’s agenda, I joined a good-sized group going door-to-door in and around Bellevue, Washington, in an attempt to drum up and gauge support for the president’s health reform principles.

I wish I could say that I was cheered by the result, but I was not.

We were sent out into neighborhoods to deliver pamphlets and find out if voters, a mixture of Democrats and independents, supported the president’s three core reform principles:
1. Reducing costs
2. Guaranteeing choice
3. Ensuring quality care for all
Sounds simple right? Who could argue with these reasonable concepts? In fact, few people did argue. Most of the people we met who opposed Obama’s plan just said so outright and closed their doors without quibbling. One person said that he didn’t believe that all people should have access to health care.

On the other hand, there were a few people that emphatically supported Obama's principles and were OK with being publically listed as doing so. Those folks left me with a warm feeling of camaraderie.

The frustrating part was that the bulk of people I talked to were either not well informed about, or uncomfortable with the proposed changes. They didn’t disagree with Obama’s principles, but worried about how the reform would actually be “implemented.” I got the impression that there was a lack of trust in the government's ability to make health care reform work effectively, and without penalizing some people.

I don't think that the Obama administration is getting through to Americans. Last week, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that when addressing health reform, Obama “comes across, far too often, as a dry technocrat.” Where's the inspirational speaker that we remember from Obama's dynamic campaign this time last year?

Finally, by laying out these three core reform principles, Obama is starting to do what he should have done in the first place, promoting a simple message that Americans can understand at a personal level. The problem is, the right-wing has already beat him to it, lobbing hyperbole and hate at an apprehensive American public.

I’m willing to knock on hundreds more doors in order to pitch Obama’s principles and the American option to my neighbors. In turn, President Obama must use his mighty powers of oration and send Americans a simple, persuasive message on health reform, giving Americans confidence in a government solution.

Comments:

Blogger barney said...

We should also let them know that every person has a Constitutional right to healthcare

August 25, 2009 11:18 AM  

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