More and more people wake up all the time

[proud2BlibKansan]

I ran into a former co-worker yesterday. She retired 2 or 3 years ago. When I asked her how she has been doing, she immediately started crying. She said she's been having health problems (didn't go into specifics) and had to go find a part time job to pay for her medical expenses, even though she HAS insurance. Her out of pocket costs are beyond what she can afford on her pension.

I have no idea what this woman's politics are. Never discussed them with her. She just never struck me as a very political person. But she said she had contacted the Obama campaign and was volunteering because she is so angry about the attacks on health care reform. She said she was so grateful that Obama had tried to do SOMETHING and the thought that it may all be taken away by the Supreme Court was just too much for her to think about.

I believe there are a lot of people like her in this country. They see the republicans attacking Obama's health care reform and don't like it. Sure it wasn't enough and the answer is definitely universal health care, but at least Obama tried to do something. Taking all of that away is just going to incense a lot of people like the woman I talked to yesterday.

I also met another woman this week who is incensed over the legislative attacks on women. She was looking for information about the local Democratic party and wants to get involved.

They are definitely waking up.

[RKP5637]

1. The republican party has managed now to combine most of the hatred in this

country into one wacky political party. I hope they fade into the sunset. I just find it difficult to believe the majority of Americans want this country to become the theocratic dystopia the republicans long for.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. I don't want them to fade away

I honestly believe a two party system is best. I'd rather see the GOP fix their party and restore sanity to their platform.

But I am not holding my breath. LOL

[RKP5637]

6. I'm turning blue in the face! LOL

[Speck Tater]

11. TWO party system? We already have a 12 party system!

The only problem is that 11 of the parties call themselves Democrats.

[barbtries]

18. i'd rather see another party rise

and the republicans disappear. in my perfect world, the democrats are the conservatives and the other viable party is mine.

[peacebird]

21. Me too!

[tinrobot]

41. One on the left, hopefully.

[pscot]

35. Not fade away, but die in agony

with a wooden stake through their hearts.

[Not Me]

2. I had a brief discussion with a co-worker the other day along the same lines

She doesn't follow politics very closely, and we got talking about health care. She was pretty clueless as to what the Helath Care Act covered, and when I explained it, she got it, and supports it.

I also mentioned that there are a lot of well funded groups out to stand in the way of health care benefits extension, and told her that it will be a long battle. The first attempt, with (Hillary) Clinton was fiercely contested and didn't get very far. Then after 8 years of (Republican Bush) nothing was attempted. Then with Obama, more headway was made. She got the picture.

But it is amazing how people just don't have the time or the interest to take a look at things that impact them so personally.

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, that's one of the real problems in the US IMO, "... people just don't have the time or

the interest to take a look at things that impact them so personally." And then sadly many hear a few distorted TV Ads and then go vote, falling hook, line and sinker for RW BS.

[spooky3]

30. if you can believe it, I had this same conversation with a health care provider!

To pass the time during an exam, I asked her what she thought about the new law. She said she didn't have time to read the news so she really didn't know what was in it. So I gave her a couple of examples (e.g., she was probably late-20s or early-30s, and I told her about the parents-kids under 26 provisions). She said that would have really helped her--she had been uninsured and was always worried about getting injured or sick, and she thought it would help others now, etc.

I was stunned that someone directly affected both personally AND professionally didn't understand even the most basic parts of the bill (I certainly am no expert).

The Dems. really need to get on the messaging soon.

[RKP5637]

32. Often I think MSM dwells on the negative aspects of most things, so what

messaging many hear about the health care plan is negative. The RW has such a negative spin machine in this country. Yep, I agree so much with you. "The Dems. really need to get on the messaging soon."

[goclark]

46. There should be IMO an ABC Visual

It is way too hard for most to understand and/or take the time to understand.

[Papagoose]

47. I wish the people in my office would just listen

There is a woman (I am looking across the office as I type this) who is utterly convinced that health care in America is so expensive BECAUSE of President Obama and the (choose at random...Democrats, Liberals, Communists, Socialists, Nazis). She believes that costs will go down as soon as "Obamacare" (read in your scariest voice) is repealed. She truly believes this stuff.

[Zax2me]

3. That's what I was thinking after 2008. Then the 2010 elections happened.

Try to not get too excited anymore.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. The 2010 election was a result of too many people looking at the closest shiny object

And in 2010, that was THE BUDGET! Two years later, people are seeing the middle class being held responsible for fixing the budget - by the idiots who were elected in 2010. That's not going over too well.

I think the shiny object this election will either be the war on the middle class or health care reform. I also believe it's all on a pendulum and it's swinging our way this election.

[spooky3]

31. and 2010 was about low turnout among Dem. voters.

We have to do a better job this year.

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

40. 2010 was Charles and David Koch

buying every God Damned election in the country.

[babylonsister]

8. Thanks for sharing; great news! Rec'd!! nt

[Booster]

9. You would think that they would learn not to pick on women & old people.

[cr8tvlde]

20. A look at the financial balance sheets would indicate that picking

on women, old people, the disabled, minorities, children, etc. has paid off quite handsomely in the past.

However, I truly believe that is changing and that the first major scism between the Reichwing and corporations was the Sandra Fluke/women's rights situation with Rush. I mean, who could keep from smiling (or clap) just a bit as each huge corporation publically withdrew their financial support/advertising? It was exhilarating and unprecedented.

Now we have ALEC formerly unknown to most of us...and the large companies are again "voting" with their advertising funds as in taking them elsewhere. Hoping to see more, although this problem is much more deep-seated in the bowels of our political system...R & D.

The place where we DO have power, since voting no longer counts for much, is to find out who (other than the taxpayer) pays them and for what and to make purchasing decisions accordingly.

[BanTheGOP]

10. This just BOILS MY BLOOD...the GOP needs to be DESTROYED!!

I don't friggin' care anymore.... the republican Party is NOT a political party by ANY reasonable definition! It resembles Nazi brownshirts, but with FAR more people to rile in this hate.

This country was founded upon the rights of people to form multiple political parties, but right now the only reason we have two main "parties" is because one of the parties, the GOP, has COMPLETELY OBLITERATED their political leanings, and have turned into the most DESPOTIC ORGANIZATION in world history!

Keep in mind, if we didn't have to worry about the despotic nature of the republican Party, we would have SEVERAL different parties, from the Peace and Freedom, the Democratic, Peace and Freedom, Green, and the various socialist and other progressive parties that would ensure a rich and vigorous debate on global policies.

To that end, we MUST treat the GOP as we would ANY enemy of our people!

We MUST treat the GOP, AND their controllers, JUST like enemy combatants...actually, worse, since they are backed by state laws regarding "political affiliations."

It is getting to the point where non-violent action isn't going to be enough, and it SCARES me in knowing that I'm not the only one thinking that. But... taking out the GOP any way possible must be done in order to save this planet and humanity.

[Flatulo]

15. A little over the top maybe?

"...have turned into the most DESPOTIC ORGANIZATION in world history!"

Do you realize that 28% of Americans identify as Repubs? What are you going to do with 100,000,000 people? Arrest them?

[BanTheGOP]

22. No, the answer is to ban the GOP, enact/enforce progressive laws, and arrest lawbreakers

It's that simple. Laws based on human need, not republicanist corporate greed, must triumph over capitalist oppression.

[Flatulo]

26. No, it's not that simple. I for one believe that opposing ideas, no matter how repugnant they

may be to you personally, are required to establsh a healthy center of gravity in policy making. Without an opposition, policy careens to the left or the right like a unstable feedback loop.

Then there's the matter of the 100,000,000 Repubs that are going to, well, resist you. They may not call themselves Republicans in the future, but their ideals will be the same. What you are calling for is civil war.

[noiretextatique]

27. "opposing ideas" like limiting women's right to healthcare?

really?!? those "ideas" don't deserve to even be discussed, let alone acted upon by legislators.

[Flatulo]

33. Bad ideas should be exposed to the light of day and defeated

by logic and sound reasoning, not censorship.

Even Nazis have their first amendment rights.

[noiretextatique]

52. these laws are being passed by GOP dominated state legislatures

and these days, we cannot even depend on the courts. there is nothing sound or reasonable about restricting women's access to healthcare. see? how can you be reasonable with such unreasonableness?

[noiretextatique]

28. excellent post...and not at all over the top

i posted something similar on facebook a few days ago. the GOP is indeed a despotic organization which espouses radical, dangerous, irresponsible ideas. they are indeed enemy combatants.

[Flatulo]

34. The SCOTUS has consistently ruled that even the most repugnant speech is

entitled to First Amendment protections, most recently in Snyder vs. Phelps in 2010 by an 8 to 1 majority.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf

Sorry, folks, but you're just going to have to live with GOP shenanigans. I hear your frustration, and i know youre sincere, but unlike in many European states, we simply do not restrict speech here.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. the GOP absolutely has a right to their hate speech---

what burns me is that they also own the airwaves, and in an overstressed underinformed culture, that is exptrememly dangerous.

They have a right to their speech, but they shouldn't have a monopoly on media and education.

We don't need to censor, but we do need to speak out, educate, bust the monopolies.

[noiretextatique]

49. exactly

what upsets me is the intentional lying to skew the political debate. the way things are now, faux news and rw radio are just propaganda arms of the GOP. we need the fairness doctrine.

[noiretextatique]

51. the fairness doctrine is what we need

to balance rw hate speech.

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission's view, honest, equitable and balanced. The FCC decided to eliminate the Doctrine in 1987, and in August 2011 the FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine.[1]
The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented.[2]
The main agenda for the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints. In 1969 the United States Supreme Court upheld the FCC's general right to enforce the Fairness Doctrine where channels were limited. But the courts did not rule that the FCC was obliged to do so.[3] The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the Doctrine. However, the proliferation of cable television, multiple channels within cable, public-access channels, and the Internet have eroded this argument, since there are plenty of places for ordinary individuals to make public comments on controversial issues at low or no cost.
The Fairness Doctrine should not be confused with the Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the Equal Time rule deals only with political candidates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine

[greiner3]

12. "More and more people wake up all the time"

I was TOTALLY expecting something completely different from the OP's title;

Nation declares zombie attacks ceasing;

Vampires discover cure that allows them to stay awake and out in the sun 24/7;


As you can see, I've been watching a lot of the 'horror' TV shows; True Blood, Grimm, Being Human, etc...

[freshwest]

17. Watch some of the CT movies. They are much scarier!

[dkf]

13. Why isn't she waking up to the fact that health insurance isn't health care?

[bread_and_roses]

14. That would be because

that narrative is not allowed into our mainstream national conversation - including the conversation promulgated by the scraps and bones Party.

[dkf]

19. What is sad is we are patting ourselves on the back for a stopgap measure that only prolongs things.

This will only suck more and more funds into the health care system. Soon all of us will be slaves to health care for ourselves and everyone else.

[Skittles]

25. CORRECT

[area51]

37. +1 n/t

[freshwest]

16. Despite the RW media bias, she sees through it. Thanks for the heartening anecdote.

[saras]

23. It's a good time to end the two-party system and the spoiler effect

We may not have as good a chance for a long time. And eliminating the spoiler effect would go a long way to minimizing the likelihood of corporate rule. It would mean that you could reliably vote for the direction you wanted government to move in, not merely for a politician who may or may not betray you as soon as elected, with no penalty.

[Motown_Johnny]

24. Lots like her, and they all have family and friends

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

29. Say it often. MEDICARE FOR ALL!

[Thinkingabout]

36. Repeal activist has file bankruptcy because of health care bills

You know the rest of us are "mandated" to pick up that cost. Someone uses the system and condemns AHC and expects some else to pick up the cost.

[Kath1]

38. More people are waking up.

I recently had a similar conversation with my cousin at a party. She's my age, 53, I have always known her to be rather apolitical and right-wing, if anything. Her husband is a real right-winger. When we stepped outside together to smoke she asked me if it was true that I was a volunteer for the Obama campaign. I told her I was. She really surprised me when she then asked if I could get her a bumper sticker and button. I had both in my car and gladly obliged. She then surprised me by asking how she could get involved. I told her I was a little bit surprised and she said the GOP war on women was the last straw for her. She also told me how disillusioned she was with the Catholic Church and complimented me on leaving it back in 2004. She said she didn't know how much longer she could attend and listen to the priests whine about contraception. Said she would quit right away but for the family issues it would cause. Said in the meantime she would enjoy wearing her Obama 2012 button to mass!

So yes, people are waking up!

[CrispyQ]

42. The republican party is so used to the media bleating every word they say without question,

that they are over confident. They don't realize how out of touch with mainstream America they are. As the reality of 30+ years of trickle down economics starts to hit home, people are going to tune out the media & their lies & look elsewhere for truth.

[Doctor_J]

43. You might want to revisit the 2010 election results before the victory lap

Edit: DU Rec anyway. Kool-Aid drinkers need love too

[lib2DaBone]

44. Fox News says, .... " Only those with money deserve health care... the rest can die"

Heard an interview on Fox Radio News yesterday on the way to work.. (5 a.m.)

Cant remember who the Repuke talking heads were... but the premis of the discussion was that... "those with money should be allowed to travel first class.. get the best health care. Those without money.. (tough nuggies). If you can not afford health care you should STFU."

I can only imagine the good Evangelicals on their way to church on Sunday morning with their bibles next to them on the seat... nodding their heads in agreement.... unreal.

[W T F]

45. My sister-in-law, yesterday, did a 180 on "Obamacare"

She's always been against AHA. She and her husband are rabid tea baggers, calling Obama a "socialist, communist, marxist, maoist" etc. since day one. Yesterday during a family Easter get together, Her 21 year old son who recently got married and is self-employed, announced that his new bride was pregnant. Her son and daughter-in-law's heath insurance are covered under the Obama health care for children to age 26 provision. During a discussion about the financial strain that the new baby was going to put her son and daughter-in-law, she said that if they repeal Obama care, the kids were going to be "screwed". I sarcastically told her that if they do, "they can always go to the emergency room, because we got the best health care in the world". She just gave me mean stare and continued on her rant, totally oblivious to the fact that she gave me the same argument, a few hers ago, during the health care debate. That being said, I don't think she and her husband will vote for Obama, but I do think that they will sit this one out.

[Doctor_J]

48. She's thinking socialist thoughts

she said that if they repeal Obama care, the kids were going to be "screwed".

What Beck would tell her is, if Obamacare is repealed, her son will have the freedom to buy private non-group insurance for his already-pregnant wife.

[Liberal_in_LA]

50. lots of women angry about the attacks on women