Sorry, but I don't buy the "But we couldn't have gotten single-payer" defense

[DanTex]

103. I completely agree that single payer should have been part of the discussion.

It wouldn't have passed, but at least it would have drawn the whole dialog and negotiation to the left. This is one of my major criticisms of both Obama and the Dems generally. The are so afraid of seeming "too far left" that the range of opinions you hear expressed in the mainstream ranges from center-slightly-left to far-far-right. And not just on healthcare. The size of the stimulus, or the whole debt-panic thing are other examples.

The thing is, whatever the Dems say, the Republicans are going to paint them as communists anyway. Whereas many average voters get told by the media what the "left" and the "right" are and instinctively want to place themselves in the "middle". So, given this situation, it seems obvious to me that the correct strategy is to move the "left" further "left".

Part of the problem is that conservatives have think tanks constantly cranking our right-wing proposals, and people paid to talk about them. This doesn't really exist on the left. But the politicians themselves also have a lot of blame. There are groups out there advocating for single payer, but you can't expect to see them on Meet the Press if the Democratic Party won't even give them the time of day.