This week Matt Taibbi and Robert Kuttner talked with Bill Moyers about health care reform and the President.  Both were dismayed by the hands-off approach of Obama, and discussed at length the ways that he has disappointed too many of his supporters in terms of his chosen economic team, kow-towing to Big Banks, making the early deals with Big Pharma and the insurance lobby before handing the writing of HCR bills to Congress.

They expounded on the great number of Corporate Democrats who chair influencial House and Senate committees, and the ways that big-donor lobbyists are able to offer amendments to their liking, and have them included and passed, just like the Republicans we have railed against for years.

It was well worth watching; it mirrored the thoughts of many of us here at the Café, and for others it should prove interesting, and possibly educational.

Toward the end, Kuttner wanted to provide some hope, and spoke like many others that the Left is missing a serious social movement to put pressure on the President and Congress.  He pointed out that the Tea Party Right owns the ground movement right now, and said that needs to change if there is any hope for the President to change, or the Democratic Party to not continue its plunge into the Party of the Corporations, Wall Street and Insurance.

 Along those lines, I would like to highlight another Journal program:

On December 11, Bill Moyers interviewed organizers George Goehl and Heather Booth who were there to talk about turning anger into activism.  The segment began with film footage from "Showdown in Chicago," the protest at the American Bankers Association organized by the SEIU, Action Now, Showdown in America, and other activist organizations.

 Goehl is the Executive Director of Showdown In America; Booth is the Director of Americans for Financial Reform, and were there to remind us that organized movements are the only power people have in the battle against corporate money owning government.

They spoke of the need for movements not to ally with partisan politics; Goehl mentioned that plenty of the Showdown attendees were Republican (and probably independents) and that groups needed to coalesce around issues, such as economic justice and fairness, to be effective and inclusive.

Both said their organizations have schedules for planned future demonstrations, and links to other sites and events working to influence policy.

The second segment was the great Howard Zinn, who spoke about the reality of the present political system, but still offered hope.

 A new Research 2000 poll hints that many of us have been correct in thinking that Obama's run to the center, and his failure to fight for what he said he wanted is not even working for him politically:

87% of Dems agreed that the President didn't do enough to tame Lieberman on HRC

72% of Independents didn't think Obama did enough

When ALL voters were considered, the numbers were 63% to 29%.

Numbers on the popularity of a Public Option and the unpopularity of Mandates were instructive as well.  Yet, here we are now.  Time to make our voices heard. 

 Some at the Café think demonstrations are old style; I am one of the Olde Fartes who still sees value in their effectiveness.  To wit:  Just after Showdown in Chicago, the White House started responding to Banking abuses; after Bonus Day demonstrations, Obama made his Sixty Minutes tough statement to bankers.  Now we know he didn't give the Bankers hell in the meeting that followed, but push-back is beginning to work.  And as he and Congress start to figure out that People are Pissed, it will change policy.  It's starting to work on Financial Reform.

The same sorts of ruckus could work to help improve HCR, and to get the government to address jobs and foreclosures.

THE ONLY FORCE THAT WORKS TO NEUTRALIZE THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN GOVERNMENT IS ORGANIZED AND PASSIONATE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS!