The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Joe Wood's picture

    Physician, Heal Thyself: Where The Hell Is The Left?

    As a disclaimer, I am one of those laid-off people who worked hard and played by the rules. 

    I have no health care.  I am a diabetic.  I had no health care when I did work last.  The last time I did have insurance, 2 years ago, the insurance company reserved the right to change my prescriptions at their will, which they did twice.  I found better control paying full cost for the insulin which I knew I needed, and which was cheaper.

    My beef is this.

    For more than two weeks now, I have eaten dinner each night and watched handfuls upon handfuls of sound bites from those organized opponents to the President's plan on health care. 

    I have seen angry, sometimes violent Americans who are pointing a finger at the administration we elected in November, and calling them everything from Socialists to Nazis.  I have seen more angry middle aged white people in the last month then when O.J. was aquitted for Nicole's Murder.

    Then we had a man bring a gun near Obama's town hall.  Then, assault rifles at an event a few days ago.

    There is outrage and anger, fear and villification, and above all highly executed assembly, free speech, and organization behind all of this.  No doubt some of these are expressing their personal well formed opinion.  But likewise some of these people listen and fear from what their leaders predict, whether they be Senators or Radio hosts. 

    There is misinformation being spread and repeated and heard loudly.  It is a message that is working, lies or not.

    But I am not angry.  I am not outraged.  Not over this.

    What I am outraged at is how the left has left Obama out there to do the work.  To carry the fight.

    Where in the Hell is the left?  Where are the organized troops that brought the first black man in America to the Presidency?  Where in the Hell is the outrage, the anger, the movement?

    Right now, it is with, of all people and of all times--with the Right.

    Why? 

    It wasn't so long ago we had Bush, Cheney, Rove.  We had the controlled, limited, covert, censored America.  But that is over.

    We have everything going for us, don't we?  The right should have no reason to be on cable, tv, radio--spreading their message.  They lost the entire New England region.  They still have the lowest following politically and the lowest poll numbers.  They were soundly defeated in 2008, and we have 60 senators in Congress.  All we do not have is control of this issue.  They do.

    So I grow angry and outraged when I hear media on the left criticize Obama.  He has been the one out there, since he was elected.  He has been the one forcing this issue.  He is the one that has been out there on the stage, calling us out to move.  Calling us out there to bring it.  To speak out, get up, and be heard.

    I am downright pissed off that this issue has been left to him only.  No troops.  No organizing.  No public outcry for Health Care Reform Now!

    We are not helping him win this fight.  We must think that once we elected him, he can do the rest by himself.  As if he were dictator.

    If this fails, we have no one to blame but ourselves.  And then, we will have handed the Right a major victory to go forward into 2010 with. 

    We have been letting the Right lead the news, and the debate, as though we had handed them the microphone, and sat down and shut our mouths.  Maybe Bill Maher was correct when he called Americans "stupid."

    God damn America if we sit down, lay back and relax any longer.