COMMENTS I SUBMITTED TO "ORGANIZE FOR AMERICA," RUN BY THE DNC, AFTER THEY HELPED FACILITATE A LOCAL HEALTHCARE FORUM I MODERATED:

People were interested in learning much more about both state and federal legislation on healthcare and aside from the general guidelines of Obama's reform policy no one felt quite sure they understood what the many variations of healthcare reform might look like. 100% of those who attended felt the public option plan was an obvious necessity, but again there was skepticism with what it would accomplish and just haziness around the details. Most people ready to take action in the community are beyond just yelling slogans: they want details! A major point of contention among the group was not the demand for a single-payer healthcare system -100% of the group said this was the most ideal scenario and referred to HR 676 ad nauseam- but when it should be enacted. OFA affiliates would describe the current healthcare reform mandate as a "bird in the hand," which is fairly optimistic, and not to let perfect be the enemy of good, but bear in mind there is obviously a rift among progressives: those who want single-payer now and those who are willing to wait. Certainly Obama needs to be careful here and not alienate so many of those who stand behind single-payer; he may need to worry less about dividing Congress here and more about dividing Americans, both Republican and Democrat. IT IS SO CRUCIAL that this administration, and with cajoling the mainstream media, help educate the public as to what a government-funded healthcare option would look like. It's so frustrating that intelligent Americans still point to long lines at a hospital in Canada and skyrocketing taxes as the inevitable conclusion! Why is it not common knowledge that every Westernized country has some form of public healthcare, and many of them are brilliantly run? Why is it that Republicans are still able to convince Middle and Working Class Americans that these public options are bad for them, somehow aligning them with the wealthiest 1% of the nation? On another note, several of the group members were senior citizens and others were very active already in the community. This made it difficult to garner enthusiasm for a local healthcare event on or around June 27. But we did agree that education is paramount, and decided to organize a healthcare summit locally and invite politicians, physicians, nutritionists, and other members of the healthcare industry to speak and provide education for our neighbors.