Sen. Kennedy - Personal Reflections

In my last blog post, I wrote that healthcare reform "may be the last bill that Sen. Kennedy ever votes for before the ravages of cancer catch him." As you know by now, that projection turned to be optimistic. Growing up in Massachusetts, Sen. Kennedy dominated our political lives, and I met him many times. As a young boy, I campaigned for Ted Kennedy during his presidential run in 1980 -- one of my first political memories. I was at the Democratic National Convention (my mother was a delegate) when he made his concession speech. Although spoken in defeat, it may have been the Senator's finest moment of oration.

In that speech, the Senator asked us "to renew the commitment of the Democratic Party to economic justice." I recalled these words often and they have been a light to me whenever it seemed that the cause of justice was hidden in darkness.

That speach also contained an impassed plea for healthcare reform.

[W]e cannot have a fair prosperity in isolation from a fair society. So I will continue to stand for a national health insurance. We must -- We must not surrender -- We must not surrender to the relentless medical inflation that can bankrupt almost anyone and that may soon break the budgets of government at every level. Let us insist on real controls over what doctors and hospitals can charge, and let us resolve that the state of a family's health shall never depend on the size of a family's wealth.

These seem like dark times for the Senator's dream of healthcare reform, but "we must not surrender."
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedy1980dnc.htm.

On the Verge of History

What do Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, JFK, LBJ, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton have in common? They all attempted to provide comprehensive health insurance for Americans but failed. Ted Kennedy is one the most effective Senators in modern history, having helped passed the Voting Rights Act and scores of other landmark legislation. However, even he has failed, despite having been promoting health insurance reform since the late '60s.

As Jews, our desire for comprehensive health care goes back quite a bit longer than the 1960s. Maimonides, the great rabbi, philosopher and codifier of Jewish law from the 1100s, listed health care first on his list of the 10 most important communal services that a city had to offer to its residents (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De'ot IV: 23). The Reform Movement has brought Maimonides' spirit to the modern era, having endorsed comprehensive reform since the mid-'70s.

America is now on the verge of meeting this basic moral obligation and fulfilling the dreams of so many. Most major committees in the House and the Senate have passed a version of a national insurance act. Indeed, the act may be the last bill that Sen. Kennedy ever votes for before the ravages of cancer catch him. We are closer to comprehensive health care than we have ever been in the history of our nation.

Those who have supported health insurance reform for decades should be ecstatic and motivated. Instead, the passion and energy seems to be on the side of those opposing reform. I'm not just talking about the tea bagging crowd trying shout down discussion.

Polls show those opposing reform are following the health care debate more closely than those who support reform.

So why the enthusiasm deficit? There are several likely suspects. Reforming a full sixth of our economy is truly difficult, and crafting legislative solutions is messy. The process by necessity involves compromises that can sap our most idealistic aspirations.

Maybe the focus on political horse-trading and technical aspects of legislation has made us forget the very citizens we're suppose to be helping. Sure, we can trot out statistics - such as the fact that 46.6 million U.S. citizens don't have health insurance and that premiums for the insured have doubled in recent years - but have the images of the people behind those numbers faded with the increasingly rancorous debate?

Let's remember who the health care fight is for. Take a look at one of the many sites dedicated to telling the stories of those who the current system has failed. On MyAmericanHealthcareStory.org, for example, you can listen to John and Sara explain how their insurance failed to cover the swine flu test for their 4 year old. Or to Sookie tell the story of his 18-year-old daughter, who has to choose between college and paying off her medical bills. Or to Trisha tell how her brother was without insurance after he returned from Iraq, after 15 years of military service, because he was "only" a reservist. Or to Chi-Wei, the retired cancer researcher whose insurance covers only a fraction of his Parkinson's medication.

These are the stories that should not happen in a caring, just society. Yet happen every day to folks at nearly every socio-economic bracket of society.

We owe it to these people to put any partisan feelings about the proposed health insurance reforms aside and increase our devotion to the legislation's passage. Remember, every major step forward from The Bill of Rights to Social Security to the Civil Rights Act was criticized at the time for being too tepid. Yet these laws are now seen as the bedrock of our civil society. The current health insurance legislation is the next step in creating a more perfect union. Now is time for us to make history together. http://blogs.rj.org/rac/2009/08/on_the_verge_of_history_wheres.html