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On October 9, 2009 Senator Sherrod Brown, Democratic Senator from Ohio, posted this on the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-sherrod-brown/health-insurance-reform-m_b_313949.html
It was a good one. Sherrod Brown very accurately pointed out how essential a public option was for true health care reform, with such nuggets as this:
“What will happen if we hand over taxpayer-funded subsidies to the insurance industry and rely on them to cover all Americans? Insurers will demand higher and higher subsidies each year. Why wouldn’t they? It’s called profit maximization. After all, these are the same companies that pay their CEOs tens of millions of dollars each year while millions of Americans go without any health insurance.
A strong public option means competition for private insurance companies. It means coverage continuity in every part of the country. It means health insurance reform that ensures affordable access to coverage for every American.”
and this:
“The public option is the moral compass of health reform. In the last 100 years, Democrats have yet to be on the wrong side of progressive reform.
Let’s not start now.”
Words like that on positions like that were why I did not hesitate to vote for Sherrod Brown six years ago. But what did he actually DO? When push came to shove, when President Obama’s signature legislative effort, the grossly misnamed Affordable Care Act with NO public option, needed every vote to pass, did Sherrod Brown stick to his guns?
Hell, no. He almost tearfully apologized for his vote, but the bottom line is that he cast that vote in clear violation of his own stated principles.
Throw in never seeing funding for things like predator drones he didn’t like, and I cannot in good conscience vote for Sherrod Brown again. There are many more good reasons, which I’m sure will shortly appear on this thread, but the first one is good enough on its own.
Democrats tell me that this Senate election in Ohio is a clear choice between the lesser of two evils. The Republican, Josh Mandel, is a truly reprehensible character. He’s the type of ex-Marine who gives Marines a bad name. Josh Mandel disgusts me. He is clearly my class enemy. No way in hell I’ll vote for him, either.
So. Sorry Senator Hangover(as I used to affectionately call you on your MSNBC talking head show appearances because your hair was always mussed up just as if you had just woke up from a good drunk–and I identify with that), my vote is one you had six years ago that you will not have this November. I know there’s a Green candidate running, so if there’s not some sort of Socialist my vote goes to the Green person. Doesn’t matter who. They can’t possibly be worse than you.
You have chosen the Lighter Side of the Dark Side. But it’s still the Dark Side. That is unacceptable to me.
You’ve lost my vote. And have a nice day.
17 Comments
As one who had to choose between Jon Corzine and Chris Christie…and couldn’t anymore, as Gene Debs famously (more or less) said, vote for what I didn’t want and get it, I know what you’re saying. I didn’t vote, the first time ever since Carter (ahem) was elected in 1976. And I didn’t feel badly.
Like Jim Hightower once said, if God wanted us to vote, he’d've given us candidates.
Jim Hightower. Heh!. I’m so old, I actually voted for him back in the day for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.
Got a gen-u-ine autographed book from him, too!
I was 18 in 1976, and actually voted FOR Jimmy Carter, or more accurately, against the klutz who fell off of helicopter steps and didn’t know any better than to eat a tamale with a shuck on it. And who had pardoned Nixon.
There might be another post there. Thanks!
Excellent diary.
I often argue that a Progressive Caucus in the Senate needs to be established, and Sherrod Brown could have been “that” catalyst, and of course, did not happen. Otherwise, has there been any “benefit” to Ohio, writ large that this Progressive Caucus, has yet to occur? Of course, from my perspective “collegiality” is quite different from “allies.”
When we, the Native Americans and Chicanos here in the Sonoran Desert “reach out” to like-minded Progessives members in the Senate, the room is engulfed in absolute silence.
Thus, having watched the latest PBS story on Shirley Chisholm of New York in her “competition” against both Senators Humphrey and McGovern, her campaign was predicated, not on success, but on “leverage” that is the “power-platform” for politics at the national level. Thus, a compare and contrast, no longer exists since–in Chisholm’s time, having an impact on the National Party Platform, is no longer necessary for the politics of today, but what is necessary is to “project” the requiste Power, and of course, Mayor Castro of San Antonio is “today’s” projection given that Demographics–may or may not be “destiny” despite all the available evidence or any skill-set” that is predicated on “successs.”
Jaango
as a fellow New Jerseyite I know, feel and I wish I never had your pain. We had a choice between a wall st crook and loser blow hard. A blow hard that I might point out who has never as far I know called for an investigation of the wall st crook.
I grew up in San Antonio. San Antonio’s first Hispanic congressman was Henry B. Gonzalez. He was one ugly SOB who threw really good parties and actually stood up for the people of his district. He introduced Articles of Impeachment against Ronald Reagan before an empty House.
Henry B. was real. Julian C. is packaged. Bet he doesn’t throw free parties with unlimited tamales and Lone Star Beer for his constituents, either.
The sad thing is the Brown is one of the better ones.
Voting is a tool. You can avail yourself of it or not. I’m a tactical voter, so my interest in the community here is generally not in the discussion of electoral politics.
But I’m curious about something: most of the posts about elections here argue against voting for the Democrat. Is the goal to repeat the 2010 elections in perpetuity? If so, why? If not, why not?
Welcome to FDL and environs. Yes, there are folks here who do not want to vote for the Ds and think the Ds can be punished and will move Left. Others think that is a futile and wasted effort. There are thousands of readers of FDL and just as many perspectives on voting. MyFDL is where anyone can post a diary expressing opinions or presenting factual arguments
For many of us, the goal is nothing more than voting our consciences and that currently precludes voting for Democrats as well as Republicans.
I think it’s been well established that the 2010 elections were the result of the dismal performance of the Democrats. If the Dems want to avoid more 2010′s, they should think about giving people a reason to vote for them.
Nice post, Ohio Barbarian. I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes, or whatever it is you members of the savage horde wear on your feet :)
Wonderful post, O.B. It’s scary how few of the actual Congress people deserve to still be there. Almost every single “Democrat” has fallen at President Catfood’s feet and kissed his ring, no matter the issue. (I also include the sadly-overrated Bernie Sanders, of course.)
Truly pathetic.
It’s sad to see Sherrod Brown supporting the far Right, after getting elected for pointing in the opposite direction.
Makes ya wonder if Sherrod’s wife should be running instead; she’s an incredible truth-telling journalist…or *was*, at any rate.
Rec’d in sadness, Barbarian. I used to adore the man.
You already had some pretty good responses. I’ve detailed my reasons at length in other diary entries, but it basically boils down to the axiom that the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Why choose the lesser evil? If I want to vote for evil, I can always write in Cthulhu.
I was a faithful Democrat until the Clinton era. Then I saw the Democratic Party become Republican Lite by the standards of that time, and then morph into what in the Sixties and Seventies would have been called Republican Right. The Republicans themselves went ever further to the right until they became what they are now: batshit crazy Ayn Rand apostles.
I’m one of those who don’t think the Democratic Party can be retaken by Social Democrats, much less democratic socialists such as myself, and that any attempt to do so is wasted effort. So I believe the Democratic Party must be destroyed. The peaceful way to do it is for all of the Democratic voters who have been betrayed by the Democratic Party simply refuse to vote for the bastards.
Than can be done either by not voting, writing in oneself, or voting third party. I’m in favor of the latter option because if enough people start doing that, a new grassroots movement can actually get started.
I don’t know if I’d trust Sherrod’s wife, either, I’m sorry to say. She’s become real good at Obamapologetics.
Yeah, I feel sad about this, too. But also a little angry.
My horde prefers Roman legionary sandals that can be purchased at any good Renaissance Festival in warm weather, and either American-made hiking boots or Canadian-made snow boots in the cold.
Budgets and booty permitting, of course.
Thanks. And thanks for pointing out Bernie Sanders’ culpability as well. He really should have known better.