The Path Forward

by Errington C. Thompson, MD

For all the misdirection and craziness that is going on in the United States these days, I thought it would be beneficial to slow down and consider where we are in April 2014. Back in the dark days of 2008-2009, the economy was grinding to a halt.

Barack Obama, along with other progressives in Congress, passed the Economic Recovery Act. Though it was not an ideal bill, this stimulus did almost exactly what it was designed to do. It bolstered the economy for nearly two years. Yes, I know, there are those people who say that it did nothing, but the data suggests otherwise.

We just celebrated our fourth year of consecutive private-sector job growth. Four years—48 months—of steadily adding jobs, at an average rate of 183,000 per month. Compare that with losing 750,000 a month during the final months of the Bush administration, and the toal net loss of 3.5 million jobs between 2000 and 2010.

But along came the midterm elections of 2010. Democrats lost control of the House. Gridlock has ensued. I’m not talking about your normal gridlock in which we can get a few things done, I’m talking about gridlock on a biblical scale.

Remember Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, stated that his number one priority was to make sure that Barack Obama was a one-term president. Therefore, anything that was supported by the president was opposed by Republicans, conservatives and the talking heads on Fox News. Basically, our government has been on autopilot for the last four years. There’s been no significant legislation passed in order to improve our economy or to improve the lives of everyday Americans.

We’ve heard a lot of discussion about the enthusiasm or lack of enthusiasm that liberals possess in April 2014. Without enthusiasm, we don’t show up and vote. If we don’t vote, we lose elections. There’s even been some discussion of Republicans taking control of the Senate. I find all this talk somewhat depressing.

Just the other day, I was chatting with a progressive from Chicago on Twitter. He pointed out that we need better candidates in order to get the rank and file progressives – “fired up and ready to go.” He complained that the typical candidate was somewhat equivocal. Always apologizing. Never taking a firm stance.

I think for the most part this is the stereotype of the Democratic politician but there is some truth into this milquetoast persona. Finally, it’s too late for us to change our slate of candidates. We can cross our fingers and hope that the progressive group, Democracy for America, will groom candidates to be more assertive, more thoughtful and above all, more progressive.

We have work to do on multiple different fronts. We cannot afford to flounder in 2014. Women’s reproductive rights are being attacked not just in Texas but in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere. Currently, the Supreme Court is trying to decide whether companies like Hobby Lobby can avoid providing basic health care services that some women need and which include birth control.

Since the shooting at Sandy Hook, there’s been no comprehensive federal legislation to control gun violence. None. Nada. Zip. Ninety-one percent of American citizens want stronger gun-control legislation, but ninety-one percent of the U.S. Congress would rather please the NRA than listen to he voters—and as long as Republicans control the House, and the NRA controls the Senate, there won’t be any comprehensive legislation.

The Senate, through an extremely painful process, did come up with comprehensive immigration reform legislation. This legislation is sitting in the House gathering cobwebs. It will continue to sit in the House as long as Republicans are is divided as they are. The United States desperately needs comprehensive immigration reform.

We have people who have come here from other countries and studied at our great universities. They have skills and knowledge. They should be allowed to stay and work here unfortunately, that’s not really the case today. Also, an almost more importantly, there are millions of economic refugees (formerly called illegal aliens) were living in the United States as third-class citizens.

If you believe that all men and women are created equal, then we shouldn’t have any people live in the United States who are third-class citizens. We have to figure out a way to do something definitive with economic refugees. Millions of Americans remain out of work.

Our economy needs more stimulus. Americans need the security of a good job, a good paycheck and some time off to enjoy it. We need to raise the minimum wage. We need to close corporate loopholes. We need to make sure that corporations, American corporations, are paying American taxes at American tax rates. None of these things are going to happen if we don’t show up and vote in 2014.

In spite of party poopers’ hating on the Affordable Care Act at every opportunity, this modest piece of legislation continues to help average working Americans. We, the progressive community, knew that Americans were starving for healthcare. We knew that Americans wanted better access to health care. We knew it in 1993-94 when Hillary-care failed to pass. We knew it in the 1960s when Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law. We knew it after World War II when Harry Truman tried to pass universal healthcare!

Finally, 65 years after the rest of the civilized world did it, the Affordable Care Act has given millions of Americans access to healthcare. This is a beautiful thing. Yet, there still a large number of conservatives who would like to drown this piece of legislation in the bathtub. We have to continue to stand up and fight for this legislation. We have to improve it. We need to extend it to more Americans.

It is time for progressives to stand up and be proud of what we’ve accomplished. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to the hard work of getting us out the vote so that we can continue to move America forward.