The roundtable discussion:The Daily Kos

I just wanted to take a moment to remind all visitors of The Art of Politik that this blog runs parallel with The Daily Kos.

Some people think of this marketplace of ideas as simply a soapbox for ultra-liberals, but the fact is that it's full of democrats from the most liberal to the most conservative whom aren't afraid to put forward and defend their point of views.

Making a post there ignites almost instant debate as long as what you post is thoughtful and consistent. If you do waver in that, you will be told so to your own benefit for future pieces.

If you like having real, serious discussion about issues that affect us all every day, make sure you stop by there and read some user and site submitted diaries. I guarantee you will leave there with information or ideas you didn't have before you entered.

Follow this blog and discussions about the pieces by searching for account: 'r2wildfire' or you can click on the 'diaries' link to the right to get the most recent user submitted diaries (the main page is mostly material from site operators).

HC Senate Vote Imminent : Quick Thoughts before the Vote

UPDATE: As of after a few minutes after midnight CST tonight, the Senate health care bill has officially PASSED the U.S. Senate.

The Senate vote which will likely be the most crucial vote in this whole thing is scheduled to happen within less than ten minutes of this post.

It's almost a sure thing that it will pass, but what truly bugs me is how slow we will reap benefits and how that could really be a big problem for dems next year. In future pieces I will go into detail about what this may mean for democrats.

In the meantime, let's forget all that stuff of little relative significance, affordable health care is finally within reach and discriminatory acts by insurers will finally come to an end. We didn't get the most progressive bill, but considering how fragile the dem majorities are in the Senate, it doesn't need to be said that we are blessed to have actually gotten something out of the 'legislative black hole' that is the Senate. People will no longer need to fear dying from cancer or dying from some obscure complication of a treatable disease that wasn't taken care of because they lacked insurance.

I won't go on too long. Any comment I can make now has been repeated and retold in every way possible.

This truly is history. Such an emotional moment of solidarity this is for those whose lifelong cause has been for HC reform. I can just imagine how Vicky Kennedy and her family must feel right now. Most of Ted Kennedy's political life has been to make this moment a reality. Here we finally are.

Maybe one day when we reap the benefits of this bill the people of America will wake up and realize that the system we have is not as broken as they think. We still can make change happen. It might not be all of the change we would like, but we all make compromises in our every day life. That won't cease to happen in politics or in our daily lives.

Don't let your desire to 'get back' at republicans and desire to get the most progressive bill blind you from the real accomplishments of this bill. We can't deny that doing nothing is unacceptable and trying to lie to ourselves that having pushed a public option or a single payer system might have worked under some oppressive undertaking of reconciliation puts too much weight behind an option that could've been political suicide for the democratic party.

Let's remember the work that has been done to get here.

It is not for naught.

We have come through victorious, so let us take up our cross and walk. We have much work left to do to restore these blessed United States of America.

We did it, guys.