September 02, 2009 02:36 AM UTC

Udall and Bennet: Watch Them Very Closely

• 3 Comments
• by: madmike

I’m not sure if Mark Udall and Michael Bennet realize how close they are to losing their political base, and ultimately their Senate seats, over the issue of healthcare.  As of this writing, Udall has yet to come out publicly in favor of a public option.  Bennet said last weekend in Pueblo that, while he is in favor of a public option, he doubts it will get the support it needs in the Senate.  I get the feeling that they think that because they have the letter “(D)” behind their names that progressives like me are going to get in line come election time to help them retain a majority in the Senate no matter how the healthcare debate gets resolved.  But if that is what they are thinking, they had better think again.

Quite honestly, I don’t like either one of them very much.  Bennet voted against the cramdown bill last spring that could have helped millions of people getting scammed by their credit card companies, and instead gave billions of dollars to the banks.  Udall won’t commit publicly to a public healthcare option and pals around with John McCain.  That, in itself ought to make any progressive with half a brain very suspicious.  I don’t know either of them personally nor have I attended any of their townhalls (has Udall had any?).  But I have read enough and seen enough to know that I don’t particularly like and definitely don’t trust what either one of them has to say when it comes to healthcare.

So I plan to keep my eye on the two of them very closely in the next couple of months, specifically how they conduct themselves in the upcoming healthcare debate.  Regardless of how strongly you feel about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, EFCA, the cap-and-trade bill, or energy policy, the fight over healthcare reform is, without a doubt in my mind, the signature issue of this generation.  And if the Democrats in the Senate screw it up, they deserve to pay.  I am perfectly serious when I say that if they give the healthcare industry (don’t tell me you think it’s the Republicans!) what they want and they vote for “reform” without a public healthcare option, I will stop all support for either one of these guys.  No contributions, no campaigning, no signs in the yard or canvassing the neighborhood in support of either of them.  I don’t care what Bill Clinton or Jonathan Alter or E.J. Dionne has to say about going for half a loaf.  I am not interested in a multi-billion dollar giveaway to the insurance industry.  If the bill that goes to the President later this year does not contain a public option (no “triggers” and no co-ops attached), I will not support either of these guys when they come up for election the next time.  I will not even vote for them.  I may not vote for the Republican, but I will not vote for them.

So take heed, Senators Udall and Bennet.  It’s time for you, in the vernacular of the sports world, to “step up.”  I truly believe that the next couple of months will decide your political destinies.  I want to puke at the notion of saying, “Senator Norton” or “Senator Buck” but I would rather have a Republican in that seat and know who I am dealing with than someone who calls himself a Democrat but doesn’t act or vote like one.  I am sick and tired of the corporate takeover of our government.  I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!  And I have a feeling that I am not alone.  So the ball is now in your court, Senators.  For your sake, please don’t drop it.  A lot of us will be watching with baited breath.