from today's paper:

"The remorseless march of health inflation since 1993, by threatening to bankrupt government, businesses and American families alike, has increased unease about the status quo."

Yes, Americans in general are slow to notice the depth of the structural problems that plague us, and we are even slower to acknowledge that government action may be the best response, but once we do realize such a pressing need we rise up behind it with strength and determination. We have done it before and, I think, can do it again. Especially since we now know how high the stakes are this time. We've got to do health care soon and we've got to do it right. And it should go without saying that that requires a robust public option.

"$133 million in lobbying expenditures by health industry interests in the second quarter of 2009 alone...Indeed, a preponderance of TV ads so far in the health care fight have carried a pro-reform message. But in 2009 the air wars are less relevant because of the continuing diffusion of media outlets.

They are also misleading.

That’s because industry interests, while professing support for Mr. Obama’s effort in general, are aggressively pressing their objections to particular provisions. The pharmaceutical industry, which spent $68 million on second-quarter lobbying, has worked to extend patent protection for biologic drugs beyond the levels favored by some reform advocates, and to limit the use of price comparisons in studies comparing the effectiveness of different treatments.

Health insurers have lobbied fiercely against a government-run “public option” for health insurance, an Obama priority that key lawmakers have moved to dilute or drop altogether. Their efforts so upset the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a strong advocate of the public option, that last week she condemned insurance industry leaders as “villains.”

Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders can use such language to push back against health industry lobbyists; it appeals to deep public skepticism about special interests in the capital, especially on the political left. At a focus group sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center last week among independent voters in Towson, Md., a rental agent, Remi Brooke, labeled special interests in Washington as “organized crime”; a graphic designer, Louis Moriconi, added, “We’re really at the mercy of the power groups, the lobbyists and the financiers.” Both voted for Mr. Obama in 2008."

People are skeptical of all the money being thrown at this issue, and at what results it will produce. And for good reason. The best thing you can do is to let your representatives know that your vote is worth more than their money. remember, they took an oath to represent YOU, the constituent, not some well-funded health care lobby.

"Yet other strains of public opinion play into the hands of Mr. Obama’s adversaries. Recent polls show mounting concern over levels of government spending and deficits — and fear that hasty action on health care may add to the problem. Republicans, some conservative Democrats, and industry opponents find a ready audience among Americans for their calls to delay."

This point is somewhat misleading. They neglect to mention that this "mounting concern" is directly linked to a million dollar PR campaign to convince us that there is something to be feared in health care reform. It seems everyone these days, from US representatives to CNN to the Wall Street Journal is overly concerned with how "concerned" we Americans suddenly are about this plan. Well, someone is being paid a lot of money to make us worry, so if the numbers hadn't changed at all then they would just be bad at their jobs. However this should not be taken as a sign that Health care reform is unwanted at this time.

We want, and need, a better model for health care in this country. If republicans continue to needlessly drag their feet just for the pleasure of obstructing this supremely important reform then they risk being branded for years as the irrelevant party that they are trying so hard to be these days.

The full article is available here.