Bill Moyers is arguably one of the most respected and revered journalists alive in the country today. He’s a veteran of both journalism and politics, serving with grace and honor at the highest levels of both. Moyers’ ties to the Democratic Party go directly back to his work with LBJ on the Great Society.
As a Progressive Liberal his credentials are unassailable. From working in the Lyndon Johnson administration to Editor-In-Chief of Newsday (a Long Island daily newspaper where he won two Pulitzer Prizes) to giving lift-off to PBS, the venerable Texas-born journalist, reporter, editor, essayist, theologian, ordained minister and strong liberal Democrat is a rare breed at any time in history, but especially today.
During the dark Bush years and right through the ongoing slog forced by the Economic Terrorism of Wall St, he was and continues to be a much-needed, fierce and sometimes lone critic of crony capitalism, economic injustice and revolving door DC politics. He’s our sagacious granddad whose words have nourished, challenged and informed us for decades.
He’s seen and been there for a lot.
When he speaks the nation listens.
“Tell the Truth about Bernie’s Health Care Stand”:
Here’s what (Chelsea Clinton) said: “Senator Sanders wants to dismantle Obamacare, dismantle the [Children’s Health Insurance Program], dismantle Medicare, and dismantle private insurance.” Whew! She would have us believe that the Vermont senator is a one-man wrecking crew, an enraged King Kong – or, to be modern about it, a mendacious Darth Vader – proposing “to go back to an era – before we had the Affordable Care Act – that would strip millions and millions and millions of people off their health insurance.”
Uh, not exactly. In fact, not even close. As Karen Tumulty noted in The Washington Post, Bernie Sanders has long been a champion of a single-payer health care system as the only way to assure that all Americans receive medical coverage. Rather than “strip” millions and millions of people of their health insurance, he wants to be sure millions and millions of people actually get health insurance.
Moyers also took on the Neoliberal catcalls asking for how Bernie’s plan would work, reminding us that Hillary faced her own challenges in 1993, when her task force “huffed and puffed in secret for months, calling in legions of experts and academics, ultimately producing a plan so complicated and impenetrable – not to mention unexplainable – that it would have collapsed of its own ponderous weight even if the Republicans had not propagandized it into a laughing stock of pretensions and inefficiencies that could only make matters worse.”
Then there’s surrogate Howard Dean, of all people, also amazingly denigrating Sanders’ plan too. Moyers points to the Intercept piece by the excellent Lee Fang that uncovers his role as lobbyist for the health insurance industry. Dean has become Exhibit A in the latest example of Revolving Door of Politics in DC that Sanders is squarely taking on. From Daschle to Frank to Dodd add Dean to the list of politicians who have accepted the Big Buyout they all seem to think they’re entitled to after working in government.
You see, this is the bigger picture that Bernie is focused on, and it’s connecting straight into the hearts of an increasingly alienated electorate whose faith in politicians is at an all-time low.
For many Washington insiders it’s no longer fulfilling doing just the People’s work. I gotta get paid too. You know, “ya gotta be in it to win it. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. It is what it is (or insert your own favorite vapid empty colloquial attempt at profundity mindlessly expected to be accepted as some kind of conversation-stopping Truth). Do as little as possible during your tenure and be sure not to upset the status quo (witness the mind-melting dysfunction of modern Congress) and you’ll be rewarded with a “consulting” job by the banks and corporations when you get out.
And Hillary knows all this, and knows her position is thus between a rock and a hard place. And in the face of the kind of integrity Bernie has she has little choice but to mount flailing desperate attacks using RW fear-mongering about healthcare and taxes.
This time around though we have many more tools at our disposal to shine the truth. And regarding Hillary’s track record it’s a veritable treasure trove of hypocrisy, lies, and deceit to rummage around in, with a special box filled to the brim with triangulation to share with those who have forgotten.
Thom Hartmann, another brilliant Progressive Liberal media figure, brought up the oft-shown clip of Hillary chiding Obama in 2008 for attacking single payer healthcare. Her similar attacks on Bernie now show not just another shining example of hypocrisy, but worse, a potentially damaging attack on the Democratic Party.
I agree with Hillary 2008. I disagree with Hillary 2016.
So was this Bill's idea? Was this Debbie Wasserman Schultz's idea? Robby Mook’s idea? Whoever's idea this is should be fired. Because Hillary 2008 was right.
Hillary 2016 is harming both Bernie Sanders, and Hillary. And thus increasing the possibility that we might end up with some fool from the Republican party as President of the United States which would be a disaster.
When you’re losing venerable liberal media figures it’s not long before the electorate follows suit, which thankfully seems to be the case.
For my part, I’m resolved to go beyond donating to the Sanders campaign and begin phone-banking for him, with a crying newborn by my side.