Conyers at Rally by R. Schmetzer

by Bob Schmetzer, IBEW retiree and PA 4th CD Chapter of PDA member

The air was charged with excitement as the crowd gathered in the park facing the Capitol. The weather was beautiful, the Park manicured, the old growth trees gave shade, and blooming flowers graced the grounds under a blue and white clouded sky. Friendship abounded among the many different groups that gathered for a common cause.

On the stage, ” The Singing Grannies”, gave song about our plight and our dreams of a more secure future for our health care. It was a beautiful day to be alive and sharing this experience. Congressman John Conyers from Michigan came to the stage. I spoke with him about who I was and thanked him for his efforts and concern for introducing HB 676, Single Payer Bill.  He spoke briefly to the crowds still gathering about what has happened since the bill’s introduction.

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Why Single Payer Advocacy Matters Now More Than Ever

By John Nichols
The Nation
August 4, 2009

How should serious supporters of healthcare reform spend the month of August?

Not by getting trapped in the narrow “debate” between “party of no” Republicans who favor no reform at all, and Blue Dog Democrats, whose “reform” is to make a bad system worse.

And not by campaigning for “buzz words – “public option,” “employer mandates” – or whatever President Obama or Speaker Pelosi happen to favor this week. There will be plenty of advertising and organizing to that end, including a $15 million expenditure by the AFL-CIO.

Americans who want to tip the debate in the most progressive direction should take advantage an opening provided at the last minute during negotiations to get a bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

And they should do so by advocating even more aggressively for single-payer health care.

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