Turning Polarity in Progress: How Progressives Can Win

Having a divide along political lines is far from a new phenomenon. What we must never forget is that issues can unite us where politics divide. For instance, while national healthcare has been politically divisive, there are few that would argue that our current form of health care coverage is successful. So it may be surprising to know that of all the people who had Medicaid or ACA coverage in 2016 , nearly three-quarters of adults said they are satisfied with their plans. According to The Hill, "Overall, 71 percent of people who have plans through the ObamaCare marketplace or Medicaid said their healthcare plans were good, very good or excellent, according to ... the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund." And yet, when Trump and the Republicans were successful in eroding funding and limiting access for the ACA, satisfaction went down to 22% in 2017.

So, what we now know is that people are again going without health coverage and still believe it is important to address. Governing listed health insurance as the second top priority for states for 2018. An AP-NORC poll showed that healthcare is the #1 concern on domestic and economic issues.

What is missing is a push from the public to make it front and center to our expectations from our legislators. Not uncoincidentally, voters believe that their lawmakers won't get far with their priority this year as 72% believe the government won't make progress on this as the survey below shows.

As usual, as long as politics divide us, progress on the things that matter to people get side-stepped. In this less than optimistic time, it is important to note that when we join together on the things that we hold in common, stuff gets done. A popular catch phrase is "pick a lane" and we all need to do it around the issues we mostly agree on.

Do Puerto Rican Lives Matter?

In the last few days, stories about the death toll from hurricane Maria which leveled much of Puerto Rico reveal that the count was highly under-reported according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The death toll that was originally listed at 64 deaths is estimated to be 70 times higher or 5,740 casualties. Why this discrepancy? Part of it is due to the lack of essential resources like electricity and accurate mortality counts due to the widespread nature of the disaster.

What is less clear is what was the impact of the US government's response to the hurricane when it hit Puerto Rico. How was that response so different from the response in Houston where the response was much more in the public eye? Is it possible that the lives of Puerto Ricans were lost due to a feeble response or indifference to a protectorate that is "out of sight, out of mind"?

In December, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló asked for a review and recount of the death toll, when a New York Times analysis concluded that more than 1,000 people had died as a result of Hurricane Maria. At the time he said, “Every life is more than a number, and every death must have a name and vital information attached to it, as well as an accurate accounting of the facts related to their passing.”

This week, one Democratic legislator, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), in an article from the Hill, is suggesting that President Trump should be held accountable for inaction which may have contributed to the higher death toll. Gallego said, "The Trump administration's failure to deliver timely and sufficient aid to United States citizens in Puerto Rico was an utterly careless decision with deadly consequences," Gallego said. "The Trump administration must be held accountable for their abject failure to protect and assist our fellow Americans."   

Pennsylvania's Democratic Socialists Have a Good Night

According to The Hill and the Huffington Post, four Democratic candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won their primary elections for legislative seats in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. In Pittsburgh, DSA members Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato, won primaries for state House Districts 34 and 21. Lee's opponent, Paul Costa, said  “Their campaign did a lot better job of getting people out to vote. They energized a lot of people, and they showed up at the polls.” 

Meanwhile, in the Philadelphia area, Elizabeth Fiedler and Kristin Seale won legislative primaries for House Districts 184 and 168. Fielder does not have a GOP opponent in the general election, while Seale will take on Rep. Christopher Quinn. 

Arielle Cohen, co-chair of the Pittsburgh DSA chapter, said "We won on popular demands that were deemed impossible. We won on health care for all, we won on free education.” She further said, “We’re turning the state the right shade of red tonight,”