For me, we're coming back, to our highest values

"I want my country back" shout the Teabaggers, and I sure know how they feel. But their leaders and their "Republican/Darwinian/University of Chicago-free market" values ruled for eight very long years. After witnessing the devasting effects of Bush-onomics (huge tax cuts for the top 1%, deregulation and a global financial meltdown), international mis-adventurism (the trumped-up evidence to justify the Iraqi invasion and botched post-war governance of Iraq and Afghanistan), the most egregious assaults on the U.S. Constitution (thanks to the 'pep boys' of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and John Woo), and chilling incompetence (Katrina) and corporate cronyism and malfeasance (Haliburton, oil companies and the most of the finance sector), it is our turn to govern and advance this country...as we did, when we created "real" growth in income and jobs during the 1990s.

Something magical happened last night: the People's House of Representatives approved a health care reform package that is going to benefit ALL Americans (even the Tea Baggers) in the same ground-breaking way that Social Security and Medicare did. And it is going to start reforming the most world's effective AND least efficient modern medical system, making it available to more Americans in smarter ways. Sure, there will be problems, bureaucratic screw-ups, and those colorful anecdotes that Conservatives will tell to rally their troops on Fox News. But this is nothing compared the overall good that this bill is going create for America, improving the health coverage and reducing the financial worries of millions of Americans. The fear-mongers are going to claim we are moving toward a British-style medical style, but they will be factually-challenged again (we are moving closer to Switzerland and Holland: regulated but private health care systems).

America is coming back, honoring the Constitution, rebuilding our international relationships and leadership, and getting one step closer to providing affordable health care to nearly all Americans. The Teabaggers will cry and scream, but there have always been people who are fearful of important advances, just like when we abolished slavery, gave women the right to vote, and desegregated the public schools, to name a few. Even the Conservatives of yesteryear, including Reagan, were against the adoption of Social Security and Medicare, today's two most popular and widely-used government programs. But no matter.

Let's celebrate: last night, in the People's house, love triumphed over fear...40 years of effort, starting with Nixon.

(This blog post is dedicated to my free-thinking and spiritual Libertarian brother, Phil Walker, who continues to help me see that there is always two sides to every issue...and that even the Teabaggers should be heard, whether I agree with them or not.)