JK Huff Post oped on health care

[MBS]

apologies in advance if this is duplicate. I did a quick scan of recent posts, and didn't see it, but I may have missed it. .
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/healthcare-is-better-and_b_1375331.html

Healthcare Is Better and More Affordable Because of Health Reform
But we got there in 2010. And then all hell broke loose. Yes, we paid a political price, and some good folks went down to defeat because they'd put their careers on the line for health care. Good for them. One day a vote for health reform will be remembered the same way as a vote for the Civil Rights Act or the Clinton deficit reduction package of 1993, because when you're on the right side of history, and you do the right thing despite the heat of the moment, ultimately the pendulum swings back your way.

And well it should, because despite some of the ugliest and most deceitful rhetoric I've ever seen in a legislative debate -- from the smear of "death panels" to the lies about "socialized medicine" -- the lives of tens of millions of Americans will be demonstrably better because of the Affordable Care Act. They say the proof is in the pudding; in this case, the proof will be in the patients. Patients who won't be turned away or denied insurance because of preexisting conditions such as cancer, childhood asthma, or even past pregnancies.

While others refuse to recognize this reality, one thing is certain. None of this national change would have been possible if Massachusetts hadn't paved the way and provided the model for reform. We took a moral imperative and showed the nation it was achievable. . .
Two years later, I look back on that vote and I know we did the right thing -- and the proof is in the peoples' lives that are better now and millions more that will be better for it in the years to come. Instead of running away from what we accomplished, we should embrace it. In American politics there's no "way-back machine" -- you can't avoid your way into office. But mainly because we have a great story to tell about making health care better and more affordable, we shouldn't run from the truth, we should run on the truth. Partisan rhetoric and political hyperbole, however untrue, can make great theater and can sway a news cycle or even an election cycle -- but it cannot survive the test of history. Ultimately, it's hard to argue with reality. If you want to see that health reform can work, come to Massachusetts. And if you want to see it work in America, just wait, because the best is still to come.

[YvonneCa]

1. Okay, now THAT's a bumper ...

...sticker:

"We shouldn't run from the truth, we should run on the truth."

Or at least my new DU sig line (when I get a chance).

[MBS]

2. you bet. That is totally JK, and also true.

When I read that sentence, I thought, no matter what the heated cable blather/meme/conventional-"wisdom" (not) of the moment, Sen. Kerry is himself a perfect example of the truth of his statement, as he is one of the few politicians who can stand tall (well, I guess that's a given ), knowing that the truth of his personhood and his career will survive , with flying colors, the test of history.

[YvonneCa]

3. Beautiful post...

...MBS. Your words:

"Sen. Kerry is himself a perfect example of the truth of his statement, as he is one of the few politicians who can stand tall (well, I guess that's a given), knowing that the truth of his personhood and his career will survive , with flying colors, the test of history."


And when measured next to other contemporary politicians, he will excel.

[Inuca]

4. Beautifuly said, indeed n/t