Disrespecting the dead: Healthcare Reform and Kennedy's legacy

Back from hiatus, more crumudgeony than ever.

I appreciate the sentiment of those who have suggested that if/when our esteemed members of Congress pass healthcare reform that the legislation be named after the recently deceased Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). But appreciating this sentiment does not mean that I agree with it.

There are two major motives that seem to be driving folks to call for such an action. The first is fairly straightforward – Kennedy spent much of his career and life fighting for equity, and healthcare was one of his primary foci. Naming healthcare reform after him would be a symbolic move that would forever link his legacy to the legislation he fought so long and hard for. Though he died before it became a reality, naming the legislation after him would serve as a reminder for what can happen when you fight the good fight. This line of thinking is well intentioned, but is guided by an incredible amount of naivety, ignorance, romanticism, and sentimentalism. We’ll get back to this in a moment.

The other motive for attaching Kennedy’s name to healthcare reform is far more pragmatic. When the final draft of the bill(s) that represents healthcare reform finally makes it to the floors of the House and Senate, most assume it will not include a public option. Progressives (there are some left) have voiced their displeasure with this possibility, with many stating that they will not vote on such a bill. Attaching Kennedy’s name to the bill will then put progressives in the unenviable position of having to vote against a piece of legislation with a title like “The Kennedy Healthcare Reform Act”.

Voting with a conscience, instead of with an eye on reelection and superficiality will certainly have consequences. The media will harp on the name and how unconscionable it is to disrespect the legacy of Kennedy by voting against a bill with his name attached to it; they will pat little attention to the reasons why a Representative or Senator might engage in such a dangerous political act. It will be difficult for these elected officials to explain such a move to their constituents, the vast majority of whom get their news from said asinine sources and have no real understanding of what is and isn’t in the legislation, to say nothing of their ignorance of Kennedy and his beliefs. And here is the bridge between this point and the first motive I spoke about.

Much larger than this individual issue is the issue of the American public’s lack of understanding of history and social policy. I’m not suggesting that these are the only areas where we are an ignorant nation, but they are particularly troubling, and particularly relevant to this discussion.

Whether you like Ted Kennedy or not, and whether you favor a publicly funded health insurance system is not important in this context. What is important is that you at least understand and acknowledge that Ted Kennedy believed in and fought for the creation of a healthcare system that would provide healthcare to all. He believed in universal care, plain and simple. He didn’t fight to lower the costs and increase access a little bit. He believed that all people should be treated the same when it comes to quality of medical care. Your income (or inheritance) should not afford you better care. He understood that not all enterprises should be for-profit, and he named healthcare as one.

Unfortunately we live in a world where the government is seen as evil. Anything government-run is seen as evidence of a turn towards socialism, and socialism is constructed as a system akin to a totalitarian dictatorship. These overly simplistic representations of complex ideologies serve as a means to perpetuate a capitalist system that has lead us down a road of widening disparity, while simultaneously dumbing us down. Ask Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck, Malkin, and the rest just how much Marx they’ve read. Then ask yourself. Now tell me how qualified you are to name any system or policy as socialist, let alone connect a connotation to it.

We have to own up to the fact that we have become a dumb, fat, and lazy culture. The internet has provided us with the means for virtually unlimited discovery. But instead of being more informed of the nuances of policy or delving into examinations and critiques of the social conditions we live in, we want more news on the Bachelor and Jon & Kate. It’s pathetic; but it’s not nearly as pathetic as naming healthcare reform without a public mandate (fuck that option shit) after Ted Kennedy would be.

And spare me with the Kennedy saw Obama as the savior, and if this is Obama’s plan Kennedy would be cool with it talk. Kennedy supported Obama because the only real lefty with a remote possibility of getting the nomination (John Edwards) was quickly jettisoned from the conversation of realistic candidates. Two candidates for one party’s nomination was already too much for the media to handle. Throw in a third candidate who was taking about issues the others weren’t – like poverty and racism – and the collective talking heads would combust. So Kennedy backed Obama, in large part because his healthcare plan looked more like Edwards’ than Hillary’s did.

But soon after being elected Obama showed himself for who he is, who his record shows him to be – a good, honest, often well-intentioned person who is a capitalist at the trough just like virtually everyone else on The Hill. He believes insurance should be a for-profit enterprise. Saying otherwise might get us somewhere, but he’d have to believe it first.

I’m not the biggest Ted Kennedy fan in the world. I think he did some wonderful things as a legislator, and I think he did some not-so-wonderful things too – No Child Left Behind comes to mind when I think of the latter. But I’m knowledgeable enough about what he stood for, what he believed in, and what he fought for, to know that any healthcare reform that continues to perpetuate the existing system of a few people getting rich at the expense of the poor health of the many is not something he would champion. I’m not glad he died, but I am glad he didn’t have to live to see this.