Is the Right Out Organizing the Left on Healthcare?

Is the Right out organizing the Left on health care reform? I am afraid so. There has been a little noise lately about how this "tea bagger" movement is putting on demonstrations to shout down any kind of health care reform discussion at "townhall meetings", even the corporate insurance sponsored kind most of us here don't want. The links within this message are from John Amato of the soft-left liberal blog Crooks and Liars. Within those blog posts are embedded videos of these tea-baggers in action, shouting down members of Congress.

In one of the videos Rachel Maddow dismisses these protests as simply being orchestrated by right-wing think tanks and lobbying firms; aided and abetted by talk radio and Fox News. But it really doesn't matter, they are mobilizing people against health care reform. Some may say that that is just fine if they derail the Democrat's corporate welfare health care plan. Maybe it is to a certain extent. However, as far as the right-wing tea-bag protesters are concerned the details are inconsequential, they already think they are protesting against "socialized medicine" or the single-payer plan.

Carrol Cox opined on some thread here on this list that single-payer won't be won until people are in the street demanding it. He's probably right. But shouldn't we also be at these "townhall meetings" exposing the bullshit of the dominant Democratic plan and demanding a single-payer plan be put back on the table? Are we really going to let these right-wing idiots who don't even know what the hell they are fighting against out organize us?

I would like to hear lbo-sters opinion on this.

(The above is a post I wrote for Doug Henwood's Left Business Observer email-list, just so the reader understands the context of the message).

The Weak Voice of the Communist Party USA

Update below.

Come on now! Is this the best Peoples' Weekly World can do? (Organ of the so-called Communist Party USA.)

“Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) and their families are appreciative of efforts by the U.S. House leadership to fix our broken health care system by introducing ‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act’ (HR 3200). The legislation meets President Obama’s goals to control runaway health care costs, offering all Americans real choices for expanded access to quality health care. .............."

Granted Peoples' Weekly is only posting a statement from a union official, but why no added commentary that criticizes the centrist Obama and Democrats in their compromising betrayal? They rolled out the red carpet and offered the for profit insurance corporations a "seat at the table" while taking single-payer "off the table". Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Dennis Kucinich are stilling speaking up and fighting for a single-payer plan, so why isn't the Communist Party USA? Seriously, socialists should be calling for a complete expropriation of private health insurance corporate assets, justified by the massive fraud and theft they have committed on the American people and at the expense of their health!

Pathetic!

Update, one day later:

I should clarify that the above quoted statement posted by the Peoples' Weekly World is from a Leo Gerard of the United Steel Workers union. It is true that the whole statement fails to mention the fight for a single-payer system, nor does the Peoples' Weekly, which is the main target of my criticism. As it turns out, Leo Gerard, in an interview with the Real News, argues that even if the political winds in congress are tilting against a single-payer plan, the left still must argue for it in principle. Posted below is the Real News interview with Leo, which is quite good. I think my criticism of Peoples' Weekly and the CP-USA still stands. And that is that they are failing to be a critical left voice either within of outside of the Democratic Party coalition.