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It's Our Lives, It's Our Money: Do Health Reform In the Sunshine
If there is nothing to protect that relates to national security,
every bit of the health reform legislation debate and negotiation should be
done in public. Period.
We read today that C-SPAN is arguing that the negotiations between
the House and the Senate on their healthcare bills need to be done while their
cameras are rolling. I agree.
Jan 05, 2010
If there is nothing to protect that relates to national security,
every bit of the health reform legislation debate and negotiation should be
done in public. Period.
We read today that C-SPAN is arguing that the negotiations between
the House and the Senate on their healthcare bills need to be done while their
cameras are rolling. I agree.
But isn't it just a sign of our times that no major print media
argued that issue on our behalf? The New York Times or Washington Post? Or
even the Associated Press that reported on little ol' C-SPAN? Or how about one
of the major news networks? ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN?
When I worked as a journalist in South Dakota, even when small
city governments tried to go into executive session to avoid scrutiny of
sweetheart deals for local contractors or campaign contributors or to avoid
embarrassment for friends of the mayor or city commission members, we in the
local press called those bodies to task for not following open meetings laws.
The public's business needs to be done in public. And this
healthcare reform legislation is not only spending our money, it is determining
the course of our lives in a very personal and profound way. We may live or
die, suffer financial trauma or be fined, have access to doctors or be denied
that access, all based on what Congress seeks to finish quickly behind closed
doors. This is not an appropriate way to complete this process.
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant," reads a well-known quote from
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, referring to the benefits of
openness and transparency in public policy.
If this healthcare reform legislation has been done in the best
interests of the public, no Congressional member ought to fear full and
accurate vetting of every inch of the process and detail of the bill in full
view of the public and the press.
Now, if we just had an engaged and
independent-of-corporate-control press demanding to know all not only on our
behalf but on behalf of the nation. Handing over the health of our nation to
the for-profit insurance industry is a very large step to take on faith that it
will work out well in the end.
Do you hear the insurance industry really fighting any of this?
Is the silence deafening to anyone else but me? Where is Karen Ignagni, the
industry's top spokesperson? Perhaps she's waiting in the wings for the
invitation to the Rose Garden bill signing ceremony and then into the front row
for the State of the Union address. Safe bet she's been weighing in all along
the way. We're just not privy to that, and we should be.
And we - the American people -- cannot even get a camera into the
Congressional meetings in which our personal fate is being decided and our
funds being committed for healthcare? If they have nothing to hide from us,
let it all hang out. Let us see it and let us understand all the forces that
made this health reform effort what it has been and what it will be. Let the
cameras in. Let the reporters in. Let the American people in.
Everybody in, nobody out. It works for lots of arguments,
including public policy and healthcare.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Donna Smith
Donna Smith is the former executive director of Progressive Democrats of America and currently a Medicare for All campaign surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders.
If there is nothing to protect that relates to national security,
every bit of the health reform legislation debate and negotiation should be
done in public. Period.
We read today that C-SPAN is arguing that the negotiations between
the House and the Senate on their healthcare bills need to be done while their
cameras are rolling. I agree.
But isn't it just a sign of our times that no major print media
argued that issue on our behalf? The New York Times or Washington Post? Or
even the Associated Press that reported on little ol' C-SPAN? Or how about one
of the major news networks? ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN?
When I worked as a journalist in South Dakota, even when small
city governments tried to go into executive session to avoid scrutiny of
sweetheart deals for local contractors or campaign contributors or to avoid
embarrassment for friends of the mayor or city commission members, we in the
local press called those bodies to task for not following open meetings laws.
The public's business needs to be done in public. And this
healthcare reform legislation is not only spending our money, it is determining
the course of our lives in a very personal and profound way. We may live or
die, suffer financial trauma or be fined, have access to doctors or be denied
that access, all based on what Congress seeks to finish quickly behind closed
doors. This is not an appropriate way to complete this process.
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant," reads a well-known quote from
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, referring to the benefits of
openness and transparency in public policy.
If this healthcare reform legislation has been done in the best
interests of the public, no Congressional member ought to fear full and
accurate vetting of every inch of the process and detail of the bill in full
view of the public and the press.
Now, if we just had an engaged and
independent-of-corporate-control press demanding to know all not only on our
behalf but on behalf of the nation. Handing over the health of our nation to
the for-profit insurance industry is a very large step to take on faith that it
will work out well in the end.
Do you hear the insurance industry really fighting any of this?
Is the silence deafening to anyone else but me? Where is Karen Ignagni, the
industry's top spokesperson? Perhaps she's waiting in the wings for the
invitation to the Rose Garden bill signing ceremony and then into the front row
for the State of the Union address. Safe bet she's been weighing in all along
the way. We're just not privy to that, and we should be.
And we - the American people -- cannot even get a camera into the
Congressional meetings in which our personal fate is being decided and our
funds being committed for healthcare? If they have nothing to hide from us,
let it all hang out. Let us see it and let us understand all the forces that
made this health reform effort what it has been and what it will be. Let the
cameras in. Let the reporters in. Let the American people in.
Everybody in, nobody out. It works for lots of arguments,
including public policy and healthcare.
Donna Smith
Donna Smith is the former executive director of Progressive Democrats of America and currently a Medicare for All campaign surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders.
If there is nothing to protect that relates to national security,
every bit of the health reform legislation debate and negotiation should be
done in public. Period.
We read today that C-SPAN is arguing that the negotiations between
the House and the Senate on their healthcare bills need to be done while their
cameras are rolling. I agree.
But isn't it just a sign of our times that no major print media
argued that issue on our behalf? The New York Times or Washington Post? Or
even the Associated Press that reported on little ol' C-SPAN? Or how about one
of the major news networks? ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN?
When I worked as a journalist in South Dakota, even when small
city governments tried to go into executive session to avoid scrutiny of
sweetheart deals for local contractors or campaign contributors or to avoid
embarrassment for friends of the mayor or city commission members, we in the
local press called those bodies to task for not following open meetings laws.
The public's business needs to be done in public. And this
healthcare reform legislation is not only spending our money, it is determining
the course of our lives in a very personal and profound way. We may live or
die, suffer financial trauma or be fined, have access to doctors or be denied
that access, all based on what Congress seeks to finish quickly behind closed
doors. This is not an appropriate way to complete this process.
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant," reads a well-known quote from
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, referring to the benefits of
openness and transparency in public policy.
If this healthcare reform legislation has been done in the best
interests of the public, no Congressional member ought to fear full and
accurate vetting of every inch of the process and detail of the bill in full
view of the public and the press.
Now, if we just had an engaged and
independent-of-corporate-control press demanding to know all not only on our
behalf but on behalf of the nation. Handing over the health of our nation to
the for-profit insurance industry is a very large step to take on faith that it
will work out well in the end.
Do you hear the insurance industry really fighting any of this?
Is the silence deafening to anyone else but me? Where is Karen Ignagni, the
industry's top spokesperson? Perhaps she's waiting in the wings for the
invitation to the Rose Garden bill signing ceremony and then into the front row
for the State of the Union address. Safe bet she's been weighing in all along
the way. We're just not privy to that, and we should be.
And we - the American people -- cannot even get a camera into the
Congressional meetings in which our personal fate is being decided and our
funds being committed for healthcare? If they have nothing to hide from us,
let it all hang out. Let us see it and let us understand all the forces that
made this health reform effort what it has been and what it will be. Let the
cameras in. Let the reporters in. Let the American people in.
Everybody in, nobody out. It works for lots of arguments,
including public policy and healthcare.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
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