In my interactions with the beltway over the past few weeks, be it via email or watching Obama’s speech to Congress and the “American” people on his health care reform package, I have been re-reminded of one fact. When D.C. speaks of reform, this has nothing to do with rights : human, civil or rights of any stripe.

I was interested in hearing Obama’s health care reform pitch for a number of reasons which cross that political/personal line. I am one of the millions of uninsured. My family has a history of cancer and I have personally seen what being uninsured and underinsured has meant for some of the most beloved members of my family (including death). My children are insured thanks to the public health system. Will Obama’s plan mean that I, who am poor enough to have my kids get medicaid but not poor enough to have myself covered (in large part because the government doesn’t accept my proof of income as an independent worker), finally will see a doctor? The last time I saw a health care provider was 2 and a half years ago when I was pregnant. Do I have to get knocked up again to get health care? And if there is no public option, will I be fined (money I don’t have) because health insurance is mandated and I still can’t afford it? What about my vecinos and members of my extended family who didn’t even bother watching Obama because as undocumented immigrants they have already been thrown under the bus? When the speech was over, when the heckling was quieted, and everyone stopped applauding, Obama had lost what tiny pedazo of support I had left for him.

President Obama opened his speech by placing the “American” people and the United States in the context of the struggling economy.
Pero he also began by using language that some could interpret as blaming. He used a word that would be heard throughout the speech. The word was “responsible”. He wants to help the responsible homeowner while ignoring the irresponsible (and dare I say criminal) behavior of banks. When Obama began speaking on the struggles of the uninsured, he made the distinction that the majority are not people on welfare, implying that those that are form part of that irresponsible class. The speech centered the struggles not of the poor but the middle class. Within the first few minutes of his speech, Obama had thrown the poor out of the mix.

The theme of responsibility is raised again, when after Obma put out the way his proposed system would work, he began speaking of the irresponsible ones, whom he said specifically were the young and healthy, would still not buy the affordable insurance offered. It’s not clear what affordable means. Depending on my week, $20 isn’t affordable. Under the president’s plan people will be required to have basic insurance. Whenever the government requires me to do something, I become wary. Obama says there will be a hardship waiver for those that still can’t afford insurance, but does not explain what a hardship entails.

Then came the moment when Obama let the words “illegal immigrants” roll off his tongue oh so easily, in an effort to discredit health care reform haters who have insisted that the undocumented will ::gasp:: get health coverage. You know who else won’t get covered? Women who need abortions. With the irresponsible, illegals, and pregnant putas cast aside, Obama lost whatever tiny bit of faith I had left in his administration.

Obama closed his presentation talking about the character of the country, which he summed up as individualistic and rugged . Obama said he still believed that the government could act when it was hard. If that is indeed the character of the country he leads then maybe there is more truth to Wilson’s shout out than liberals and progressives would like to admit.