There is some more good news for the country as a Federal Judge struck down a restrictive Texas Voter ID Law. Along with recent victories in states on voting rights and gerrymandering in earlier court rulings, the pendulum appears to be swinging back to participatory democracy. Furthermore, in the arena of healthcare, there are now no counties that will not have at least one insurance provider. While stabilization needs to continue, it is good that all of our citizens will have health care options.
There are also some concerns for the country as well. With Donald Trump in the White House, there may be a worry that Republican Governors may ask for waivers that turn the clock back on Obamacare. That is something to watch and may be a good campaign issue for Democrats in 2018. There are also some concerns about the idea (posted in yesterdays blog entries) about Senator Schatz's Medicaid buy in proposal. These concerns range from tinkering a little to it won't work. It is still an idea worth pursuing. Experts are also concerned about the President's infrastructure plans and whether it will strike the right balance between private and public partnerships. Finally, Will Marshall, formerly of the Democratic Leadership Council has (as previous blog posts have reported) has helped form a new organization for moderate-pragmatic Democrats called New Democracy (http://newdemocracy.net/) that focuses on finding progressive mainstream Democrats that can win anywhere in the country and are good matches for their districts, towns, cities, and states. While this is smart and wise, it still leaves the Progressives and Democrats with the issue of bonding together on a common progressive program that they can forge ahead with on a national message. It is a necessity in order to become a sustained majority forward looking progressive force. Just being against Trump will not be enough. The nation needs to see what we will be fighting for.
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/347721-federal-judge-strikes-down-texas-voter-id-law
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/24/16193682/obamacare-empty-counties-fixed
https://www.vox.com/health-care/2017/8/23/16193492/voxcare-red-states-iowa-oklahoma-ideas-waive-obamacare
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/23/16186390/brian-schatz-medicaid-buy-in-proposal-experts
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/24/16189922/will-marshall-new-democracy-dlc-democrats-2018
http://www.governing.com/columns/potomac-chronicle/gov-infrastructure-trump-public-private-partnerships.html?utm_content=buffercb71d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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