Even small victories against corporate America are enormous

Even small victories against corporate America are enormous: "Based on a conservation I had last night with a Senate Democratic leadership aide, there is no way that health care reform will be signed by President Obama in 2009.

The expectation is that Republicans--and reluctant Conservadems--will drag out the debate and amendment period for a minimum of two weeks. With the House of Representatives going on recess on December 18th, this means that the conference committee will not happen until Congress reconvenes in January. So, expect at least another month of this epic legislative fight.

It is not a big secret why this fight has lasted so long. Among all of the remaining legislation being seriously considered by the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress, health care reform is the only one with a chance to expand the relative size of the social safety net, and (through the public option) increase public ownership over the commanding heights, over the long-term. Nothing else remaining on the legislative horizon does that, not even the jobs bill.

In an America that has become increasingly dominated by moneyed interests over the past three decades, victories like this do not come very often. Outside of temporary measures like the stimulus, social investment spending in the United States has stagnated as a percentage of GDP for going on 35 years. 35 frreakin' years! Progressives just don't win fights like these anymore.

Sure, the proposals on the table have lots of flaws. All of them are inadequate to solve to scope of the health care problems that we face. However, one useful way of looking at this fight is not over redirecting 0.3% or 0.5% of our GDP toward the social safety net, or over transferring a meager 5% of the health insurance market to a watered down public option. Instead, this is about whether or not progressives can win any fight to expand the social safety net over the long-term by any amount anymore.

If we can't win this fight, then what hope is there for ever expanding the relative size social safety net? Virtually none, as we will continue to only have models for defeat. However, if the bill passes, and the social safety net is modestly expanded, it at least demonstrates that such victories are possible.

If we can do it once, then we can do it again. That makes any win, no matter its size, an enormous victory.

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