It is time to dump the Policy Wonks and Democratic Party wise guys.

Everyone said and now everyone knows that the SIMPLER THE BETTER.  The more complicated, the more to make people worried about the details.  And, that worry becomes grist for the Republican media machines.

So the first step for health reform is to Dump the Congressional Bills......both of them feed into the Republican machine for 2010 elections.  Mass. showed that.

We must propose what we know people want and already like.

1. Maintain and expand the Veterans Medical and Hospitals Systems;

2 Expand the Federally Qualified Community Health Centers;

3. Drop the Medicare age to 55 to 64 ---- Republicans will not mess with that;

4. Elevate Medicaid to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level;

5. Open the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for non federal employees to join;

6 Eliminate Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusions

By doing these actions; you are dealing with winners and known programs.  Each of these programs is supported by those in them.

By dumping the Health Exchanges you eliminate the number one grist for the Republican mills, i.e., forcing people to buy insurance.  And, to win working people back, voters they are; Dump the taxing of benefits.

These should be done immediately....no waiting time.

Then in a year or two we do another step.

These can and will lead to larger reforms such as a federally administered Single Payer system; and, toward our ultimate goal of a National Health Service in our country.

Reports released this week show that Republican claims that the stimulus was a failure are dead wrong and the labor movement is losing no time by demanding even more government spending on jobs to break the neck of the Great Recession.

"The fact is that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is still working," the AFL-CIO said in a statement late yesterday, "generating more than 2 million jobs and laying the foundation for future economic growth."  The federation said the positive results indicate that the government must continue spending heavily to create millions of additional jobs.

In a report also issued yesterday, Ross Eisenberry, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, tracked monthly job losses before and after the Recovery Act.

"With unemployment at 9.7 percent today, it’s hard to appreciate how much more damage the stimulus investments prevented," he said, adding, "Without the more than 2 million jobs generated by the Recovery Act, the unemployment rate would now exceed 11 percent."

Another indication that the recovery package is working, some economists say, is that the economy grew 5.7 percent last quarter -- the largest gain in six years.  These economists are saying the growth is largely due to the Recovery Act and that those who say Obama’s stimulus plan didn’t work are just plain wrong.

"The fact is that the Recovery Act did work," declared EPI President Lawrence Mishel, "precisely as it was designed to work and it has helped to produce roughly 2 million jobs that wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t become law." …

One union leader said the Recovery Act impacted on much more than just the critical area of job creation, as essential as that is to an economic recovery.  AFT President Randi Weingarten called the stimulus a "life preserver."

"Kids don’t get a second chance to get a good education.  The Recovery Act was the help they needed, ensuring that schools continued to receive resources so that teachers could teach and students could learn."

Only a particular kind of movement possessing a particular kind of strategic vision has the capacity to challenge the array of forces on the other side of the class struggle at this juncture.

At its core are the multi-racial working class (and its organized sector), the racially and nationally oppressed people, women, and youth.  But gathered in and around it are many other social movements, including undocumented immigrants, and political forces, including the Obama administration and sections of the Democratic Party.

Yes, sections of the Democratic Party!  Until a large section of the mass constituency of the Democratic Party, as a result of its own experience primarily, is ready to build a new party with a pronounced anti-corporate vision, the broader people's movement will have a tactical relationship to the Democrats, if it has any political sense.  Slogans like "Break with the Democrats" may sound radical and may look good on one's resume, but at this moment it is a recipe for marginalization.

"The 2010 elections are the next step of our continuing project to decisively defeat the extreme right and expand democratic rights, including ridding the federal government of entrenched corporate interests," Joelle Fishman, chair of the party's political action commission told the delegates.

"Newt Gingrich is attempting to frame the 2010 elections with a new "Contract ON America," to whip up hysteria that government spending for social needs is against the interests of working people."

"In Western Pennsylvania, Republicans poured $10 million into capturing the seat held by Rep. John Murtha, but they did not succeed," said Fishman.  "They rejected slanders against Democrat Mark Critz and attacks on Nancy Pelosi and President Obama."

The 2010 elections are at the center of the struggle for working class relief from economic crisis, poverty, inequality and environmental devastation.  Why?  Because this election will either solidify the progressive breakthrough of 2008, or send the country reeling backward.  Barack Obama's election was a victory won by an amazing broad alliance of which we were a part.  Our contribution focused on building unity, challenging racism and expanding voter participation.

This was an extraordinary expression of political independence from the extreme right wing.  As Sam's report reminds us, five years ago our major battle was entirely on the defensive under George W. Bush.  The question of how we expand and build on this political independence has been a big part of the pre-convention discussion.  The 2010 mid-term elections represent the next step of our continuing project to decisively defeat the extreme right-wing and expand democratic rights, including ridding the federal government of entrenched corporate interests.  All 435 House seats and a third of senate seats are up for election.  A shift of 45 seats in the House and six in the senate would give Republicans the majority.  Top battleground states for the Senate are California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio.  We are up against a rabid right-wing that refuses to accept the election of the first Black president.  Republicans in Congress thought they could bring down the presidency by blocking health care reform.  The Tea Party was birthed by media extremists and racist elements to break up the unity of 2008.  They were able to change the debate and peel off some Democratic votes, but they were not able to stop the legislation.  Newt Gingrich is attempting to frame the 2010 elections with a new Contract on America to whip up hysteria that government spending for social needs is against the interests of working people.  This election is about the ability of families and youth to make it through this economic crisis.  In the first place it is about the federal government investing in job creation targeted to the highest poverty areas with training for displaced workers and young people.  It is about relief for cities and towns, education and youth programs, housing and health care.  Working people are angry and searching for solutions.  Voters' anger can be turned into collective action for a pro-worker agenda or it can become manipulated by right-wing populism.  So far there are examples of both taking place.  Our focus is on building up the strength of the labor movement, racially oppressed, women, youth along with LGBT, environment and peace allies as part of the broad electoral alliance.  This goes beyond any one election to the need for organizing a lasting movement and building working class leadership in our country that can reorder priorities and change foreign policy.

But even though the ultra-right is in retreat, kicking and screaming and even calling Hillary Clinton’s half public-half private healthcare proposal "socialist", they still haven’t been defeated.  As Communists, we have to finish the task of isolating the ultra-right and completely removing them from power -- using the Democrats to finish the job.

This was also reflected in the historic election of Barack Obama.  Our party actively supported Obama during the primary election.

"Get control of the schools.  Use them as conduits to force socialism and current communist propaganda into the minds of impressionable children.  Soften the curriculum.  Get control of teachers’ associations.  Put the party line in textbooks."