Dear Ed,

In 2004, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation set out on an ambitious project to discover the greatest Canadian. They commissioned a show called The Greatest Canadian to find out what the Canadian people thought. They used extensive on-line polling to winnow down the field. No, it wasn’t Wayne Gretsky as most Americans would expect. Or even that co-discoverer of insulin, Sir Frederick Banting (who did come in number 4). Even the inspiring Terry Fox, the man who lost his leg to cancer and ran across Canada in The Marathon of Hope on a prosthetic device only to have his journey aborted when the cancer reappeared, had to settle for the number 2 spot. No, the Canadian people had spoken, and the man they wanted designated as the greatest Canadian of all time was the grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland, one Thomas Clement Douglas, 1904-1986.

Why Tommy Douglas, Americans would ask. Because Tommy Douglas is the man who brought taxpayer-funded single-payer health insurance to the Canadian people. Although he died in 1986, Tommy lives on in the hearts and minds of the Canadian people for their health care system in much the same way that FDR lives on in the hearts of Americans for their Social Security system. One hundred years from now Canadian school teachers will be teaching students about the genesis of their health system and all about Tommy Douglas while many others will be largely forgotten. That’s because Tommy Douglas seized “a moment in time” when history came knocking at his door. He was the right man in the right place at the right time. He met his moment of destiny and because he did, he achieved Canadian immortality.

The story of Tommy Douglas sort of puts the lie to the stories all those Harrisburg insurance company lobbyists peddle about how the Canadians hate their system, don’t you think?

***********

On June 19th I journeyed with some friends to the Harrisburg Capitol steps for a Single-Payer Health Care rally (see the cover story in this issue by Ron Stouffer and Rosie Skomitz for coverage of that rally). Arriving early, I saw that you were having a press conference at 11:00 am on those same steps. When I meandered over, you were at the part of the conference that was question and answer with the press. You were speaking movingly about how outraged you were that people were being denied coverage because they were sick. I heard you say with disdain how outrageous it is that the richest country in the world leaves people without coverage and how unacceptable it was that people whose only crime is that they are sick were being denied coverage for that very reason. I shared your outrage, and as I listened to you parrying with the reporters, I closed my eyes and imagined that this was a single-payer press conference and that you, Ed Rendell, had become its spokesman. Truly, there was nothing you were saying that was contrary to what the single-payer advocates want.

As I stood there taking pictures of you and listening at the ease with which you handled the press, my mind drifted to my recollections of your political career. I remember a young, fearless and crusading District Attorney (a few pounds lighter I might add, but weren’t we all). Then there was the Mayor who inherited a city drifting into the abyss and managed to turn it around. I thought then, and I think now, here is someone who can move mountains when he puts his mind to it. As Governor it’s clear that you’ll leave this state in better shape than you found it. But I wonder, Ed, is that really enough for you? It’s not for me.

I confess I’ve always had a soft spot for you as a politician. Regular readers of this ezine can tell you that in itself is unusual because unlike most Democratic activists, I don’t usually hold politicians in high esteem. Maybe it’s because I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fanatic, and I always loved your football commentary on WIP and elsewhere. I knew it wasn’t phony or a politician pandering because you really knew your football and spoke about it with emotion. I mean, you’re hearing from a guy who arranges his Sundays around the Eagles games in the fall. As a politician you always came across to me as a regular guy. I suppose, unlike so many of your party, that’s why you have no trouble with the men’s vote. I just don’t think anyone has any pictures of you windsurfing.

I’m not saying I like everything you do. I hate privatization. I hate applying a band-aid to the health-care hemorrhage in this country, and I think that’s what your plan does. I’m not writing this to attack you or to praise you. I’m writing this to make sure that you’re aware that your moment in history has arrived. The Governor of California had the knock of history on his door a few years ago, and he didn’t have the courage to answer it. Now it’s knocking on your door.

I’m not going to insult your intelligence by debating the health-care issues with you. You know them better than I. You know the tyranny of the insurance companies and how they weigh like an albatross around the necks of the American people. You know in your heart that every American should have quality health insurance as a matter of birthright. All we need is one state to show the rest of the country that single-payer can work. When it does, the others will fall in line quickly. That state is Pennsylvania.

Ed, your rendezvous with history is at hand. There is a strong single-payer movement in Pennsylvania. It lacks one thing to make the dream a reality. It lacks Ed Rendell. You have moved mountains in the past and can do so again. You have shown courage in the past and you will again. The obstacles are formidable. The entrenched interests don’t want to budge. That didn’t stop you when you were turning around Philadelphia. Don’t let it stop you now.

I can think of no one who brings more political capital, retail political ability and intelligence to the table. Make this the crowning achievement of your career. If you do, 100 years from now teachers will be telling school children how Americans would die for lack of access to health care. That was before Ed Rendell stepped up to the plate.

The time is now, Ed. Seize the moment. Make it happen.

Print This Article
Email This Article