I've really enjoyed some of the political poetry threads in the last month or so.  So I'm going to share a piece I wrote a bit more than 4 years ago that was inspired in part by the events of the fall of 2001.  I hope that you'll enjoy it, and feel free to use this as a political poetry open thread.

One of the most important differences between progressives and the modern Republican party is the degree of visible and audible unity.   While this is starting to change as the progressive wing of the Democratic Party makes its presence increasingly felt, particularly as represented by Harry Reid and the dKos community among others, with an increasing emphasis on party solidarity, and cracks between the Neocons and Theocons beginning to appear on the other side of the aisle, Democrats are still perceived as being a party in chaos and opposed to the simplicity of classic Republican values.  Part of this apparent disunity is the inevitable result of our willingness to see the complexities of the real world and the inevitably differing prioritization of our goals by individuals, but in the important world of public opinion it is largely the result of our failure to control and organize our message.  

So with an eye to changing that last problem, please join me below the fold in considering a possible way of organizing our goals and policies.

Our first meetup was a resounding success and we haven't started scheduling another one, so I thought I'd kick things off with a new diary.  If you are a NM Kossack please read on in the extended entry.

If you were looking for an excuse to ignore the meta diaries for a while I have one for you.  I have seen several people suggest that we as democrats could form our own pool for health insurance purchases. I like this idea for a number of reasons.  

1.  It would give us a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the soundness of the idea.
   
2.  Health insurance is a really good recruiting enticement both for party members and potential candidates.
   
3.  It would give us a wallet level argument that we can and will help people out.
   
4.  A big pool would give us a real chance at reducing our healthcare costs.
   
5.  It sidesteps cultural arguments and puts us directly in communities.

I think this has a lot of potential, but I'm relatively uninformed in the fields of healthcare and insurance, so I'd like your input here. I have a list of questions to get you started in the extended section.

I know that a number of us have expressed an interest in doing a New Mexico Kossack Meetup (or series of them).  So if you are a NM Kossack, and would be interested in doing this please tell us what your schedule looks like for the next month or two.

More below the fold.