We were pleased on Monday to post a smart web piece by Richard Kirsch, the National Campaign Manager of Health Care for America NOW, which led the effort to pass the landmark 2010 reform bill. Kirsch challenged the notion of healthcare as a loss for progressives, explaining what progressives did right to win—and how we can advance those lessons into other campaigns for social justice.

The Kirsch piece has circulated widely, drawing the attention of outlets such as Democratic Strategist, Politico’s Pulse, The Washington Post— and was excerpted or linked by some of the organizations involved in the effort, including HCAN and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

In this hot month of August—which last summer was dominated by the rage of tea partiers and town hall fights over healthcare reform—let us reflect back on the campaign and remember what was accomplished. The lessons Kirsch mentions will be key to other issues like immigration and social security. But they are also useful as progressives mobilize to improve healthcare reform, and to fight those many state attorneys general who seek to nullify what has been accomplished.

Also this week…

Video: Revisiting Vigilantes and Henry Glover

Reporter A.C. Thompson sat down with Laura Flanders on The Nation on GRITtv to discuss his ongoing investigation into the crimes committed by New Orleans police officers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Jacques Morial, co-director of the Louisiana Justice Institute, also joins the conversation.  Watch here, and for more background on post-Katrina police violence, read Thompson’s piece in The Nation, Katrina’s Hidden Race War. 

Video: Looking Ahead to November

Also on GRITtv this week, The Nation’s executive editor Betsy Reed sat down with Laura to offer her take on jobs, midterm elections, the war in Afghanistan—and Time magazine’s recent cover—and much more. Watch that conversation here.

Comment: Learning to Relax?

This week I wrote about the frenetic pace of work and life—and how it’s increasingly the rule rather than the exception.  Check out my column “Rising to the Task of Slowing Down” here, cross-posted from the WashingtonPost.com.

Audio: Greg Mitchell On "On the Media"

Be sure to tune in to NPR’s On the Media today to hear Greg Mitchell discuss the media treatment of the 65^th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. The segment will be available at onthemedia.org after 6pm on Friday.

Coming Up Next Week on The Nation on GRITtv…

Nation contributor Kai Wright and housing organizer Tony Romero will sit down to talk about the Atlanta public housing crisis. Plus, Richard Kim will offer commentary on America’s newest folk hero—Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater.Watch segments beginning Monday on TheNation.com or watch full episodes at www.GRITtv.org.

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