NHDP Welcomes Ovide Lamontagne into 2010 Senate Race
Candidacy Sparks Civil War, Signals Republicans Seriously Second-Guessing Ayotte Candidacy
CONCORD - The New Hampshire Democratic Party today welcomed Ovide Lamontagne into New Hampshire's 2010 Senate race. Lamontagne joins former state AG Kelly Ayotte, Rye businessman Bill Binnie and Hollis businessman Jim Bender on a crowded Republican ticket, already being referred to in political circles as "civil war." (Washington Post, 11/9/09)
Lamontagne appears to be running on the same woefully out of touch platform as his fellow Republican candidates, quoted as saying that "no one is denied healthcare in America" and that the disastrous Bush tax cuts for America's wealthiest families could "relieve the burden on industry and small businesses." (Union Leader, 11/8/09)
"We'd like to welcome Ovide Lamontagne to the growing field of Republicans running for the Senate," said Emily Browne, Press Secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "Lamontagne joins a lively, and ever-growing, Republican field full of candidates who are promising Granite Staters more of the same failed Bush politics: tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, Wall Street greed, and allowing insurance companies to deny care for preexisting conditions. It's a race to the bottom, and we say the more, the merrier!"
Lamontagne's self-declared "anti-establishment" candidacy is particularly bad news for Kelly Ayotte, the one-time golden girl of Washington Republicans and the DC establishment. Just last week the NRSC abandoned Ayotte, saying that in a contested primary, "there's no incentive for us to weigh in." (ABC News, 11/4/09)
Ayotte, Lamontagne Oppose Meaningful Health Care Reform
Manchester, NH--- While Paul Hodes stood up on Saturday for meaningful health care reform, his Republican opponents continue to stand with the big insurance companies and fight to preserve the status quo where insurance companies can deny care for preexisting conditions. Their plan would end New Hampshire insurance protections for women and seniors and would not cover any American who is uninsured today.
Kelly Ayotte said she supported the House Republican plans that would give insurance companies additional protections and do nothing to cover any uninsured Americans. (Nashua Telegraph, 11/6/09)
One of her Republican opponents, Ovide Lamontagne, opposes meaningful health care reform, saying that emergency rooms should be the "safety net" for millions of Americans without health insurance who are suffering debilitating diseases. (Union Leader, 11/8/09)
"Kelly Ayotte and Ovide Lamontange are the insurance companies' best friends," said Mark Bergman, Hodes for Senate Communications Director. "Their plans would preserve the status quo, which means big profits and no competition for the insurance companies while New Hampshire families struggle to paying skyrocketing insurance premiums and are denied care for preexisting conditions.
Paul Hodes is standing for New Hampshire's middle class families by voting for a plan that will cover care for preexisting conditions, that will provide a public option to increase competition and lower costs, and will make prescription drugs more affordable for our seniors," Bergman added.
The New York Times said that the Ayotte-Lamontagne plan would "do almost nothing to reduce the scandalously high number of Americans who have no insurance...and isn't health care reform." (New York Times 11/6/09)
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Ayotte Supports House GOP Health Care Bill. Last week the Nashua Telegraph reported that "Ayotte supports House GOP plans that would let insurers cross state lines to sell health care policies." [Nashua Telegraph, 11/6/09]
Republican Bill Does Not Bar Insurers from Discrimination Based on Preexisting Conditions. [New York Times, 11/4/09]
Republican Plan Would Eliminate New Hampshire Consumer Protections on Vital Health Care Procedures. According to the New York Times, policies sold across state lines by the Republican health care plan "would be exempt from many of the consumer protection laws, rating rules and benefit mandates in other states where the company sold coverage." The bill requires a health insurance providers from other states to notify consumers in so-called 'secondary states' that the policy is "not subject to all of the consumer protection laws or restrictions on rate changes of the state." [New York Times, 11/4/09; GOP Plan via the Hill, 11/3/09]
Life-Saving Protections Put At Risk by Ayotte-Lamontagne Approach to Health Care:
* Health Care During Pregnancy. [List of NH Health Related Insurance Mandates, updated September 2008, Accessed 11/9/09]
* Mammograms for Breast Cancer Screening. [List of NH Health Related Insurance Mandates, updated September 2008, Accessed 11/9/09]
* Health Care for Newborn Children. [List of NH Health Related Insurance Mandates, updated September 2008, Accessed 11/9/09]
CBO: GOP Plan Would Leave 53 Million Americans Without Health Care. Republican leader stated bluntly on CNN that Republicans made no attempt to increase coverage to Americans that lacked health care. John Boehner said, "What we do is we try to make the current system work better... We do not attempt to cover 46 million more Americans." The CBO projected that by 2019, the Republican health care plan would leave 52 million non-elderly Americans without health care coverage. [Roll Call, 11/2/09, CNN, 11/1/09; CBO Analysis, 11/4/09]
