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When I was trying to identify venues where our Congressional candidates could address relevant interest groups, I discovered, to my surprise, that any number of eleemosynary institutions who are active on behalf of poor people, including their health care needs, were reluctant to host political candidates, even in a forum, because doing so might jeopardize their relationship with health care providers, profit oriented and not-for-profit entities, who were providing support in the form of grants. In other words, from my perspective, charities had an interest in making sure that the poor stay poor.
This may not be a fair assessment, which is why I specify that it's my perspective. Also, it's a perspective that's not influenced by my current residency in Georgia. However, this story out of Georgia seems particularly relevant.
So it's the day of the big speech, Mr. President, and we got trouble with a capital "T" right here in Health Care City.
What are you gonna do? Do we follow the traditional Democratic Party legislative process of passing...something...at any cost, assuming the entire time that the Left and the Netroots will "go along with the program", or is there a risk that the calculus doesn't work as well today as it did in 1994 and 1996?
Well, lucky for you, I'm a fake consultant, and I know a few things about your "target market", so before you answer that question...we need to talk.
We are coming down to the home stretch on healthcare, and we have seen the results of the first couple of rounds of crazy that have been sent forth in an effort to stop the process.
In addition to the Town Halls, opponents are flooding the email inboxes of America's "low information" voters with no end of lies. Those emails are getting passed around and around and around, and by now some of them have probably appeared in your inbox.
But it's summer...and who has time to respond to this stuff?
Well, guess what, Gentle Reader: I've already done the hard work for you.
Today's story is an email response that you can send right back to your "inbox friends". It's a reminder of some of the frustrations that we all share in this country and some explanations of what's being proposed...and a few words about socialism, to boot.
So get out there and copy and paste and forward and reply, and let's see if we can't fight the madness, one email at a time.
Read your statement carefully. There is nothing in what you said that wavers.
I am the only candidate who will sign legislation by the end of my first term that will cover every American and cut the cost of every family's premiums by up to $2,500 -- the biggest cost-savings that any presidential candidate has proposed. The reason 45 million Americans don't have health insurance is not because they don't want it; it's because they can't afford it. So if we want to cover every American, we have to cut costs for every family -- like Rebecca's family in Concord. When I am president, everyone will be able to buy into a new health insurance plan that's similar to the one Congressmen enjoy. If you cannot afford it, you will receive a subsidy to pay for it. If you have children, they will be covered. If you change jobs, your insurance will go with you. If you need to see a doctor, you will not have to wait in long lines for one. If you want more choices, you will also have the option of purchasing a number of affordable private plans that have similar benefits and standards for quality and efficiency. But if we really want universal health care in this country, it's not enough just to put a Democrat in the White House, we need to turn the page on yesterday's failed health care debates. We need a President who can bring together business, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution. That's what I did as a State Senator when we covered 150,000 more people, and cracked down on health providers who gouged the uninsured. And that's what I'll do as President. It's time we led the world -- not lagged behind it -- in the quality of care we have in America. (Note: One paragraph can't capture all the details, but you can read the full plan and offer your comments either via this Blue Hampshire diary or at our health care blog.)
Rename the public option Medicare for All. Press the reset button on the debate. Then bulldoze through and keep your promise.
In other words, just be the person that wrote that. The person we thought we elected. That really shouldn't be too much to ask.
I am a slow study sometimes, but something my wife said along with something hannah wrote clicked the puzzle pieces together for me. I now know who the real Death Panels are.
I'm usually fairly critical of NPR these days, but I have to join Olbermann and Maddow in bringing to more people's attention the slap-down Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep gave to GOP Chaiman Michael Steele on yesterday's Morning Edition:
INSKEEP: I'm still having a little trouble with the notion that you're going to write that you're going to protect Medicare, that you're going to preserve this program to make sure that this government-run health care system stays solid in the long term...
Mr. STEELE: Let's get it to run right.
INSKEEP: ...and yet you are opposing quote, "government-run health care."
Mr. STEELE: Exactly. Well, wait a minute. Just because, you know, I want to protect something that's already in place and make it run better and run efficiently for the senior citizens that are in that system does not mean that I want to automatically support, you know, nationalizing or creating a similar system for everybody else in the country who currently isn't on Medicare.
Steele:... And sure, there are issues in the insurance market that we can regulate a little bit better and that we can control better to maximize the benefits to the consumers. That's something that, yeah, we can rightly reform and fix. If the...
INSKEEP: Wait a minute, wait, wait. You would trust the government to look into that?
Mr. STEELE: No. I'm talking about the - I'm talking about private - I'm talking about...
INSKEEP: Who is...
Mr. STEELE: ...citizens. I'm talking about...
INSKEEP: You said that's something that should be looked into. Who is it that should look into that?
Mr. STEELE: I'm talking about those who - well, who regulates the insurance markets?
INSKEEP: That would be the government, I believe.
You can also listen here
Good job Steve! (In the interest of full disclosure, I helped Steve make the audition tape for his first job in the WBGO news department.)
The first time I met Senator Kennedy I was 19 and interning for a news radio station on Cape Cod. I was sent to cover the opening of the new Democratic Headquarters in Hyannis. The senior Senator from Massachusetts was there sporting a wide smile and a "Leahy for State Senate" sticker. I was awestruck. He was larger than life. Feet away from me was a man who was at the center of historic events I'd only heard or read about, and a man whose life's work inspired my love of American politics. As green as could be, I asked him what the new headquarters meant for the Cape and Islands. I honestly don't remember how he responded to my softball question but I do remember how it felt to meet the man who championed the cause of progress in my lifetime.
I got to know the Senator while working summers at Hyannis Marina. Senator Kennedy would bring his sailboat, the Mya, into the marina for fuel. His dogs, Sunny and Splash, would always be by his side along with numerous members of his family. Even the Terminator was once spotted on board. Every Memorial Day, Senator Kennedy would sail in the Figawi Regatta which started in the bay off of Hyannis Marina. (For non-Cape folks, Figawi is short for "Where the f*** are we?" Something sailors are bound to utter when charting a course through the fog of Nantucket Sound en route to the islands.) Kennedy was always the star of the race. Each year, curiosity peaked about who would be joining him on board. Many were shocked that after he took ill he sailed in the Figawi, but those who knew his love of the ocean couldn't have been surprised. From observing him at play, it was clear to me that he was genuinely passionate about all aspects of his life. Sometimes in the course of long days on the fuel dock, we would prank call the Dockmaster at Hyannisport Marina, the mooring where the Senator docked the Mya, and claim to be him. We'd put on our best Kennedy Compound accent and say, "port watch, port watch this is the Mya. We need a pick up." I'll tell ya that joke never got old. Neither will my memories of the Kennedys on the Cape.
Later, when I had the opportunity to meet him again while working in the Massachusetts Legislature, I developed a deep respect for his commitment to the cause of health care reform. Without him, the debates we are having today about reforming our country's broken health care system would not be happening. He paved the road to this tipping point in American history and fought for over four decades to make quality health care attainable for every single American. Recently, HBO put together a documentary on the Senator's life which featured a very poignant clip of him leaving the hospital with his then-12-year old son Teddy Jr., who had just lost his leg to a battle with cancer. When Kennedy was asked about the experience he said his son had received excellent care and he wished all 12 year olds had the same access to quality health care. Senator Kennedy's ability to look ahead even on the darkest of days, and be a voice for the nation's disenfranchised will be his lasting legacy. He will be sorely missed.
(Posted by Victoria Bonney, Communications Director at the New Hampshire Democratic Party)
Any wonder the Portsmouth Herald is dying? Check out today's (8/23) editorial:
New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg cast aside soundbites and slogans Thursday in Portsmouth to outline the major issues in the health care debate. It was ample evidence of why our senior senator is respected for his open and honest style in Washington.
Sadly, he is a dying breed - moderate Republicans from the Northeast who can work across the aisle with Democrats to control spending, make government effective and move the country forward. We also respect his willingness to meet face-to-face with citizens, rather than use telephone town halls or duck forums entirely. We hope Sen. Shaheen and our two members of the House of Representatives will do the same.
OK, pick your jaws up off the floor and write to them! The seacoast needs a paper which at least relates to reality. Help us, please!
(It's good to hear from someone who attended this meeting. Also interesting to note no anti-health reform "protesters". Hmmmm... - promoted by Jennifer Daler)
Salem, this morning -
Little old lady: Would my health care costs go down or would I maybe lose my coverage [under current health reform proposals]?
Judd Gregg: You're [health care is] at risk.
This, it should be noted, is not word-for-word. It is, however, the gist of an exchange that U.S. Senator Judd Gregg had at his health care forum this morning. The type of forum where legislators should talk openly and honestly about health insurance reform, but at which our Senator dearest decided to scare little old ladies that they might lose their health care under the Obama Administration.
Shameful.
Senator Gregg also used his last-minute, last-ditch forum to tout statistics from the Lewin Group, which he went to great lengths to describe as non-partisan and non-biased. Which it could be - if it wasn't owned by one of the largest insurance companies in the country, namely the UnitedHealth Group.
I cannot tell you how fired up it gets me to listen to blatant lies and misinformation coming from the office of a U.S. Senator. In reality, though, it gets me fired up - and ready to go. Hope, anger. Two very strong emotions which, harnessed in the right manner, can produce great changes. Harnessed in the wrong manner ...
Those teabaggers? The ones who have never gone to any of the local health care community meetings but who are so darn concerned about health care that they are harassing Congressional members intent on making sure the health care system really works for hard-working Americans?
Granite State Progress has been tracking the public health option story today. There seems to be marked confusion, and I'm not at all certain that this occurred on its own.
Here's the quick background: Based on a particular interpretation of statements made by White House administration officials over the weekend, there is a massive misreporting of President Obama's stance on the public health option. The idea that the White House is ready to drop the public health option is unfortunately spreading thru the media at rapid fire speed: Politico, Washington Post, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, NPR, etc. all covered the storyline.
Again, this is based off the media's interpretation of what WH administration officials said. But the White House's response to the stories, through health reform communications director Linda Douglass, is that
"Nothing has changed. The President has always said that what is essential that health insurance reform lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes that the public option is the best way to achieve these goals."
My interpretation of the statements was quite different from media reports: rather than moving away from the public health option, it seemed to me that the real intent was to point out that the public health option is only one piece of the health care bill - and that the White House is attempting to allow room for dialogue on the other health insurance reform provisions.
But why all the hype in the news today? Possibly because many of you, believing the same as I do, consider the public health option a critical part of comprehensive health care reform. So why wouldn't the media jump on every statement about the public option, looking for a possible storyline that would invigorate both reform proponents and protestors?
Moreover, because of the strong support for the public option, opponents to reform are trying to divide pro-health care advocates by pushing stories like this that will challenge our alliances. If you think that's ridiculous, take a look at the fight in the 90's or any of the blog posts on the public option today.
We've all been hearing the "Town Hall Meeting" stories the past few days, and the images presented have been of gatherings where you might see some current or former official "death panel" for the benefit of the crowd, where the few people who shout the loudest bully the rest into silence, and where threats of physical intimidation are part of the debate.
I attended one of these meetings, and based on what I saw I'm here to tell you that it is possible to hold an event that features none of the images previously described.
Instead, what I say was an event where people asked their questions, the Congressman answered-and from time to time the angry members of the audience got their shout on, too...but not in a way that was able to ever take control of the venue.
There were helpful lessons that can be applied by others who want to have these meetings, and today's conversation examines what can be done to make them work for you, too.
So this is what reform is about. For all the chatter and the yelling and the shouting and the noise, what you need to know is this: If you don't have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options once we pass reform. (Applause.) If you do have health insurance, we will make sure that no insurance company or government bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need. And we will do this without adding to our deficit over the next decade, largely by cutting out the waste and insurance company giveaways in Medicare that aren't making any of our seniors healthier.
Full remarks from President Obama's visit below the fold...
Well, I got a couple of tickets to the President's town hall meeting in Portsmouth this afternoon. It was a beautiful day for the drive; I went with a fellow Obama activist. It was amazing to us to be seeing him in New Hampshire again, not as a candidate, but as POTUS.
Once we found the school, parking wasn't the problem I'd thought it'd be. And the first person we saw was BH's own Jack Mitchell directing traffic at the intersection to the school parking lot. We had to go to a lot down the road, but very close. There were a lot of people there, but not the crazy scene I was expecting.
WASHINGTON (FNS) - In a startling development related to the recent disruptions of town hall meetings, FNS is now able to confirm that the Obama Administration, with the assistance of Unilever Group and Queen Beatrix, both of the Netherlands, PepsiCo, Skull And Bones, and the Bilderberg Group, is unleashing a secret plot to dispatch fleets of unmarked aircraft and helicopters to prevent teabag protesters from having access to teabags.
The goal of the plot: to disrupt protesters' plans to save America from the destruction of our health care system.
FNS reporters have been following a trail of information that includes airport noise abatement records, classified documents, and the testimony of insiders, some of whom are now willing to be publicly identified.
We'll begin our story by reporting on three events that occurred the evening of Friday, August 8th.
From a Working Families Win press statement about President Obama coming to New Hampshire, the venerable Jaime Contois:
As a candidate, Barack Obama heard from working families in New Hampshire about the need for health care reform. As President, he has made health care reform a priority and no amount of right-wing rhetoric or staged teabagger activities will overcome the real life stories he heard then and now. America's health care system is broken and President Obama is going to fix it.
Jaime goes on to say that pro-health care advocates will be out in force when the President is in town, which is a good reminder: have you saved the date for August 11th yet? Details coming any time ...
Let's go over some of the numbers we've been hearing in this debate.
"The industry already set records from January to March, when health-care firms and their lobbyists spent money at the rate of $1.4 million a day."
-Dan Eggen, Wash Po
A very good (and telling) conversation with Dr. Dean and former majority leader Bill Frist, moderated by Charlie Rose is running on PBS as I type this. I imagine it will be available on the Charlie Rose website later on.
Especially interesting discussion re expanded Medicare as a public option.
All day long, the New Hampshire arm of Health Care for America Now (HCAN) - the nation's largest health care campaign - has been generating calls to Hodes and Shea Porter to encourage them to vote for H.R. 3200 before they leave for August recess at the end of the week.
Of course, our representatives can't make that call themselves, but that's one of the reasons why some New Hampshire activists are helping generate phone calls into Blue Dog districts. HCAN anticipates to generate more than 50,000 contacts to the US House of Representatives today alone.
The message is simple: there is strong support for H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act and it's time to move forward. (And my personal note: anti-health care obstructionists will be ... obstructionists. Let's get this bill to the floor, now.)
In case you forgot, H.R. 3200 will:
• use a sliding scale to determine your insurance cost
• provide tax credits for employees with under 25 employees
• use a graduated surcharge on high-income taxpayers that would raise $543 billion over ten years. (Good info: NH Citizens Alliance for Action and SEIU's Change That Works just released a report (scroll to NH) that finds only 1.3% of NH taxpayers will be affected by the proposed surcharge, with low and middle-income taxpayers not affected at all.)
If you haven't made a call, consider yourself asked.
Here's the other interesting information, and why you're probably reading this post - Hodes is hosting a Health Care Town Hall teleconference tonight. For those interested, see release:
Reminder: Congressman Paul Hodes to Hold Telephone Town Hall on Health Care Reform for New Hampshire's 2nd District
Washington, DC--- Congressman Paul Hodes will hold a telephone town hall tonight at 7:40 p.m. for residents of New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District. The town hall will last an hour and will focus on health care reform.
When: Today, July 28, 2009; 7:40 PM
How: 877-229-8493; 14631#
Hodes is a good health care advocate, and I'll be interested to hear what he has to say about the current status of the bill.
Please help me with this. I fear that I am too stoopid to understand what's going on here. As I read and listen, I simply cannot see any way that this country can ever hope to achieve affordable, comprehensive, and universal health care for all of its citizens given the following assumptions:
1. Any current public health discussions are based mainly on the interests of for-profit health care businesses (and to a lesser extent, the public option, which they hate).
2. No matter what they say in public, the primary goal of these businesses is profit, not health care.
3. Maximizing profit means generating maximum revenue for minimum expense, no matter how you cut it.
4. The real customers in the system are the investors, not people subscribing for services.
5. Those subscribers ("members", "clients", "patients", whatever) are simply a collection of assets and liabilities; or cost and revenue centers, if you prefer. People using services are liabilities, those that pay in and do not use them are assets. That's the way it works.
6. These businesses and their champions are never going to volunteer to significantly reduce their profitability for the public good, nor does Congress have the collective will to legislate a significant reduction or remove the profit motive entirely. Too much influence has been bought and paid for on both sides of the aisle; it just won't happen.
7. Whatever the result, the President has made certain that it will be Congress' Plan, not Obama's Plan (he's NOT stoopid). He learned that from watching Bill & Hill.
8. In our lifetimes, we are unlikely to ever have what is required for actual universal health care: a single payer system.
So, what am I missing here? How can the current direction of health care legislation possibly result in something that will actually work?
Blue Dog resistance to the health care plans generated by the president and leading congressional Democrats has been widely discussed. Most commentators have treated their resistance as a savvy political move to protect their jobs in conservative districts and use the example of 1994's congressional elections as an example of the risks they run supporting the president.
The 1994 elections are widely misunderstood, but one thing is manifestly clear - Stopping the Clinton health care plan may have hurt the administration, but it did nothing to help Democrats representing conservative districts. We can argue about whether passage of the bill would have helped Blue Dogs - it may have, it may have not - but after its defeat they were decimated.
