July 21, 2009: Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., speaks after he and other Blue Dog Democrats met with President Obama at the White House. Listening from left are, Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. (AP).
President Obama has been beating the bushes trying to get Americans to understand that the Rethuglicans are poisoning his message on healthcare. I know you've heard the rhetoric about how his plans will kill Americans, and bring immediate death to all Seniors. How a public healthcare plan is just another side of the socialism policies of the white house. Before I go any further I have to let you in on a little secret. Our senators, and congressmen and women have the same healthcare plan President Obama is pushing to get signed. So let's be straight on this: It's good enough for them but would be detrimental for the rest of us.
Now the public is chiming in that public healthcare will be the worst change we could make in this country. Even though Canada's system has been working just fine. And for those of you out there that still don't have the 211 on this, having the option of a public healthcare system will force the insurance companies, and HMO's to lower their prices bringing them into a more competitive situation. I hear folks complaining that you won't be able to choose your own doctors. That you will have to give up your current insurance policy. Well that's not correct. But you may find yourself paying way more for the same or better coverage than those with the public healthcare plan. It will be your choice. And these arguments come from the folks that already have health insurance.
If you happen to be in my situation, having been laid off from a job, then in most cases you have no health insurance. I don't hear any argument coming from those of us that need an affordable option. But at the same time I hear no support for us either from the Rethugs.
Here's what the Gallup organization found:
A survey of more than 29,000 individuals in June by Gallup shows that 16 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are currently without health insurance. That number reflects what the survey's authors describe as a "small but measurable uptick in the percentage of uninsured adults."
Indeed, the average number of uninsured adults recorded by Gallup in 2008 was 14.8 percent. In September 2008, the monthly total recorded was at a yearly low of 13.9 percent.
And to make matters worse, the Blue Dog Democrats have been working against President Obama at every step. I bet you thought it was just the Rethugs that were standing in the way, huh? Nope! Yes we have some Demoncrats (nope this is not a typo) out there that will lose millions in lobbying money if a public healthcare plan is passed. I've read comments from other sites with some folks proclaiming that this is how politicians rase money for their re-election. I have no problem with that, but it seems strange to me that getting their money from the insurance companies, and then holding out on a public healthcare plan seems just a little bit suspicious. It just says to the American people that even though it was us that put them in power, they use that power for THEIR own good. Not ours. Spit in my face why don't cha!!!
The following is from a story at the Huffington Post by Sam Stein.
Adjective
recalcitrant (comparative more recalcitrant, superlative most recalcitrant)
- marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey figures of authority
- hard to deal with or operate
Recalcitrant Blue Dogs Raked In Health Industry Cash
The seven Blue Dog Democrats holding up health care reform legislation in the House Energy and Commerce Committee have received tens of thousands more dollars from health and insurance interests than other Democrats on the same committee, a new report finds.
An analysis of campaign finance data by the Public Campaign Action Fund finds a fairly strong correlation between private industry donations and opposition to health care reform. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate who voted against proposed legislation this congressional cycle, the report found, received roughly 65 percent more money from health and insurance interests than those who supported the bills.
When it came to the Blue Dogs in particular, that data showed that the seven members who sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee -- Reps. Mike Ross (Ark.), Baron Hill (Ind.), Charlie Melancon (La.), Jim Matheson (Utah), John Barrow (Ga.), Bart Gordon (Tenn.) and Zach Space (Ohio) -- have received, on average, $711,828 from the health and insurance sectors. Other Democrats on the committee, by contrast, have received an average of $628,023.
Not all the Blue Dogs partook at such high levels. Space, for instance, has raised only slightly more than $200,000 from those two sectors, according to Public Campaign Action Fund. But on the whole, these self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives have found their coffers filled by the industries over which they now have massive legislative sway. Gordon has received more than $1.4 million in donations; Matheson got slightly more than $1 million. Ross, who is leading the Blue Dog negotiations, took in more than $980,000.
In the world of campaign finance, it is almost always the case that money follows power. And on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Blue Dogs have carved out a powerful niche for themselves through their willingness to buck the party leadership. In recent weeks, the seven members of the committee have held up the passage of health care reform legislation by demanding further negotiations and compromises on measures they say would contain costs. In short order, they have become the crucial votes for health care in the House.
Good government groups have questioned whether their demands are driven by philosophical or electoral motives.
The connections between the Blue Dogs and the health and insurance industries extend beyond campaign donations. An analysis of lobbying reports done by the Huffington Post reveals that several former staffers for these seven Energy and Commerce Committee members have also served as lobbyists for major pharmaceutical companies. For instance, after serving as Gordon's legislative director, Louis Finkel was employed by Lent, Scrivner & Roth. The firm earned $920,000 in lobbying fees from Pfizer between 2001 and 2006, with Finkel acting as a lobbyist for the client.
And since leaving Barrow's office as a legislative assistant, Carl Gist Jr., has taken a position with the firm TCH Group. In the first quarter of 2009, he lobbied on behalf of AMGEN -- another major pharmaceutical company -- charging a fee of $40,000.
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