Is It Now "Country Last" As Far As GOP Loons Are Concerned?

When I was growing up in Southern California, there was a prominent Hollywood actor who starred in westerns and also excelled in portraying military figures.
He was also a staunch conservative Republican, but after then-Vice President Richard Nixon lost to John F. Kennedy in the closely-fought 1960 presidential election, John Wayne made the following statement referring to Kennedy:

"I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."

It is sad to see what the Republican party has become in the three decades after Hollywood's legendary Duke died. Instead of putting partisan differences aside, leading Republican figures have cheered for the failure of Barack Obama's presidency.
A whole range of GOP and GOP-supporting voices, most notably Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Matt Drudge, reacted with glee when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
On his radio talk show, Limbaugh crowed, "The ego has landed," while Beck proclaimed the defeat as "sweet." Drudge, on his blog, echoed Limbaugh's comment in a banner headline.
Whatever became of the "country first" mantra that they and other Republicans repeated over and over again while John McCain campaigned for president? Whatever became of the old sentiment that partisanship stopped at the shorelines while the president was conducting foreign policy or otherwise promoting American interests overseas?
That sure has been missing from the sentiments echoed by these right-wingers and the other peddlers of their propaganda.
Can they please explain their glee to thousands of folks who could have had Olympics-generated jobs doing things like constructing the various Games sites that would have to be built in the years leading up to 2016? Can they also explain their glee to those in Chicago and beyond who would have benefitted tremendously from the Games being in the United States?
If they really believe Chicago's loss was a big defeat for President Obama, they are dead wrong. Many following the competition understood that Chicago faced an uphill climb against a city on a continent that never hosted an Olympics (while the United States has hosted both summer and winter Games through much of the 20th century).
For all the benefit the Games would have generated for Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the United States, Obama was right to help out in pitching the city. Although the bid was not successful, Obama's presentation (and that of Chicago) was both powerful and poignant.
Had he not come, I suspect these same right-wingers who are crowing about Chicago's loss would have barked the loudest about Obama betraying his home town and letting the rest of the Chicago delegation carry the water while he stayed home.
To these right-wingers, this wasn't about winning or losing. This was about their personal hatred of the President of the United States who was freely elected and who doesn't cower to their every command.
This was about their refusal to accept the fact that Barack Obama was elected fair and square by a clear majority of Americans last November.
And this is also about their demonstrated jealousy and resentment toward a moderately progressive president who also happens to be well-educated and intelligent as well as a successful author of two books ("Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope.")
When he came back from Copenhagen after Chicago's loss, Obama was gracious in defeat and congratulated Rio de Janiero for its accomplishment. He showed far more manhood in that brief moment then these right-wing crybabies have demonstrated in their lifetimes.
Obama will continue to do well in his presidency and beyond, but what about these right-wingers and the Republican party that looks up to these folks? If Republicans continue to embrace those who celebrated Chicago's loss and continue to root for Obama's failure, they will corner themselves even more in the fringes of American politics.
John Wayne at least had the sense to understand that one he didn't agree with was elected and that his success was in our nation's best interest. The same can't be said about the clowns who are currently the most prominent Republican party spokesmen and propagandists. The quicker the GOP disassociates itself from the Becks, Limbaughs and Drudges of the world, the better it will eventually be.

Anti-American Right Wing Shows True Face in Olympics Loss Celebration

These right-wing nut jobs who are cheering Chicago's defeat in its bid to win the 2016 Summer Olympics really need to have their heads checked out.
Are they really happy because all the jobs Chicago would get in the years before the Games even would have come won't be coming?
Are they really happy because of the positive press Chicago (and the U.S.) would get from the Games but won't since Rio de Janiero wound up winning?
Somehow, these goons who cheered Chicago's loss and yelled "The ego has landed" like Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge did need serious mental counseling.
Besides all that, it sure makes me wonder where the Republican party these guys have been front and center off since Barack Obama became president are really mainstream...or has the GOP (and the farce of a "news" channel called Fox) really gone so right-wing that it has fallen far out of the reality map (or even the mainstream map).
I hoped Chicago (which my wife and I visited a few years ago) would win, and I was disappointed that it didn't, but the classless and juvenile display of glee from these right-wing clowns and their allies in and out of the media must not be forgotten either.
In fact, they show conclusively that they, and the Republican party it supports, don't give a rat's a-- about providing real and compelling solutions to America's problems. They also don't give a rat's a-- about promoting goodwill of the very country that gave them the platform to gain the followings (and resulting monies) they've gotten.
To take it a step further, the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs, and the Fox "newses" of the world have proven beyond a doubt that they are anti-American subversives who deserve to be thrown into the trash cans of history and beyond.

TX-32: What Part of Support for Healthcare Reform Doesn't "Taliban Pete" Understand?

When I saw this poll, I was reminded of the fallacy my area's Taliban congressman, Pete Sessions (R-TX-32), and others in his party continue to peddle-- that healthcare reform is not popular with the American people.
Not only is Sessions wrong when he claims that healthcare reform has been "rejected" by the American people, this latest poll, along with a recent CBS News/New York Times survey, show support for reform with a robust public option continues to be strong.
To review, here's what Sessions said in response to President Obama's address on healthcare reform:

“Tonight, President Obama launched another prime time sales pitch for a government-run health care product that the American people have already undeniably rejected."

Actually, contrary to Sessions' claim, healthcare reform support has INCREASED since the summer of screaming, lies, and distortions coming from the Republican party and its allies in the media (most notably right-wing talk radio and the fraud of a "news" channel called Fox), according to a Huffington Post article.
Here's part of what the Huffington Post reported:

The anti-reform town hall anger that dominated the health care reform debate appears to have ebbed. Support for health care reform increased in September after falling over the summer, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans now believe that tackling health care reform is more important than ever -- up from 53 percent in August. The proportion of Americans who think their families would be better off if health reform passes is up six percentage points (42% versus 36% in August), and the percentage who think that the country would be better off is up eight points (to 53% from 45% in August).

So what part of this don't anti-reform politicians like Sessions understand? Have these guys become so blinded by their own lies that they can't even acknowledge that they have been proven to be wrong?
Yes, Democratic politicians like Max Baucus, Blanche Lincoln, and Kent Conrad must be held accountable for their demonstrated preference for protecting insurance company profits and discretion at the expense of the public interest, but the same must be said for others who have made a living of fanning the lies of insurance company opponents of real healthcare reform.
That list, sadly, includes my area's Taliban congressman, Pete Sessions, and the sooner this nutjob is retired from his current position by voters, the better we all will be.
I hope folks in my district will see a strong opponent rise up to confront Sessions with his "public be damned" attitude when it comes to healthcare reform and a host of other issues.

Heartless GOP Plan Exposed-- "Don't Get Sick And If You Do, Die Quickly."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) need not apologize to the heartless Republican party who'd rather see folks like me rot and die rather than have real healthcare reform with a robust public option.

TX-Sen, TX-32: Hutchison, Sessions: Out Of Touch and Wrong On Healthcare Reform

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is the latest Texas Republican who has demonstrated how out of touch she and the rest of her party are when it comes to support for real healthcare reform with a robust public option.
To review, the latest CBS News/New York Times poll shows that 65 percent of the American people support a real public option as part of healthcare reform (including a plurality of REPUBLICANS). That fact seems to have been lost on Hutchison, who's trying to demonstrate her right-wing credentials as part of her campaign for governor in next year's Republican primary against incumbent Rick Perry.
Here's part of the senator's statement that appears on Hutchison's campaign web site:

"I received nearly 1.25 million petitions from Americans including 165,000 Texans who object to a government take over of health care. The President needs to stop and listen. People are sending a powerful message: we want choice, access, and affordability. I hoped that President Obama would have heeded the people’s wishes and announced in his speech that he was willing to wipe the slate clean and abandon the public option. But instead of new ideas the President is repackaging the same bad policies and continuing to promote a government takeover of health care. President Obama’s proposal will increase the size of our government and shrink patients’ choices. It will still drive up taxpayers’ costs and deteriorate our nation’s quality of care. President Obama’s government run health care plan needs to be thrown in the shredder!"

The repeated claim that what President Obama has proposed is "government-run health care" is an outright lie that has been rejected by the American people in poll after poll (with the current CBS News/New York Times survey being the latest). The real question is this: Why are the for-profit insurance companies that have been pushing this canard are so afraid of competition from a not-for-profit government-run entity that will be supported by users' premiums, not taxpayer dollars.
In Texas, public options in post-secondary education (like the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems) sure haven't prevented private institutions like SMU and Rice from providing attractive alternatives that have helped them garner a good number of students.
In the world of package deliveries, the presence of the government-run U.S. Postal Service hasn't prevented two private companies, FedEx and UPS, from gaining large shares of the market with attractive and customer-friendly products that have enabled both to be able to deliver millions of packages daily across the United States and around the world.
If these private education institutions and package delivery companies can do well against public entities, why can't private insurance companies if they offered consumer-friendly and cost-efficient products that don't deny care because of pre-existing conditions or because an insured party gets sick or injured?
Besides being proved totally false when it comes to her claims of public opposition to healthcare reform and what it is (and isn't), Hutchison, like the rest of the Republican gang, is also out of touch when it comes to the facts about the cost of legislation that DOES include a public option.
Reports Congress Daily on House legislation that does include the public option, quoting the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office:

In a bid to wrangle concessions from the Blue Dog Coalition on healthcare reform, House leaders Thursday released CBO estimates for liberals' preferred version of the public option that show $85 billion more in savings than for the version the Blue Dogs prefer.

What part of this statement doesn't Kay Bailey Hutchison understand?
Hutchison may think the teabagging town-hall rabble rousers who tried to disrupt meetings about the issue constitute a majority of the American people, but if this latest CBS News/New York Times survey serves as any indication, Hutchison and fellow Texas Republicans like Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-32) are the ones who are out of touch with the American people and even members of their own party.
Here's Sessions commenting on President Obama's recent healthcare reform speech to Congress:

“Tonight, President Obama launched another prime time sales pitch for a government-run health care product that the American people have already undeniably rejected."

If this is the best job Hutchison and Sessions (who, I am ashamed to say, represents my congressional district) can do in interpreting the will of the American people, they should seek other employment fast. They, and the rest of the Republican cabal, are the ones who are out of touch and are trying to keep in place a system that has failed the American people badly and has denied needed care to those who needed it the most.

Adult In Charge: Obama Speaks On Foreign Policy Issues, Gets Results

This is what an adult sounds like when it comes to discussing foreign policy issues:

And this is the text of a real adult speaking on foreign policy concerns:

This week, I joined leaders from around the world at the United Nations and the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh. Today, I can report on what we achieved—a new commitment to meet common challenges, and real progress in advancing America’s national security and economic prosperity.
As I said at the U.N., over the past nine months my administration has renewed American leadership, and pursued a new era of engagement in which we call upon all nations to live up to their responsibilities. This week, our engagement produced tangible results in several areas.
In Pittsburgh, the world’s major economies agreed to continue our effort to spur global demand to put our people back to work. We committed ourselves to economic growth that is balanced and sustained— so that we avoid the booms and busts of the past. We reached an historic agreement to reform the global financial system—to promote responsibility and prevent abuse so that we never face a crisis like this again. And we reformed our international economic architecture, so that we can better coordinate our effort to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
We also established American leadership in the global pursuit of the clean energy of the 21st century. I am proud that the G-20 nations agreed to phase out $300 billion worth of fossil fuel subsidies. This will increase our energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat the threat of climate change, and help create the new jobs and industries of the future.
In New York, we advanced the cause of peace and security. I joined the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in nearly a year—a meeting that even nine months ago did not seem possible. And we resolved to move forward in the journey toward a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
We also took unprecedented steps to secure loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to seek a world without them. As the first U.S. president to ever chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, I was proud that the Council passed an historic and unanimous resolution embracing the comprehensive strategy I outlined this year in Prague.
To prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, the Security Council endorsed our global effort to lock down all vulnerable material within four years. We reaffirmed the basic compact of the global nonproliferation regime: all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy; nations with nuclear weapons have the responsibility to move toward disarmament; and nations without them have the responsibility to forsake them.
The United States is meeting our responsibilities by pursuing an agreement with Russia to reduce our strategic warheads and launchers. And just as we meet our responsibilities, so must other nations, including Iran and North Korea.
Earlier this year, we imposed tough, new, sanctions on North Korea to stop their efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction. And we will continue to stand with our allies and partners to press North Korea to move in a new direction.
This week, we joined with the United Kingdom and France in presenting evidence that Iran has been building a secret nuclear facility to enrich uranium. This is a serious challenge to the global nonproliferation regime, and continues a disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion. That is why international negotiations with Iran scheduled for October 1st now take on added urgency.
My offer of a serious, meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue remains open. But Iran must now cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions.
On this, the international community is more united than ever before. Yesterday, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our European allies in condemning Iran’s program. In our meetings and public statements, President Medvedev of Russia and I agreed that Iran must pursue a new course or face consequences. All of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and Germany, have made it clear that Iran must fulfill its responsibilities.
Iran’s leaders must now choose – they can live up to their responsibilities and achieve integration with the community of nations. Or they will face increased pressure and isolation, and deny opportunity to their own people.
These are the urgent threats of our time. And the United States is committed to a new chapter of international cooperation to meet them. This new chapter will not be written in one week or even one year. But we have begun. And for the American people and the people of the world, it will mean greater security and prosperity for years to come.

It's great to see a mature adult again at the helm in the White House, something that was sadly missing during the eight years before President Obama took the oath of office.

Me to Ed Schultz: Cantor, GOP deserve NO apology

I love how Ed Schultz isn't letting Republicans off the hook when it comes to their opposition to any healthcare reform.
The night before, the MSNBC host lit into Rep. Eric Cantor for his heartless remarks to a woman with a relative battling cancer. While Schultz noted the positive response he got, some Republicans took exception with one group demanding an apology from Schultz.
Schultz didn't give one, and he shouldn't. What Cantor's answer proved a sad fact about Republican governing philosophy-- when it comes to protecting the wallets of big corporations and contributors, Republicans couldn't be better, but when it comes to average folks, the Republicans, well, simply don't care.
Here's Ed's Friday segment:

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ACORN: Victim of GOP, Media Lies, Disinformation

Back when I was studying journalism years ago, I was taught that those who were spreading sensationalistic lies were practicing "yellow journalism" and would be subject to immediate firing.
That doesn't seem the case when it has come to the right-wing campaign against ACORN and those in the mainstream media that have peddled the blatent falsehoods without even an ounce of fact checking.
That is what Rachel Maddow so brilliantly reported on her program last night.
Check this out:

And also check out this well-done Daily Kos diary. Yes, like Rachel said at the end of her story, this report gets me really mad and causes me to demand the undoing of all damages that have been done against ACORN whether it be funding or otherwise and the investigation of the lies and how they have spread.
And journalistic outlets that have spread the disinformation without any real fact checking must begin immediate internal investigations and fire those accountable for producing and approving the reports.

Precisely who DOES John Cornyn represent?

John Cornyn is supposed to be representing all the citizens of Texas in the U.S. Senate, so what gives him the idea that the only folks that matter are for-profit insurance companies that write his campaign checks?
That was a big point raised today by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va) in response to an amendment that Cornyn proposed to the healthcare legislation that the Senate Finance Committee is busy marking up.
Here's what the Huffington Post reported:

Reacting to an amendment proposed by Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) during the Senate Finance Committee's markup of health care reform legislation on Thursday, committee member Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) called his colleague a pawn of the health insurance industry.
"This is a very, very important amendment and it's a very, very bad amendment," said Rockefeller. "If there's anything which is clear, it's that the insurance industry is not running this markup, but is running certain people in this markup."

Here's a link to the clip of Rockefeller on the Cornyn proposal:
Cornyn isn't the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee whose work on behalf of for-profit insurance companies has been getting called out. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts brought the issue to the forefront during his comments:
Reported the Huffington Post:

"The thing I'm trying to point out," said Roberts, "is that we would have at least 72 hours for the people that the providers have hired to keep up with all of the legislation that we pass around here, and the regulations that we pass around here, to say, 'Hey, wait a minute. Have you considered this?' That's all I'm asking for."

Are Roberts and Cornyn so naive that folks won't pick up whose bidding they're doing (or not doing)?
Here's Roberts on his begging for time to help corporate lobbyists display:

It's time Republican gamesmanship be brought to an end so real healthcare reform can pass.

Heartless Eric Cantor Might As Well Have Said, "Let Her Eat Cake"

We in Texas' 32nd congressional district aren't the only ones represented in Congress by heartless politicians who'd rather do the bidding of anti-healthcare reform corporations rather than average folks like me.
Here's Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor showing total heartlessness toward a needing constituent:

Here's the transcript of Cantor's exchange with Patricia Churchill, who has a relative who lost her job and hs fighting cancer:

CHURCHILL: I have a very close relative, a woman in her early forties, who did have a wonderful, high-paying job, owns her own home and is a real contributing member of society. She lost her job. Just a couple of weeks ago, she found out that she has tumors in her belly and that she needs an operation. Her doctors told her that they are growing and that she needs to get this operation quickly. She has no insurance. [...]
CANTOR: First of all I guess I would ask what the situation is in terms of income eligibility and the existing programs that are out there. Because if we look at the uninsured that are out there right now, there is probably 23, 24% of the uninsured that is already eligible for an existing government program [...] Beyond that, I know that there are programs, there are charitable organizations, there are hospitals here who do provide charity care if there’s an instance of indigency and the individual is not eligible for existing programs that there can be some cooperative effort. No one in this country, given who we are, should be sitting without an option to be addressed.

Doesn't Cantor get it, or is he too busy playing games on Twitter (like he was while President Obama was speaking on healthcare reform) to be concerned with the people's business? The health system is broken, in part because it provides no real remedies for folks like Ms. Churchill's relative who runs into hard times and then gets ill and needs help.
Real healthcare reform can't wait. It must pass WITH a real and robust public option.

No recession, eh, Rick?

Here is our out of touch governor who wants our state to secede from the Union wondering whether there IS a recession:

BUSTED: Fox "News" Producer Caught Staging Teabagger Protest

I remember when I first studied journalism that if anyone got caught doing what this Fox Republican Advocacy Channel producer did, they'd be fired.
Evidentally, this sort of conduct passes for sound journalistic principles in the eyes of the FRAC, which long ago ceased to be a legitimate news channel.
Reports the Huffington Post:

A Fox News Channel producer has been caught in a behind-the-scenes video rallying the crowd during last weekend's 9/12 protest in Washington.
The Huffington Post has confirmed that the woman in the below video — seen raising her arms to rally the crowd behind Griff Jenkins, who was reporting from the scene for Fox News — is Fox News producer Heidi Noonan.

The Huffington Post piece continues:

The video shows the producer on her cell phone as she urges the crowd behind Jenkins to cheer louder. An "I'm A Foxaholic" poster appears nearby.

The Huffington Post piece reported that Noonan, according to a Fox spokesman, was already "disciplined," but what kind of discipline?
Back in my journalism days, that discipline would have been immediate firing, but I guess that doesn't apply at Fox so long as the producers and others promote right-wing thoughts like those expressed at the rally.

TX-32: Sessions Defends Extreme Teabagger Rhetoric

Excuse me if I get a bit emotional, but I couldn't be more ashamed that Pete Sessions represents my congressional district (TX-32) than I am now.
It's bad enough that Sessions dishonestly claims that healthcare reform has been rejected by the American people when in fact poll after poll shows the completely opposite conclusion. It's also bad enough that Sessions has opposed anything that represents real progressive change in this country, including the Employee Free Choice Act.
Now Sessions has, in effect, allied with those who have toted guns during presidential events and have made hints of violence in placards seen during last week's teabagger protests.
Folks have a right to express their opinions, including those that strongly disagree with President Obama's policies and those of the Democratic leadership. But when my area's representative who also happens to be one of the main House Republicans made the statements that he did, it requires more than just mere comment. It requires that strong action be made to assure his defeat next year.
Sessions made the comments in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stated concerns about the extreme and sometimes violent rhetoric that has been heard across the nation during the past month or so if not beyond.
Here is what Pelosi said and the question that triggered the speaker's response:

Q: Madam Speaker, in terms of the political tone, the tone of the debate, Hoyer said earlier this week he thought it was the most vitriolic since '93-'94. And around that time we also saw acts of domestic violence, domestic terrorism. How concerned are you about the tone of the political debate, in terms of people talking about anti-government rhetoric and so on and the possibility of violence?
Speaker Pelosi: Well, I think we all have to take responsibility for our actions and our words. We are a free country, and this balance between freedom and safety is one that we have to carefully balance.
I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw this, myself, in the late '70s in San Francisco (when then-Mayor George Moscone and County Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated). This kind of rhetoric was very frightening, and it created a climate in which violence took place.
So I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made, so that understanding that some of the people -- the ears that it is falling on are not as balanced as the person making the statement might assume.
But, again, our country is great because people can say what they think and they believe. But I also think that they have to take responsibility for any incitement that they may cause.

As one who was horrified when a junior high school teacher interupted a nutrition period with his announcement of President Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and was equally in shock when the killings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 were announced, I understand what Pelosi meant and the need that now exists to tone down the rhetoric so reasoned debate can prevail and all viewpoints can be heard.
But even after some folks were seen with weapons at presidential events and some placards seen at teabagger protests hinted at violence, Sessions seemed to turn a deaf ear to that. Instead, he irresponsibly blamed Pelosi for expressing her concerns.
Here's what Sessions said:

"The Speaker is now likening genuine opposition to assassination. Such insulting rhetoric not only undermines the credibility of her office, but it underscores the desperate attempt by her party to divert attention away from a failing agenda," Sessions said in a statement. "During one of the most important policy debates of our time, the American people have been completely abandoned by those elected representatives under her control. Voters are justifiably frustrated with Washington, and the Speaker's verbal assault on voters accomplishes nothing other than furthering her reputation for being wildly out of touch with the American people."

It's bad enough that Sessions showed his fact-deafness toward public sentiment on healthcare reform, as witnessed by recent polls showing SUPPORT of real reform that includes a robust public option, but when he misstates what Pelosi said and even defends those who have displayed placards such as the ones alluding to violence against our leaders, it calls into serious question whether he is truly fit to represent my district in anything, even dog catcher.
I was grieved enough after both Kennedys and Dr. King were killed, and I was also saddened when Moscone and Milk were killed. Sessions' statements justifying the actions of those protesting President Obama (including those hinting of gun violence) are totally unworthy of the office he was elected to in my district.
Putting it mildly, Pete Sessions doesn't speak for me, and I hope that more than just rhetoric is used to condemn him. It's time to hit him hard where it can really hurt, by helping to fund a strong opponent who can really take the fight to him next year.
Pete Sessions may think that we'll forget the despicable things he said when election time comes next year, but this latest comment is too much for me and I suspect many others to take. Putting it mildly, this scumbag must be retired from office with a resounding election defeat in November of 2010.
NOTE: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow had an excellent report on what Pelosi said and Sessions' irresponsible response during her Thursday newscast. In case you missed it, here's the story:

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Baucu$ Plan: Good For Insurers, Bad For America

Do you really want a healthcare bill that does nothing to deliver real reform but instead rips off the middle class while lining the pockets of corrupt for-profit insurance companies?
That, to make a long story short, is the long ballyhooed proposal of Montana Sen. Max Baucu$, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, on healthcare.
Baucu$ has sung a great song when it came to his support of a real public option during numerous appearances, but does his proposal INCLUDE a public option?
No.
What he proposed is a weak co-op with little, if any, accountability.
Does he really think this will pass as real healthcare reform? I think it passes more as snake oil instead of reform.
Here's what The Bagof Health and Politics observed in his Daily Kos diary called "The Moral Case Against the Baucus Bill":

If Baucus bill passes, millions of Americans will face a 13 percent tax hike in order to line the pockets of Baucus' insurance CEO buddies.
Since Senator Baucus shut progressives out of his negotiations, I will take the opportunity to explain my concerns, as a progressive. I have no problems with an individual mandate...as long as that mandate comes with strict restrictions on insurance industry profit and insurance industry executive compensation.
The current system, despite Baucus claims to the contrary, would be largely untouched by the Baucus bill. The problem with that is that the current system creates incentives for bad practices. Insurers try to please Wall Street by lowering their medical loss ratio. In layman's terms, that means insurance companies try to increase their stock price by denying cancer patients and abuse victims the medical care that they need in order to live healthy lives.

Is this the definition of change we can believe in? I dare say no.
I hope the Baucu$ bill reaches the trash heap as fast as possible so real healthcare reform proposals that will really rein in insurance companies while providing real competition and really affordable prices for Americans at large.

Former President's Harsh Words On Racist Hate Speech Against Obama

When former President Jimmy Carter speaks, especially when it comes to race, one better listen.
The former president had some harsh words against the hate speech that has been unleashed against President Obama.
Here's the report aired on the "NBC Nightly News" on what Carter had to say:

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Putting it mildly, what former President Carter said was scary. When you see signs of folks putting up posters likening our president to the villanous Joker character from "Batman" or signs mocking Obama's being African American, it is very scary that racism is still very real in our society, many years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought successfully to end racial discrimination nationwide, and especially in the South.
It is sick, and it is despicable. It is evil that elements of the Republican party and their allies in the right-wing talk show industry (not to mention the Fox Republican Advocacy Channel) have tried to legitimize the flagerent racism displayed in these unprincipled protests against our president.
As we have learned from the grossly overplayed teabag march on Washington this weekend, those attacking the president aren't content merely with disagreeing with him on legitimate policy questions.
All we have heard from these folks are false questions about Obama's place of birth, not-too-subtle negative references to Obama's race, and even some seemingly subtle threats to Obama's life ("bury Obamacare with (the late Sen. Edward) Kennedy").
It was important that former President Carter speak out the way he did, and it's time America face this issue head-on before it bleeds us even further.

Hate Speech Doesn't Pay, Beck's Losses Continue

It sure doesn't pay to be a lying race-baiting hate mongerer like Glenn Beck.
Check out this latest report on Color of Change's effort to dry up Beck's advertising resources:

The advertising boycott of Glenn Beck has cost the controversial host over half of his estimated advertising revenue since it was launched by ColorOfChange.org a month ago. This according to data analyzed from industry sources.

Estimated advertising revenue [the total amount of advertising money being spent during a block of commercial time for a program] was collected on a week-by-week basis for a period of two months. According to the data collected, the amount of money spent by national advertisers on Beck's program per week was at its highest at approximately $1,060,000, for the week ending August 2, 2009. ColorOfChange.org launched their campaign at the end of that week and since then, 62 advertisers have distanced themselves from Beck. Data collected for the week ending September 6, 2009 shows Beck's estimated ad revenue at $492,000, equal to a loss of $568,000.
"Fox News Channel has consistently claimed they haven't lost revenue as advertisers abandon Glenn Beck, but the numbers prove otherwise," said James Rucker, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org. "Fox News Channel has a limited amount of ad positions. If 62 companies refuse to run ads on two of their 24 hours of programming, they are losing inventory. No matter how high Beck's ratings have been lately, advertisers still see Beck as toxic and don't want him associated with their brands. There is no way that Fox News Channel is making the money they should be making with Glenn Beck."

More of Why Insurance Companies Hate Healthcare Reform

If you didn't think insurance companies needed to be reined in on, check out this sorry report by The Bagof Health and Politics:

It takes people who lack a moral compass to justify nine figure salaries while denying cancer patients care because they failed to disclose previous bouts of acne. It is no surprise that insurance executives, who are always busy chasing after the next five figure bonus, are coming up with a novel way to deny people access to medical care: labeling survivors of domestic violence as "individuals with pre-existing conditions."

These clowns who are fighting so hard to preserve the status quo just for the purpose of putting loyalty to big campaign donors ahead of loyalty to their constituents should be put to shame through the lesson of defeat the next time they're up for re-election.

The real truth about the public option

The real truth about the public option (thanks to Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films):

Obama Strikes Back HARD-- Gets Bounce In Polls

I couldn't think of a better sports analygy for President Obama's triumphant health care week than this old clip of Muhammad Ali knocking out George Foreman after spending the earlier rounds using his rope-a-dope to allow his opponent to punch himself out:

His speech Wednesday on healthcare reform was as clutch as Michael Jordan's NBA finals-clinching basket in Utah against the Jazz or Eli Manning's last-second touchdown drive that propelled the New York Giants past the favored New England Patriots.
And don't think his speech didn't make a big difference in the polls. Check this out:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/7/2009-9/10/2009. All adults. MoE 2% (Last weeks results in parentheses):

FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE NET CHANGE
PRESIDENT OBAMA 56 (52) 39 (43) +8

PELOSI: 33 (32) 59 (59) +1
REID: 30 (31) 59 (58) -2
McCONNELL: 18 (19) 64 (63) -2
BOEHNER: 14 (15) 62 (63) 0

CONGRESSIONAL DEMS: 38 (39) 57 (56) -2
CONGRESSIONAL GOPS: 17 (18) 70 (69) -2

DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 40 (39) 51 (52) +2
REPUBLICAN PARTY: 22 (23) 68 (69) 0

The Daily Kos diarist continues:

Notice, if you will, that the major leap in the President's numbers occurred not on Thursday (the first full day of polling after his health care address to Congress), but on Wednesday, when his single-day sample in the tracking was 62/36, the best numbers he has seen in over a month. His Thursday numbers appear also to have been strong, probably in the 59/39 60/38 range, if my algebraic skills are accurate (update: After receiving the one-day numbers from R2K, it is apparent my algebraic skills grade out at around a "B+").

This could be attributed to one of two things. One theory, which might be supported by the insta-polls from Wednesday night, is that this was the first sign of support after the health care address. At least some of the interviews would have been conducted post-speech, and even by Wednesday afternoon, the tenor of his address was fairly common knowledge. Seeing how the balance of Obama's bounce this week comes from Democrats (back up to 85/9 this week, a thirteen-point net improvement), perhaps the base knew by Wednesday where Obama was headed on health care, and were pleased.

Another theory, however, is that this was, in part, a reaction to the education speech on Tuesday.

Having Republicans and Obama critics raise awareness of the speech through their incessant histrionics, the relatively benign speech might have allayed the fears of Independents. A lot of folks, you have to believe, came into the day expecting socialist brainwashing, only to be pleasantly surprised when none occurred. Indeed, while the base came home, Obama's improvement this week was also propelled by a net six-point bump among Independents (among whom Obama's favorability returned to 60%).

Now let's translate this into the passage of a real healthcare reform with a robust public option.

Obama Delivers Again!

I keep going back to this whenever Barack Obama makes a major speech.
It's like watching Eli Manning running the two-minute drill in leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl upset a few years back.
It's also like watching Michael Jordan making the game-winning shot that gave the Chicago Bulls one of many NBA titles he won with that team.
He did it again Wednesday, and he did it convincingly Wednesday night. Not only did he state clearly and with great conviction the case for meaningful healthcare reform, he also helped expose how boorish and childish the opposition to his plan has become.
It wasn't just the rude scream of Rep. Wilson, who screamed "liar" at Obama before having to apologize for it hours later. It was also the indifference and disrespect displayed by one of the House's Republican leaders, Rep. Eric Cantor, as he Twittered away from his seat instead of directing his undivided attention to the President.
If these were those representing me in Congress, I'd be a most ashamed man, but as despicable as the behavior of these Republicans were, it must not distract from the fact that their antics didn't prevent Obama from articulating the strongest case yet for real healthcare reform.
He was unequivocal when he said "it will be illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage because of preexisting conditions" and he was also moving when he read an extensive letter written by ultimate healthcare reform champion Sen. Edward M. Kennedy just a few short months before he died.
He was also forceful in defining what his public option was and telling us (contrary to the lies of opponents) that it was going to be a non-profit entity that would be supported by the premiums paid by the insured and not by taxpayers.
And boy, did he throw the book at those spreading lies about his proposals last month, calling one set of rumors (about so-called death panels) a lie and the claim that his plan would give health care to illegal aliens false (the latter drawing the yell of "liar" from Rep. Wilson of South Carolina).
The speech reminded me of the time when then-candidate Obama had to deliver a speech of his life to save his candidacy in the heat of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy, and Obama wound up turning lemons into lemonade in a way that not only saved his candidacy, but helped catapaulted him to the presidency with a historic speech on race relations in Philadelphia.
Wednesday, in a presidency-defining moment, Obama came through again, throwing down the gauntlet at his critics while defining what his healthcare proposal really was.
That is a president in action.

Rational Radio 1360-- Great, except at the top of the hour

There is only one Dallas-Fort Worth-area radio station that presents progressive views, but that station's newscasts present right-wing disinformation.
Don't get me wrong, I like much of the programming of my area's progressive station-- Rational Radio 1360 (KMNY), but when it comes to the hourly news, the IRN-USA radio network is no better than the Fox "news" channel.
I heard one example on the IRN hourly news prior to Thom Hartmann's program. The segment's reader claimed that hostile reaction was taking a toll on the American people's support for the public option.
What the reader forgot to mention was that despite the protests of the rabble-rousing few during townhall meetings, the public option still commands great support. At least two polls I've seen have support at more than three-fourths of those polled.
A third poll had support in the mid-50s.
So much for the IRN claims.
I'm glad, however, that there's a spot on Rational Radio where it says it presents progressive views "except at the top of the hour." After hearing IRN not just this time but a few other times, I can understand why such a disclaimer has to be made.

Obama takes off the kid gloves and fights back HARD for healthcare reform

Now THIS is a fighter. He's re-casting the debate, portraying Republicans and their insurance company allies as obstructionists who don't want to do anything to pass any real healthcare reform.
Now let's see what he says about the SPECIFICS of the public option, then we're gonna say something.
Now here's the complete speech:

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Poll: Despite Obama's Decline, Public Option Support Still Strong

If healthcare reform is in big trouble, why is the public option still popular?
Check out this latest Research 2000 poll (for Daily Kos).
Here's part of what the poll is reporting:

Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans?
Favor Oppose Not Sure
All 58 34 8

Dem 81 12 7
Rep 26 69 5
Ind 57 33 10

Northeast 69 22 9
South 47 46 7
Midwest 61 31 8
West 59 33 8
The public option remains popular, by a nearly 3-2 margin., Seems like people like the idea of competition in the insurance market, that would help lower premiums and keep currently unaccountable insurance companies honest.
What's more, the public option is favored by over a quarter of self-identified Republicans, which is more "bipartisanship" than you'll ever see in DC. And if you look at the regional crosstabs, support for the public option would be even higher if it wasn't for the South, were birtherism and Obama derangement syndrome is at its highest.

And this is the same poll that saw our president's poll take a bit of a tumble. So much for the myth that Democrats are tanking because of "liberalism."
The real reason is the lack of progress on healthcare reform and the reports about the possibility of some watered down version of the same getting passed without any real public option.
And Markos has this warning if real healthcare reform doesn't get done while Democrats pass a watered-down version:

Opposing the public option is electoral poison in every region of the country except the South, while both Democrats and Independents are willing to punish opponents of the public option at the ballot box.
Democrats have a national electoral mandate, they have public opinion on their side, they have dominant majorities in both chambers of Congress, and they have the White House.
No wonder Independents and Democrats are abandoning the Democratic Party.

We hired Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress to get things done, especially on healthcare. We didn't hire them to kowtow with Republicans and other monied interests to jam down our throats a semblance of reform but not the real thing.
We expect results, and anything else will result in severe electoral consquences in both 2010 and 2012.

Obama: Another Bill McKay? Stay Tuned

Back when I was much younger, there was a movie called "The Candidate" in which Robert Redford portrays an idealistic liberal California senatorial candidate Bill McKay who, with prodding from his chief political adviser, compromises his ideals after he wins his party's primary but still wins the general election over a classic right-wing Republican incumbent.
I wonder if a somewhat similar scenario applies to President Obama who ran on a series of progressive ideals during his memorable 2008 campaign, but seemingly has begun a process of compromising all that he ran on down the river.
Call it a case of recognizing political reality, but what happened to the fight and commitment Obama showed during his campaign?
Polls show Obama's popularity down, but he has been down before? Remember the Rev. Wright fiasco during the primary season in which Obama overcame with a magnificent speech he gave on race in Philadelphia?
He's going to have to do it again on Wednesday when he addresses a joint session of Congress, but instead of speaking about an overall issue like he did about race relations last year, he's going to have to be far more specific than he's ever been on healthcare reform.
Obama wasn't the first choice of many progressives during the campaign when it came to healthcare reform. Many chose John Edwards who had been speaking forcefully and with compassion on the issue since his first presidential run in 2004 while others backed Hillary Clinton, who fought a losing battle for healthcare reform in 1993.
Still others chose Dennis Kucinich, the only candidate willing to stick his neck out for single-payer "Medicare for All" coverage.
But even during the campaign, Obama was unwilling to embrace Kucinich's message or some of the more aggressive approaches both Clinton and Edwards were advocating.
Instead, his message (which continues to this day) was simple. If you liked the insurance coverage you have, you can keep it, only we'll make it cheaper to have.
He spoke of the need for a public option in general terms, never in the specifics many on the left wanted. He spoke of the need to have that force to keep health costs down and insurance companies honest, but he never defined what he meant by "public option."
Is this "public option" a type of Medicare that will help folks pay for basic care and services and can't turn you down because of pre-existing conditions or current systems, or is it a watered down co-op proposal such as the one Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has advanced?
People were willing to forgive Obama for not having some specifics when he spoke about healthcare reform during the campaign, but this time, with his presidency seemingly on the line, folks won't be so forgiving if he doesn't fight for what many thought he was for during the campaign on an issue as big as this one.
I'm waiting to hear the details about what Obama will talk about, but if he doesn't speak forcefully and specifically for a robust public option, he'll become nothing more than just a Bill McKay-type who turned his back on his principles once he got elected and will be worthy of nothing more than a strong primary challenge in 2012.

Gallup: Obama UP 1 to 55 percent!

So much for President Obama's poll numbers slipping into the sunset. Gallup has Obama up one to 55 percent.

HuffPo Columnist's Fascinating Piece On Healthcare

I found this column to be very fascinating.
Says Robert Creamer in the Huffington Post:

The fact is that the odds are very good that President Obama will succeed in passing landmark health insurance reform legislation this fall - with a robust public health insurance option. The reason is simple: it's the high political ground.

Yes, like the 55 percent cited in the latest CNN poll that supports the public option and the three-quarters that support the same concept in similar surveys.
Besides citing the reasons why he feels healthcare reform will pass, Creamer added this comment that has seemed to be lost on those on both the left and right who are predicting doom and gloom for the legislation:

Early in August, Progressives were surprised at the ferocity of the right wing assault on Congressional town meetings. But it didn't take long for them to respond. Led by Obama's own organization , Organize for America (OFA), as well as HCAN, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- hundreds of thousands of Progressives have been mobilized to counter the Right. They swamped the Right at town meetings at the end of August and are now conducting a week of 2000 "Let's Get It Done" events in the lead-up to Congress' return.
There is no longer any lack of progressive intensity. The right wing assault awakened progressive passion that has spread like the Los Angeles wildfires.

And this doesn't even include the more progressive blogs and bloggers who are fighting by the minute for the public option (Two come in mind, and you'll see the writings of both in Daily Kos frequently-- slinkerwink and nyceve).
Here's how Creamer concludes his column:

My wife, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, hosted a town meeting in Skokie, Illinois on Monday night that attracted 2,300 people. Eighty-percent supported reform -- and they were pumped.
The response of voters asked to call Congress about health insurance reform has exploded.
Some of the millions of Americans who were engaged and mobilized by last year's Presidential campaign may have taken a respite from politics in the early months of 2009 - but they're back - and they are a massive political army that cannot be taken lightly.
In other words, as Members of Congress reconvene on the battleground for this fall's decisive engagement over health insurance reform, they will look up the political ridge and see that the cavalry has arrived.
I believe we will win.

Arkansas U.S. Senator Takes $$$ From Healthcare Foes, Flip-Flops On Public Option

I've only been to Arkansas one time (some years ago when my wife and I visited the city where she was born [hint: the same one where Bill Clinton was born]), but since that time, I've learned at least one thing about one of its senators-- she sure is a friend of healthcare opponents.
It's bad enough that Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln has flip-flopped on the public option, but what is even more revealing is how much a recipient she has become of money from the very ones fighting the reforms.
Here's part of what Roll Call reported about her flip-flop:

“For some in my caucus, when they talk about a public option, they’re talking about another entitlement program, and we can’t afford that right now as a nation,” Lincoln said in a speech to the Elder Law Task Force at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “I’m not going to vote for a bill that’s not deficit-neutral, and I’m not going to vote for a bill that doesn’t do something about curbing the cost in the out years, because it would be pointless. ... I would not support a solely government-funded public option. We can’t afford that.”
But in an opinion piece she wrote for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in July, Lincoln said the public insurance option should be included in health care reform legislation. A public insurance option would compete with private insurers to offer health care coverage.
“Health care reform must build upon what works and improve inefficiencies. Individuals should be able to choose from a range of quality health insurance plans. Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan,” she wrote.

But who DOES have Lincoln's ear? Check this out from the Huffington Post:

BLANCHE LINCOLN IS THE QUEEN OF CASH FROM THE HEALTH INDUSTRY The Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal reports that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has taken more money in campaign contributions from the health industry than all but one of her Democratic peers in 2009. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, Lincoln benefited from $325,350 in contributions from the health industry in the first half of 2009.
"The large amount in contributions underlies a constantly shifting position by the senator on health care reform," notes Blumenthal. Lincoln sits on the Senate Finance Committee, the lone panel that has so far failed to get its act together on health care reform legislation.

Here's a list of the top 20 Lincoln contributors since 2005 (healthcare interests in bold):

(name of company)--total--individuals-- PACs

1 Nix, Patterson & Roach $60,200 $60,200 $0
2 Home Depot $47,500 $12,500 $35,000
3 Weyerhaeuser Co $44,150 $20,150 $24,000
4 Wal-Mart Stores $43,300 $13,300 $30,000
5 Stephens Group $38,800 $28,800 $10,000
6 Esop Assn $36,250 $250 $36,000
7 American College of Radiology $35,000 $0 $35,000
8 Entergy Corp $34,100 $7,600 $26,500
9 FedEx Corp $33,400 $3,400 $30,000
10 Koch Industries $32,500 $2,500 $30,000
11 National Thoroughbred Racing Assn $32,000 $2,000 $30,000
12 American Physical Therapy Assn $30,000 $0 $30,000
12 AT&T Inc $30,000 $500 $29,500
14 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp $29,900 $2,400 $27,500
15 Tyson Foods $29,600 $7,600 $22,000
16 Blue Cross/Blue Shield $29,500 $11,000 $18,500
17 DaVita Inc $29,150 $19,150 $10,000
18 College of American Pathologists $28,000 $0 $28,000
19 National Assn of Broadcasters $25,750 $8,250 $17,500
20 American Assn of Nurse Anesthetists $25,500 $0 $25,500

This sure makes me wonder whether Lincoln really concerned about average folks in her state or is she far more concerned about the moneybags who fund her campaigns from healthcare interests who oppose any reform?
If I were living in Arkansas, I'd be sending lots of letters to Lincoln and my other Congress critters demanding passage for healthcare reform. Short of that, I sure hope this woman gets the strongest possible primary opponent since she won't stand up for average folks by supporting the public option.

Woman Who Was Laughed At By GOP Congresswoman Speaks Out

Listen to this riveting piece from MSNBC's "The Ed Show." as Ed Schultz interviews the woman who was laughed at by Kansas GOP Rep. Lynn Jenkins during a townhall meeting:

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HUGE Disconnect In Healthcare Debate Coverage (Hint: Anti-Reform Liars Are Losing, Reformers Are Winning)

Sad to say, the mainstream media has done a lousy job of handling last month's protests by a loud and lying minority of Americans against President Obama's healthcare proposal.
How bad was the media's performance in playing up the lies of the minority at the expense of the majority? E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post had some probative things to say in his latest column.
Here's part of what he writes:

There is an overwhelming case that the electronic media went out of their way to cover the noise and ignored the calmer (and from television's point of view "boring") encounters between elected representatives and their constituents.
It's also clear that the anger that got so much attention largely reflects a fringe right-wing view opposed to all sorts of government programs most Americans support. Much as the far left of the antiwar movement commanded wide coverage during the Vietnam years, so now are extremists on the right hogging the media stage -- with the media's complicity.

And despite the media's claims that the protests helped skew the debate in the healthcare opponent's favor, there's HUGE evidence of a disconnect between what these conveyors are saying and the facts about how the public really feel about the public option.
I mentioned in an earlier post the latest CNN poll that shows 55 percent of Americans favoring the very public option that was targeted by the right-wing nuthouses, but there are other polls (at least two that I know of) that show even more support for the public option (see this post on one such poll, for example).
So who's really "winning" the healthcare debate. Based on facts and polls, the public option is definitely winning, and it's time the mainstream media stopped peddling misleading information that claims the contrary.

MSNBC Tops TV Ratings

Isn't this something! MSNBC beats out BOTH CNN and the Fox "news" channel in a critical rating!
Here's what Nielsen is reporting:

MSNBC beat CNN in primetime last month in the key Adults 25-54 demographic, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC was also the #1 ranked news network among younger viewers, 18-34, in August. MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Hardball with Chris Matthews” all out-rated CNN among A25-54 in August. Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for August:
MSNBC out-rated CNN in August in A25-54 in primetime (M-Su, 8-11 p.m.) by 11 percent (276,000 vs. 248,000). MSNBC was also the #1 news network among younger viewers, Adults 18-34, in primetime, outdelivering CNN by 61 percent and FNC by 4 percent.
“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” continued its success, beating CNN’s “Campbell Brown” among Adults 25-54 by a huge 62 percent among A25-54 (345,000 vs. 213,000) and by 43 percent among total viewers (1,087,000 vs. 761,000). “Countdown” out-rated “Campbell Brown” among A18-34 by 114 percent last month (124,000 vs. 58,000).
“The Rachel Maddow Show” out-rated CNN’s “Larry King Live” among A25-54 in August (304,000 vs. 294,000). “TRMS” is the fastest growing cable news show at 9 p.m, up a huge 92 percent in total viewers versus August 2008 (996,000 vs. 519,000) and up 61 percent in A25-54 (304,000 vs. 188,000). “TRMS” also beat “Larry King” among younger viewers 18-34 in August by 29 percent (93,000 vs. 72,000).
“Hardball with Chris Matthews” at 7 p.m. beat CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” by 13 percent in A25-54 in August (198,000 vs. 175,000) and virtually tied CNN at 5 p.m. among A25-54 (148,000 vs. 149,000).

So much for progressive shows not being able to compete.

What, If Any, Kind Of Public Option Will Obama Propose?

Will President Obama finally say not only that he supports a public option, but then specify what kind of a public option he'll support?
That's one of the things I'm wondering about in the days leading to the president's speech to Congress on the need to pass meaningful healthcare reform on Sept. 9.
O.K., the legislation that passes Congress will be less than perfect and it's not going to include lots of things I would like to see in any bill, but what I would like to see is real action not only to address the 47 million who don't have health insurance, but millions more who are underinsured and many others who have been denied coverage because of either pre-existing conditions or because they became ill.
The New York Times detailed what one might conclude a series of "trial balloons" designed to test reaction to some possibilities.
Here's part of the Times report:

Administration officials said Wednesday that Mr. Obama would be more specific than he has been to date about what he wants included in the plan. Doing so amounts to an acknowledgment that the president’s prior tactic of laying out broad principles and leaving Congress to fill in the details was no longer working and that Mr. Obama needed to become more personally involved in shaping the outcome.
But the officials said Mr. Obama was unlikely to unveil a detailed legislative plan of his own. And they insisted that Mr. Obama had not given up on the provision that has attracted the most fire from the right, a proposal for a government-run competitor to private insurers, although many Democrats say the proposal may eventually be jettisoned.

So what is it about the public option that Republicans and insurance companies are afraid of. I'm fed up to here about the crying that Republican politicians like my area's shameful Taliban congressman, Pete Sessions (TX-32), about how private insurers won't be able to compete against a public option and that a public option will lead to a government takeover of healthcare.
Having a government-run public option sure hasn't led to a government monopoly in the package delivery business. If you don't believe me, just ask FedEx and UPS, two private companies who continually get handsome chunks of the package delivery business even with a public option-- the U.S. Postal Service-- available.
Why isn't the media pointing this out continually in their assessments of the arguments for and against the public option? And why is the media so obsessed with citing polls pointing to erosions in President Obama's popularity that they are completely leaving out polls pointing toward overwhelming support of the public option?
It seems that the media is asleep at the wheel when it comes to providing accurate coverage of the public option and the American people's overwhelming support for it. And with President Obama's talk on Sept. 9 drawing closer, it is very appropriate for the American people to hold the president's feet (as well as the feet of those in Congress) on the fire and force them to pass real healthcare reform with a real public option.

11 More Advertisers Stop Advertising On Hate Monger Beck's Show

Another blow to the airwaves survival of hate-speaking right-winger Glenn Beck:
Reports Color of Change, the organization that has pulled off this so-far most successful campaign to pressure advertisers to stop advertising on Beck's show on the Fox "news" channel:

Great news today -- 11 more sponsors have distanced themselves from Glenn Beck's television program, bringing the total to 57.
Eleven new companies whose ads were recently seen during Beck’s program—Binder & Binder, Capital One, The Dannon Company, Discover, HSBC, ICAN Benefit Group Insurance, Infiniti, Jelmar (manufacturer of CLR All-Purpose Cleaner), Jordan McKenna Debt Counseling Network, Mercedes-Benz and Simplex Healthcare (creator of the Diabetes Care Club) —have pledged to ColorOfChange.org to take steps to ensure that their ads don’t run on Beck’s show. Fifty-seven companies have now committed not to support Beck’s show since ColorOfChange.org launched its campaign four weeks ago after the Fox News Channel host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

Now this is real grassroots action!

CNN Poll: 55 Percent SUPPORT Public Option

What part of this poll don't the mainstream media, Obama Administration, and members of Congress don't understand?
Remember the old album title that suggested that a large number of Elvis fans couldn't be wrong? The same can be said in this latest CNN poll that shows a clear majority favoring a public option.
This is the third poll that shows favoritism of a strong public option despite the millions of dollars right-wing groups and insurance companies have spent trying to defeat it.
Reports Jed in Daily Kos:

CNN poll by Opinion Research, 1,010 adults, 8/28-31, +/- 3 pts (pdf):

Now thinking specifically about the health insurance plans available to most Americans, would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies?
Favor - 55%
Oppose - 41%
No opinion - 4%

Note that the public option receives a wide margin of support even though the question uses the word "administer," which could be confusing to some who think it means the government would actually be administering the health care, instead of acting as a insurer like Medicare.
Still, despite the wording, this poll shows that there is strong support for the public option, even after a long summer of siege warfare by teabaggers against doing any reform at all.
The natural reaction to this should be to plow forward, especially given that 4 of the 5 committees with jurisdiction have a public option in their health care plan.

The question is whether the folks at the Obama Administration and in Congress get the point.
The teabaggers, birthers, deathers, and the rest of the assorted liars who have spread disinformation and lies about healthcare care reform may feel they have won (with support of mainstream media members too lazy to look beyond the noise of these nuts), but clearly on the very public option they hate, they DON'T represent the majority of the American people.
Big question: Will the rest of the media report this poll with the same (if not more) prominence than they have given the anti-reform liars?

Verizon Spokesman Defends Sponsorship of Anti-Environment Hate Speech Event

I don't understand why Verizon Wireless doesn't get it when it comes to its sponsorship of a Labor Day anti-environmental rally in West Virginia.
It's nice that the company was among many that have dropped sponsorship of the Glenn Beck hate-mongering show, but being involved in an anti-environment rally that features one hate-peddling speaker and a '70s rock singer whose hate-filled and threatening concert rant against then-Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton drew more than just a little attention.
Here's Verizon Wireless' response to protests against its involvement in the anti-environment hate speech event, as reported in the Huffington Post:

...Verizon Wireless spokesman Jim Gerace, "said his company simply paid $1,000 for the right to be able to sell its products at the rally." Gerace added: "It's nothing more than that ... and the groups who are trying to make it more than that are misguided. I'm definitely bothered that people are trying to put us in the middle of an argument."

Hmmm. Verizon Wireless cuts off sponsorship of one hate mongerer, Glenn Beck, but keeps sponsoring more hate from the likes of Sean Hannity and Ted Nugent? Again, why would a corporate giant like Verizon Wireless want to be associated with such trash as Nugent and Hannity and the others behind the anti-environmental event?
The Huffington Post piece continues:

After nearly four decades of enduring daily rounds of millions of pounds of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosives ripping through their communities and mountains, dealing with blasting, flyrock, silica dust, selenium pollution, contaminated watersheds and streams, entrenched poverty and a devastated economy blocked from any diversification or job development, coalfield residents are sorta bothered, too.
Does Gerace know that a Massey subsidiary in eastern Kentucky dumped over 300 million gallons of toxic sludge into the area's waterways and aquifers in 2000, or that Massey paid $20 million in penalties for dumping more toxic mine waste into the region's waterways in 2008; or that Massey paid a record $4.2 million for civil and criminal fines in the death of two coal miners in West Virginia? That's just for starters.
(This week, Massey's union-busted thugs harassed nonviolent tree-sitters.)
Millions of Americans, including millions of Verizon Wireless customers, are aware of the egregious human rights and environmental violations caused by mountaintop removal, which former Vice President Al Gore called a "crime, and ought to be treated as a crime."
And their outrage at Verizon Wireless's sponsorship of Massey Energy's carnival is growing.

The huge public relations black eye Verizon Wireless could suffer as a result of its continued sponsorship of this event could be one that it may be hard pressed to recover from.

The Real Face Of GOP Healthcare Reform Opposition: They Simply Don't Care About Average Folks Like Me

When Republican senators and congressmen are confronted by inconvenient truths about healthcare reform they either:
1. Try to change the subject and lie about how President Obama is getting "his clock cleaned" about it (Rep. "Taliban Pete" Sessions (TX-32)during Irving townhall meeting) (NOTE: the transcript can be found here).
2. Tell a lie and then abruptly end the meeting when constitents catch the man in the act (Rep. Pete Olson (TX-22) during his recent townhall).
3. Blame the media when the questioner wouldn't allow him to get away with not answering the question (Rep. John Culberson when questioned by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell).
4. Tell a crying woman in need that the government can't do anything to help her in a cold, matter-of-fact manner (Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma).
And now we have No. 5. And this could be the meanest one of all.
Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, who got herself in deep doodoo the last few days because of her racist "Great White Hope" slur, dug herself in an even deeper hole with some rather sadistic behavior during a townhall meeting toward a single uninsured mother.
Here's the video of Jenkins in action:

And here's the transcript (as provided in Mike Nellis' excellent Daily Kos diary):

Elizabeth Smith: I’m a 27 year-old single mother. I work full-time. I do not have health insurance. My employer does not provide health insurance to me and I cannot afford it privately. Why shouldn’t my government guarantee all of its citizens health care?
Jenkins: Thank you. I’m sorry, maybe you missed my opening remarks, but absolutely. That’s why we have Medicaid in the current system and that’s why under the alternative proposal we have an option for low-to-modest-income people to be able to afford health care and then we’ve got the SCHIP program for children. I think we’ve got all of the bases covered.
Audience member: She’s not covered under SCHIP!
Jenkins: OK, if you’re not then you’re the perfect example for why we need reform and why we need it now but we have to do it right and if we can do an alternative proposal, as I’m suggesting, give you the money to go buy it in a reformed marketplace where it is affordable, that’s my preference rather than to saddle the nation with yet another government program when they can’t afford the government run programs we have.
Elizabeth Smith: I want an option that I can pay for. I work. I pay my bills. I’m not a burden on the state. I pay my taxes. So why can’t I get an affordable option. Why are you against that?
Jenkins: A government run program (laugh) is going to subsidize not only yours (laugh) but everybody in this room. So I’m not sure what we’re talking about here.
Jenkins: I think it comes down to the whole discussion of...
(The crowd erupts. At this point, it's safe to say even they aren't buying Jenkins position...)
Lynn: OK folks. Let’s be respectful. UH-OH (talking over crowd). We’re gonna make time for everybody. We’re gonna all listen to each other respectfully, even if we disagree. I think we can agree we need reforms, again it’s just how we gonna do it. I believe people should be given the opportunity to take care of themselves with an advancebale tax credit to go be a grown-up and go buy the insurance.

What makes this exchange between Jenkins and her constituent even more illuminating is this-- according to the Daily Kos diarist:

In fact, yesterday we also learned that Jenkins' hasn't even read the health reform bills being debated in Congress.

Let's get straight to the point. The Republican party, their insurance company allies, and their lying apologists on right-wing talk shows and/or Fox "news" don't give a rat's a-- about providing meaningful health insurance reform so average folks like me won't have to go under just because we get sick.
If you really thought Republicans have a solid case against health insurance reform, look at these examples. They'd rather lie and make things up instead of provide the reform people need.
They'd rather sit, do nothing, and watch all the campaign cash come from their anti-reform friends rather than do anything that would even give folks a chance at making it through whatever healthcare crisis they face.
This is your Republican party in action, and it's time the mainstream media stop giving these guys any creedence and legitimacy. They are out of touch, have no heart, and don't deserve to be heard or believed on healthcare reform or anything else.
They are nothing but a fringe party, and the sooner Democrats realize this and stop thinking they can make deals with them, the better America will be.

Ask Verizon Wireless To Disassociate From Anti-Environment, Hate Speech Peddlers

In the volitle political climate we live in today, if you were a company, would you like to be associated with pundits or entertainers who have been associated with making highly offensive and hateful remarks?
That's the problem of Verizon Wireless sponsoring a pro-coal, anti-environment rally on Labor Day.
Here's part of a statement made by an organization called Credo Action criticizing Verizon's participation:

Why is Verizon Wireless co-sponsoring a pro-coal, anti-environment rally on Labor Day?
It's called the Friends of America Rally and over 25,000 people have already RSVPed to attend a political event to promote climate change denial and mountaintop removal mining.
Massey Energy, a dirty coal company and the most egregious violator of the Clean Water Act in history, is the moving force behind the event.
The rally features speeches by prominent global warming denier Lord Christopher Monckton and conservative pundit Sean Hannity. Ted Nugent will provide musical entertainment.

Hannity's involvement in the rally given the hateful rhetoric he has often used against President Obama and others is bad enough. What's even scarier is Verizon's association through this event with Ted Nugent who last year in a rant encouraged violent attacks against then-Democratic presidential candidates Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Here's the video of the Nugent rant:

Is Verizon really sure it wants to associate itself with the hate speech of Ted Nugent? I suggest it disassociate itself with this event posthaste?
The Credo Action piece continues:

Companies like Verizon Wireless may say they are not making a political statement when they participate in events like these. But it's never just about marketing. After all this is the same company that made a decision to block NARAL Pro-Choice America's text messages from its network. Verizon Wireless has choices. And once again, it's made a very poor one.
Tell Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless to issue a public apology and immediately withdraw all support from this extremist, anti-environmental rally.

I've already let my feelings be known to Verizon Wireless. I hope you do too.

Texas GOP Congressman, Caught In Healthcare Reform Lie, Abruptly Ends Townhall

We've seen three distinct pages of the Republican playbook in play when it comes to the actions of three Texas congressmen.
One part of the playbook-- When caught in a lie and you still don't want to answer tough questions, end the meeting-- was executed excellently by the Houston-area congressman, Rep. Pete Olson from Tom DeLay's old congressional district, during his townhall last week.
Here's part of what the Huffington Post reported:

Olson told the story of Britney, a pregnant woman who couldn't find a doctor who would treat her unborn child's heart defect. After being turned away by several, she hunted down a specialist in Detroit who was willing to perform the procedure. Britney is convinced that her son would not have been born if there was a public option then, and she wouldn't have had the choices to find the doctor that she wants.
Over applause, a number of audience members audibly groan. "Oh Jesus Crist, that's terrible," says one attendee. "That's not true," says another.
"For those of you who say it's not true, don't talk to me, talk to Britney," Olson responded.
"The insurance company turned her down, not the government," an audience member says. "The private insurance turned her down, not the government." Others shout back that if there was government-run insurance, she would have been turned away. As the meeting devolves into shouting back-and-forth, Olson just says, "I want to thank you all for coming."

Just like a little coward. He got caught in his lie, so he abruptly, like a little boy, takes his bat and ball and goes home instead of deal with his sin and apologize for it. The problem is, Olson IS the government, and his district, as Republican as it may be, deserves far better from its representative than what he delivered in his townhall.
Here's the video of Olson in action:

Another part of the playbook-- When confronted with a hard question, change the subject-- was executed by my area's Tom DeLay gerrymandering-imposed congressman, "Taliban Pete" Sessions, during his recent townhall in Irving.
Cool Onion, in his excellent blog, "Sessions Watch," provides a riviting transcript of Sessions' encounter with a constituent:

Constituent: Thank you for giving us an opportunity to discuss this issue.
Sessions: Yes, ma’am.
Constituent: And Congressman, I respect the fact that you have a family member with special needs, and you would do anything you can to make sure that that person in your family is taken care of. I want to tell you my story about someone in my family who I care deeply about, who’s falling through the cracks of our current system and why I think having a public option is so important. Can I do that?
Sessions: Yes, ma’am. Absolutely. That’s why you’ve been invited down…
Constituent: Thirteen years ago, my husband was diagnosed with liver failure. He was told he needed a transplant to live. Nine months later, he received his transplant. Now, if my story stopped there and was only about health care it would be a wonderful story about how our country is admired around the world for the type of health care we receive. However, my story is not about our health care. My story is about health coverage, pre-existing conditions, and falling through the cracks in the system as it stands. My husband’s a semiconductor engineer, he made six figures a year, we were as middle class as anybody wants to be. And last Fall, when the economy collapsed, he lost his job. Now, we had the choice of staying on COBRA, and at the time, as you recall, at that time was $1500.00 a month for our family.
Sessions: Yes, ma’am.
Constituent: Okay. His insurance just for him, if I took myself and my two children off, was going to be over $600.00. The medicine to keep a liver transplant alive, without insurance, was going to cost me $700 a month. Now, unemployment was only $1500 a month, and we still had rent, and food, and utilities and everything else. Now, when the new administration came in and the stimulus package came through, we were able to get our—for nine months—insurance reduced. But at the end of those nine months, we’re back up to $1500 and our unemployment is gonna run out. There are no jobs to be had, especially jobs with insurance. The only people that are hiring now are hiring contract labor. Contract labor, they’re not required to insure; it’s a loophole in the business system. Now, without the medication, my husband is going to die. We’re already lost our home, we had to sell our car, I’ve had to cut as many expenses as I can possibly cut, in order to keep my husband alive. Alive. It isn’t a matter of—y’know, people are saying, “Well, why don’t you just go get Medicare.” He doesn’t qualify for Medicare. He’s healthy! He’s been post transplant for almost—
Sessions: He’s probably not old enough—
Constituent: — fifteen years —
Sessions: —for Medicare.
Constituent: He’s 54 years old. He’s not old enough. So we are in this black hole where, y’know, without the public option, all this bill does is say everybody has to be covered. If there’s no cost savings on anybody from the…for the insurer, there’s no incentive to make the insurance companies cover us at the same rate that anybody else gets, and all I’m asking for—I’m not asking anybody to take their insurance away from them. I’m just saying I am an American citizen, I deserve the same amount of insurance that anybody else gets… (applause) …we pay taxes…
Sessions: Thank you, and I think you’ve spoken very well.
Constituent: And I truly would like to know, why aren’t you on this? Please.
Sessions: I’ll tell you why I’m not on the bill. I’m not on the bill because people need to speak to the President when he goes around the country and to say, “Mr. President, let’s not do a trillion six hundred billion dollar. Let’s aim where the problem is, and let’s help people and let’s go…(audio drowned out by applause)…this President…this President was told that in thirteen days, he spent more money than George Bush spent in two wars for seven years, Katrina and New York City with 9-11…(cheers and applause)…and…that a person who is gonna be President has to be responsible for the national debt that is taking place that is killing jobs in this country…(unintelligible exchange between Sessions and Constituent, drowned out by applause)…and this President needs to hear from you and others so that he goes back and does something about the problem, not over everybody in here and ruining Medicare. (Cheers and applause from audience). And I—I as a member of Congress am trying to say, I have—I have open town hall meetings. I initiated the meeting with Eddie Bernice Johnson. I openly will say to anybody, including the President, “Mr. President, listen to people, go do something about the problem, don’t try to take over a government run health care plan…(cheers and applause)…I have great empathy. I really do. It doesn’t take a lot for me to figure out, and I started my career working as a paperboy. I worked every day, never missed a day of work when I worked in the private sector and I’ve gotta work for a living now, too. And I know all but for probably five genes that any of us have that are wrong it could be us that would be there, too. I, too, understand that. I’m not a mean, cold-hearted person. But the American public is also kind and generous, but don’t pick on everybody. (applause) Go and find the problem. So I would say that a group of people who were here from all the organizations need to go back and do a huddle with the President, and the President is a great salesman. But he is getting his clock cleaned (wild cheers and applause obscure audio)…dialogue with the President. And I’m very open to having dialogue with anybody here. Please aim for the problem. I would love to have you say to the President, “Mr. President, what we’re trying to sell is not working.” It’s not! You just can’t argue that case. But you still have needs, and we still have a problem, and Sessions agrees with that. Let’s solve the problem. Thank you very much.

And again (for at least the third time in this blog), here's the video of Sessions in action:

And if all that wasn't enough, a third Texas congressman (and the second from the Houston area)-- executed the GOP playbook as perfectly as you can get it-- when confronted with a question you don't want to answer and the interviewer persists with it, don't answer the question still. Blame the media instead.
Here's Rep. John Culberson in action as he is interviewed by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell:

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If you don't already know the Republican party's lack of concern toward average folks like me and complete lack of interest in passing real healthcare reform, all you have to do is watch all three of these video clips and you'll quickly get the picture.