BlogBloghttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009-08-19T23:19:18ZSquarespaceBarney Frank Speaks Truth to a Protesterhttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/8/19/barney-frank-speaks-truth-to-a-protester.htmlChris Babcock2009-08-19T23:17:17Z2009-08-19T23:17:17Z

]]>An Open Letter to Senator Bayh on Health Carehttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/8/18/an-open-letter-to-senator-bayh-on-health-care.htmlChris Babcock2009-08-18T05:25:06Z2009-08-18T05:25:06ZSenator Bayh,

My name is Chris Babcock, we met briefly when we welcomed then presidential candidate Barack Obama to Indiana before his October 8th, 2008 rally in Indianapolis. I am a blogger for the Cass County Democrats and a progressive activist. During your speech introducing Senator Obama that day, you spoke about "a United States of America as it may one day be if all of us worked together to fulfill the potential of this great country." You went on to say, "And to do that, we must make this more than about the political parties, or even about the candidates themselves, it must be a cause greater than each and every one of us."

Senator, I know that your Blue Dog Caucus is making millions of dollars from both the health insurance industry and big pharma lobbyists. Their support to you however, comes at a cost to taxpayers. In April of this year you said that you were agnostic when it came to a public option being included in the health care bill. As far as the public knows today, you have still not come out in full support or opposition to this plan. A public option would protect taxpayers by giving them portable insurance if they so desired, and by allowing those people with pre-existing conditions to have health insurance. A public option would not just help those without health care; it will also lower the costs of health insurance for Americans who wish to keep the health insurance they currently have. This means that any health care bill without the public option will be much more expensive to taxpayers than a bill without the public option. Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that a bill without the public option would cost taxpayers about $150 billion over the next ten years -- that's roughly $1,100 for every taxpayer, more than a bill with the public option. Americans understand that a government run public option means lower taxes and more savings, and this is why over 76% of Americans want to see a bill pass that includes a strong public option.

This being said, it appears as if a healthy bill including the public option will pass the House of Representatives after the August recess. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said recently that no health care bill will pass the House without a public option adding, "There is strong support in the House." This is very promising. In the Senate, your colleague Senator Rockefeller from West Virginia has said that the public option is "a must," and Senator Feingold has said, "without a public option, I don't see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it." According to his spokesman, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "supports a public option in part because of the necessity to keep insurance companies in check."

Senator Bayh, the inclusion of a public option in the health care bill is essential, it will cut costs and save the taxpayers money, it will open the door to coverage of millions of Americans who go without health care each year, and it will curb the outrageous billion dollar profits of the insurance industry that come at the expense of sick, middle class Americans. The public option is a cause worth fighting for, and indeed, is "a cause greater than each and every one of us." It is a cause greater than the millions of dollars the Blue Dogs received from the insurance industry. It is a cause greater than your wife’s position on the board of Wellpoint. It is a cause that if won, will be endlessly rewarding for you at the polls. Just ask any of the millions of Americans fighting to make the public option a reality, "Democrats who stand in the way of a strong health care bill stand in the way of their own re-election."

]]>The Role of Governmenthttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/8/10/the-role-of-government.htmlChris Babcock2009-08-10T18:12:52Z2009-08-10T18:12:52ZThere has been a lot of talk lately about what sort of role the government should play in fixing health care. One option available is that the government would offer health insurance to compete with private health insurance in order to drive prices down. The plan’s detractors point out that the government can’t do anything right in the first place, so how in the world could the government fix health care? I completely agree. I believe that the United States Government can do nothing right, so I decided it may be helpful to list some the things it cannot do. The Government of the United States can’t build roads and bridges to connect cities thousands of miles apart. It cannot mail a letter or package across the country for the price of a postage stamp. It cannot put a man on the moon. It cannot educate our children by building schools and cannot adequately fund universities for higher learning. It cannot preserve forests. It cannot develop and command the world’s best and most powerful national defense consisting of an army, navy, air force, coast guard and intelligence agencies. It cannot provide public transportation. It cannot hold peaceful national, state, or local elections. And it cannot transfer power peacefully after those elections. It cannot protect us from crime with a police force, and it cannot save our houses if they are burning. So of course, the United States Government could never provide the world’s best health care either. Wait a minute… I’m just kidding. Of course the government can do all of these things. Yet for some reason, many people take these, and everything else the government does right, for granted. It is very easy to say that the government of the United States is a bureaucratic mess, that it can do nothing right, that it is too big or too oppressive. As Ronald Regan once famously said, “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” But this idea, however comforting it may be for neoconservatives, translates into disastrous public policy. It is impossible for someone to govern something that they believe is inherently flawed. For example, let’s imagine that Ted, an anti-big business activist, was elected as CEO of Microsoft. It would be hard to believe the company’s bottom line increased under Ted’s leadership. But it wouldn’t be surprising if Ted shut down the company’s most profitable area or made some other terrible business decisions. Unfortunately, there are quite a few elected officials today who are like Ted; they run something they think will never be fixed. Regan’s famous words are essentially a self fulfilling prophesy. If our elected officials (and the people who elect them) think government can do nothing right, then government will do nothing right. Fortunately for us, there are a lot of things the government can do right and there are a lot of elected officials who believe that government can be used for good to solve problems. With all of our best energies focused towards it, health care can be another successful government endeavor.

]]>URGENT: Tell Senator Bayh You Support Health Care Reform!http://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/7/27/urgent-tell-senator-bayh-you-support-health-care-reform.htmlChris Babcock2009-07-27T21:11:34Z2009-07-27T21:11:34Z 

If you are on Twitter, there is now an easy way to tweet your Senators about healthcare!
TWEET YOUR SENATOR FOR HEALTHCARE


This and other modes of support are crucial at a time when the Blue Dog Democrats look as if they might cave to big interest groups! Take some time to write a letter to the newspaper, call your congressmen and women, and broadcast your beliefs as loudly as possible! Lack of Republican support is no obstacle as the Democrats control sizable majorities in both houses, yet the conservative Blue Dog Democrats are fracturing the party and threatening to ruin a key Obama administration promise. They say they want fiscal responsibility, yet they are simultaneously pushing to include big earmarks in the bills for their constituencies!

TELL SENATOR BAYH THAT HIS SEAT IS ON THE LINE, DEMOCRATS WANT REAL HEALTHCARE REFORM

131 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

(202) 224-5623

(202) 228-1377 fax

email


PREWRITTEN MESSAGE:

Senator Bayh,

There are millions of Americans who lack adequate health insurance, including many Hoosiers. As a Blue Dog Democrat, I understand that you are concerned about the cost of fixing health care, but the truth is that failing to pass a reform bill without a Public Option and a mandate will cost far more in the future. The voters understand this, and it is why a majority of Americans support a total health care overhaul. As a Democrat in Indiana, I am troubled by your lukewarm support of reform efforts. Now is the time to come out in full support of a health care bill. The millions of dollars you are raising by pretending to be wary of a bill cannot match the millions of voters you will lose if you deny them the health care they voted you into office to reform. The coffers of the Blue Dog coalition cannot buy votes. If you turn your back on Indiana, you should expect your constituents to do the same come next election. The time for health care reform is NOW!

Sincerly,
The Voters

 

]]>-http://www.cassdems.org/blog/-1Matt2009-05-01T23:33:51Z2009-05-01T23:33:51Z

]]>The Ruleshttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/4/29/the-rules.htmlMatt2009-04-29T14:57:19Z2009-04-29T14:57:19Z

]]>Sparky the Wonder Penguin Meets the Teabaggershttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/4/19/sparky-the-wonder-penguin-meets-the-teabaggers.htmlMatt2009-04-19T00:18:12Z2009-04-19T00:18:12Z

]]>Jon Stewart on the Tea Party Double Standardhttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2009/4/18/jon-stewart-on-the-tea-party-double-standard.htmlMatt2009-04-18T01:55:32Z2009-04-18T01:55:32Z The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Nationwide Tax Protests thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Economic Crisis Political Humor
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c
Tea Party Tyranny
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Economic Crisis Political Humor
]]>Tim Banter's First Adhttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2008/10/14/tim-banters-first-ad.htmlMatt2008-10-14T12:39:00Z2008-10-14T12:39:00Z

]]>Meet Some of Our Local Candidateshttp://www.cassdems.org/blog/2008/9/17/meet-some-of-our-local-candidates.htmlMatt2008-09-17T14:56:00Z2008-09-17T14:56:00Z

Here's a picture taken recently of Rep. Joe Donnelly and some of our local candidates who attended an Ice Cream Social at the Lion's Den in Walton. Candidates L-R: Marvin Griest, Coroner; Tim Banter, State Representative.; Julian Pugh, County Council; Gordon Southern, County Council; and U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-IN 2nd District). Not pictured but attending was also State Senate candidate Linda Klinck.

Thank you to the wonderful ladies in serving us the good ice cream!

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