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Pro-Health Care Reform Voices Getting Stronger in Town Hall Meetings |
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Progressives are taking back the momentum in town hall meetings across the country by organizing and coming out to tell the truth about the need for health care reform. While the media focuses on the hysterics of angry mobs that demonize President Obama and health care reform supporters, the real story is that the voice of progressives is getting louder and stronger at the town hall meetings.
Working In These Times blog reports that Democrats and progressives are pushing back on several fronts against the campaign of misinformation being waged by extremist groups, some with corporate donors and right-wing Republicans.
According to the website, the counter-punching by progressives
includes everything from massive ad buys to pro-reform viral e-mails to aggressive PR about productive congressional town hall meetings that featured strong liberal turnouts.
For example, in Kokomo, Ind., union members and activists helped counter the anti-reform crowd at a town hall meeting held by Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind). Members of the IUE-CWA and others were on hand. In fact, there were so many people at the meeting that it had to be moved outside to accommodate the crowd.
Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans showed up in large numbers at town hall events in Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin this week to fight back against the right-wing mobs.
Says Alliance President Barbara Easterling:
Alliance members are doing a great job of refuting lies and myths about health insurance reform. The truth is that Medicare will benefit from cost containment across the entire health care system.
Dan Buckley, president of AFT Local 6308 in Bergen County, N.J., attended four town hall meetings hosted by Rep. Steven Rothman (D-N.J.). Buckley says pro-reform speakers outnumbered opponents at two of the events and that several speakers, including Rothman, made very strong points in favor of reform.
As more and more town hall meetings are being held during the August congressional recess, it is becoming clear that the anti-reform mobs are not what they seem. While the progressives at the meetings are from the local congressional district, many of the opponents are not, according to several sources.
The Huffington Post reports that with connections to ultraconservative Republicans, insurance companies and other opponents of the health insurance reform effort, including FreedomWorks, headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex.), have organized many of the protests.
And a Retired Americans member reported that a person at a town hall meeting this week told her their group had been bused in from a surrounding state, given $100 and a T-shirt, plus a script to follow at the meeting.
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The Government already has the funds to pay for Universal Health Care. It is time to stop the madness and violence at the health care reform meetings. Using shift work for white collar jobs could cut the cost of the 500 million square feet of office space currently in used by the federal governe=ment by up to 50%. This would save enough money to provide universal health care. It could also reduce the carbon footprint by 50%. For details go to:
http://whitecollargreenspace.blogspot.com/
Now featured on http://www.buzzflash.com/ under the heading:
“Using Shift work for white collar jobs to greatly reduce the fiscal and environmental cost of new office space”
http://astroturffighters.blogspot.com/
When you need to fake grass roots participation in town hall meetings and press conferences rent human look a likes from Astro Turf Fighters Robotic Rentals.
Having worked late shifts for a number of years, I wonder whether wcgsg has considered the social costs of putting more of the work force on shift work. Also, much work is not amenable to such rearrangement–anything that requires dealing with the public, emergencies apart, can hardly go onto the graveyard shift.
A better alternative would be to have as many workers as possible work from home. Most federal workers are information workers who could just as easily work from home as in an office building. This would also reduce traffic, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, and it would make for a more productive workforce. Right now, workers can volunteer for telecommuting; but to really make a difference, the policy should be that all workers telecommute except for those that management can justify keeping in the office.
There are no silver bullets to pay for health care for the uninsured.
Trial lawyers and drug companies pushed obvious cost-savers off the table (like litigation reform and drug reimportation).
Right wing extremists pushed off common sense ideas, like end of life counseling reimbursement and encouragement of living wills.
Unions have pushed off taxing platinum plated plans and insisting that consumers pay at least some part of health care costs to encourage competition.
What’s left is vague and absurd claims of cost savings. And a proposal to heavily tax job creators and small businesses - a move certain to simply dry up more jobs.
The desire to provide health care to the uninsured is laudable, but the real discussion of how to cut costs and pay for health care has been less than candid or complete.
Report from Vermont Sen. Sanders Town Meetings:
Of the 600+ people in Rutland and 500+ people in Arlington, the vast majority were single payer/Health Care is a Human Right supporters - probably more than 5-to-1. Our local Healthcare Is A Human Right organizing committees were really terrific. We handed out over 300 HCisHR and single-payer signs and 250+ HCisHR buttons in Rutland, so we had a huge presence in the crowd, especially since dozens of HCisHR leaders were wearing our red t-shirts. We were tabling at both events and circulating in the crowd. In addition to passing out all the signs and buttons, we collected about 200 postcards supporting HCisHR and Vermont’s state single payer legislation (H.100/S.88) and found many new people excited to join the local organizing committees.
Jennifer Henry, President United Professions of Vermont/AFT, and Dave Kaczynski, member Ironworkers Local 7, were on Sen. Sanders panel at both events.
CLC president, Traven, spoke and was quoted in the papers as “a proud union member”, plus Fletcher Allen nurse Mari Cordes, Local 5221, VFNHP, also spoke in Rutland.
I get more confused everyday. We get reports that healthcare reform is getting more support. I support health care reform with a public option such as medicare. I do not support health care with some of the provisions I have heard of over the past several weeks. The truth is, we do not know exactly what health care reform contains.
But yesterday I read a report where the administration has made a deal with big pharmaceutical companies about medicare buying the drugs or buying drugs from Canada. This contrary to what we were told during the campaign and since. This morning I heard where the President is ready to drop the Public option. It sounds more and more to me like the Republicans and right wing have won again. It seems to me that working class and other middlle class American, are being bypassed again. They have bailed out the banks and ins. co’s. They have passed the cash for clunkers program which spends a lot of money, but only benefits some Americans.. Where are the jobs, and help for the people who have lost and are still losing their homes?
It seems that we are told one thing during election campaigns and then they forget us until the next election.
It is certainly never going to get better in this country until they do away with unfair to Americans trade agreements, and bring back industry and manufacturing to the USA. We need those jobs tobring back the American economy and to pay the taxes necessary to keep our cities, states and country operating, as well as paying into Social Security
Does anyone in the US government look at what has happened to the cities and states, as well as the federal gov’t, which is not collecting the taxes necessary to caary their business?
I know a lot of people complain about high taxes, but if everyone was working had a well paying job, taxes would not need to be so high. As for me, my worst and highest taxes are my county property tax, and income tax. As my children and granchildren are out of school there is very little benefit I see from these taxes
Thank you
If there was ever a time for a national referendum–THEN THIS IS DEFINITELY IT? Of all the issues the ones that will influence the American peoples economy, culture, language and society for decades to come, is Health care and illegal immigration. Neither political party, special interest lobbyists nor anybody else should be able to use their influence the running of our country. The United States–VOTER–should have the last word, not corrupt members of the Democratic leadership, the Republican minority party and certainly not La Raza or ACLU, US Chamber of Commerce, Council of Foreign Relations, Cato Institute, billionaire George Soros, Ford Foundation and a multitude of self interest groups. In health care the insurance companies have used their political currency, to weaken any prospect of a Canadian or European style public health care option. 2/3 of America insist on the single payer system like Canada and the European developed nations.
The rest of these despicable organizations want the free flow of cheap labor that is already swarming across our nation, even though we are in a deep recession and millions of US citizens and legal residence are jobless. As I speak 1.5 million new immigrants entered America and that’s not counting the illegal aliens who extract from taxpayers everyday. Our politicians can no longer demand of the people, to pay for foreign national health care, when they cannot afford it for their own families? How many more years are the people to be dictated to the power of profiteering insurance companies? How many decades must taxpayers is forced to pay for illegal immigrants and families, who have already broken our laws of sovereignty and expect to be rewarded with another blanket AMNESTY.
How can we assume our legislators to honor the “Rule of Law”, when they have already stone-walled us over the 1986 immigration enforcement law? Millions of loyal Americans who have already commanded E-Verify extraction tool in the workplace (section of the SAVE ACT) 287 G police enforcement, no match letter and the ICE raids of illegal immigrant. But we must maintain the bombardment if you want a health care public option choice? Whether you want to keep on supporting the impoverished, unschooled of foreign nations that skirt our laws? CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES FOR WHAT YOU WANT AT 202-224-3121? NOT WHAT THE SPECIAL INTEREST LOBBY HAS PAID FOR? Read about the trillions to be spent on giving AMNESTY to illegal immigrants at the Heritage Foundation. GOOGLE more facts on the web, or search for the truth at NUMBERSUSA.
Observe this PETITION to STOP any health care to illegal immigrants at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/nohealthcareforillegals
Marvelous news. We MUST NOT BACK DOWN from these Republican hoolagins.
From what I’m reading from multiple reliable sources (not blogs) the AMA, the insurers and the pharmacological companies are still running the show.
This is not the reform American workers want and certainly not what they can afford. In fact, to call it reform at all is pure spin as was NAFTA, CAFTA and every other so called ‘good idea’ that has been shoved down the throats of American workers.
The issues framed by Gary Shapiro and Brittanicus are legitimate concerns for every union member. Knock back 12 or so million uninsured by closing the damn borders and shipping out the illegals. You want in? Apply and come in legitimately. We have enough thieves here already.
If nothing else Wall Street know what time of day it is. The following is from Ian Wyatt of “The Daily Profit” investor newsletter.
“*****30 Hour work week the new normal
Economic analysts were out in full force last week as headline data pointed to a recovery in employment. Although people may have started finding jobs, we question the quality of work being found by new workers.
After the Japanese financial crisis in the late 1980s, many of Japanese workers ended up working on temporary jobs that didn’t have good salaries and benefits. Perhaps the U.S. is entering a similar phase.
Over the past year and a half companies have slashed budgets and expenses. Businesses are more likely to hire low cost temporary help until the economy starts to show significant changes. Part-time jobs usually have lower pay and part-time jobs don’t have many of the benefits that full-time jobs have.
In past recessions, businesses would hang onto valued employees and many times increase their salary levels. This recession has proven different. There is a large number of highly educated people competing for menial jobs. This has given businesses an opportunity to hire skilled workers at bargain rates.”
Does anyone really think that once they get used to the diminished salary and benefits the average worker stands a chance? “The Street” just won’t allow it.
This is the same battle that unions fought years ago to secure the rights, and benefits that union workers now enjoy. Even back then companies had goons come in to crack heads and yell down our union brothers that worked to secure a decent wage, vacation, senority, health, and the many other benefits we now enjoy.
The “Healthsteria” that has gripped America is so very disheartening. With the millions of Americans loosing their homes, or finding themselves underwater with a devalued property, as big banks and mortgage brokerage companies walk away with profits and bonuses. More millions have lost their jobs, as Corporate America lops off large vestiges of their workforce, just to pad the bottom-line, and deliver dividends to the share holders. With this economic nightmare that has sent shockwaves through Wall Street, and continues to unleash a drowning tidal wave on Main Street, just the thought of a Healthcare system that puts the care back into Healthcare, offered a tiny glimmer of hope. Then the nay-Sayers began to chant the Public Option was about to throw Mama from the train in her twilight hours. As I watched the Bill Moyer show featuring Mr. Wendell Potter, the former chief corporate spokesman for Cigna, I wondered how many Americans got the opportunity to view this broadcast. I wanted it to be mandatory viewing at all public forum discussions on Healthcare Reform. I wanted it to be broadcast day and night like one of those less than blockbuster movies that cable TV puts into a continuous loop of air time.
I tried to reassure myself and say that the American people are not as ignorant as the Big Insurance industry would believe them to be, that they would see clear the smoke and mirrors, that they would indeed pay attention to the man behind the curtain. I tried to convince myself that they would see, as Mr. Potter’s presentation so clearly showed, who was pulling the purse strings, and speaking through these ventriloquist dummies, more commonly known as conservative politicians, and those who now have let the Blue Dogs out. But as the weeks have passed, and the heckling calls failed to die down, what saddened me so, is that there are many poor Americans who have been duped by all the fear mongering and have brandished the Anti Health Reform regalia, to the chant of the party line!
How I know with all my heart, that so many of the well intended Anti-Health Reformists could benefit personally, if not have a dear loved one benefit, from caring health system. Yet, I am reminded that not so many generations ago hysteria swept many as Orson Wells read the War of the World, over the air waves. Should I be surprised by the waves of panic that now sweep many over this modern day War of the Words.
How I just wish there could be a young child, who would yell it out, to all of the highly intellectual conservative thinkers and their adherents, that the cloth of the argument that now cloaks the Insurance Empire as being the best healthcare delivery system in the world, that shrouds all those who rally to this rant, is in reality devoid of any substance at all, and will leave all of America naked and openly exposed to the status quo that keeps rewarding big business, as they continue to give the small guy (or the little boy) if you will, the business!!!
Politics as usual! Is the cry that goes out when our leaders don’t get things done or if they make the wrong decisions? Our government is a partnership. We elect the leaders that we believe will move our nation forward. When they take office, they begin making the laws we want.
The problem is we change our mind too soon, often because we are used by others to fear and we push forward the wrong plan or do nothing at all. Obama took office about seven months ago. When we elected him, the majority wanted health care. Now we don’t. Good things take a good plan and a drive to get things done, while we push back fear and not allow it to blind us. We use good judgment when we see potential problems and make adjustments. In a car you can’t drive forward at 60 mph and shift in reverse without destroying your car. That is about what we are doing to our nation.
I stood and watched the majority get behind Bush to back a war – all based on false information. Then we hated Bush because “WE” made a mistake. We were misled, but whose fault is that?
PEOPLE, WE WANTED AND VOTED FOR CHANGE! Where is your courage to stick with an idea for longer than three months? I know that we are afraid, but don’t you trust what you believed just last Nov. Let’s look at what we are doing. What if you got tired of working for nothing and made a decision to go to college. You take off with a run, knowing that college is expensive, but you go forward. Then fear seeps in. You must manage your money wisely, you must be there and do the work required, and you can’t change your mind in the middle of the first semester. If you work hard, manage your time and money well, it pays off! You have confidence now that you can do anything to further your goals.
We have heard Rush Limbaugh say: “He wants Obama to fail!” Who are you listening to now? Are you afraid again and allowing the fear to let you be lead like sheep? I have watched the town meetings and I want to cry. Let’s push fear back and stand for the change we voted for, then do some praying and listening and see what happens.
One thing I’m sure about, we cannot continue on the path we are on right now. If we want our government to be better, then we must be wiser and stick to a plan. Let’s stop the town hall meetings like we are having now, and let our leader’s know we want a wiser and more active role. I’m sure you don’t want angry mobs with guns to rule our nation.
Let’s trust once more and pass health care. Then for our next big decision, let’s have a wise group at town hall meetings to think and discuss each plan and with one small voice, we say what we want. The voices across the nations would be a mighty roar; it would be much wiser and could be a better educated sound. We have a leader that will listen to wisdom – he always has.
I love Star Trek, when they face a crisis: Piccard calls all the wise crew together; each calmly gives his expert opinion in his area of expertise. Then Picard makes the decision based on the ideas of his crew and with the formulated plan Piccard says, “Make it so!” Obama, we need you to lead with that same wise heart that shone through the din of opposition. And make it so!
Wilma Steele Mingo County, WV