The Party Line

While most Supreme Court coverage has focused on decision in the New Haven Firefighter’s case, I’m much more worried about another case the Court is expected to take up soon – one that could give Corporate America even more power than it currently has over our political process, as hard to imagine as that may seem.

Watching how Congress and the Obama administration handle the financial sector meltdown has not inspired confidence. Between the Senate’s failure to pass bankruptcy reform that could help struggling homeowners or Geithner’s tepid financial reform that does little to discourage the “too big to fail” culture of Wall Street, Corporate America seems as powerful as ever. It’s no wonder that Democrat Senator Dick Durbin complained that the financial industry “owns” Capitol Hill.

Sadly, it looks like the rampant influence of money in politics may only get worse. Before adjourning for their summer recess, the Supreme Court scheduled more briefs on a case that could overturn bans on corporate-financed campaign advertising.

Apparently unconcerned with what Justice Thurgood Marshall described as “The corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth” in the electoral arena, Roberts, Alito and company seem poised to reverse a 1990 decision that prohibits corporate political expenditures within 60 days before a general election.

Read about it in the new York Time.

Locally, Representative Corky Mazurek’s lame attempt to eliminate public financing of elections fell far short.

His case is a reminder of exactly why the Supreme Court’s campaign finance makeover would be a disaster. Remember, Mazurek won his last election by just a few percentage points against a single mom who works at a local restaurant. That’s exactly the kind of grassroots democracy that the unlimited flow of corporate money would simply drown out.

We’ve got a Democratic President and Democrats in pretty solid control of both chambers in Congress. So for the first time in sixteen years, there’s a real chance to reform our dysfunctional healthcare non-system. Yet it’s hard to avoid the nagging feeling that we’ll somehow find a way to screw it up again.

Of course, some things were different back in 1993. Hartford had a professional hockey team, Kurt Cobain was alive, and Al Franken was funny (sort of). But some things haven’t changed: Back then, like now, most people surveyed thought the country needed serious change in our healthcare system. Then, like now, people supported the idea that the Federal Government should establish a system of national healthcare that offers insurance to all who need it. And then, just like now, powerful lobbying groups are lining up to protect the status quo and kill the real reform we desperately need.

One of those groups, a bit closer to home, is our friends at the CBIA. Amazingly, in this Sunday’s Courant I read something that John Rathgeber said that I actually agree with: “The 2010 election will be competitive and likely decided by independents who will choose the candidate they feel will best address the economic challenges that lie ahead.”

Agreed. The good news for us, not such good news for Darth Vader, uh, I mean Rathgeber, is that among independents, 73% support the creation of a public healthcare option for everyone in the country, according to the most recent New York Times/CBS poll.

Including a robust public plan in the federal healthcare fix isn’t just the right thing to do from a policy perspective, it’s also politically advantageous.

But as Paul Krugmen recently wrote, some conservative Democrats in the Senate already seem determined to unravel the public plan.

Under the false (and circular) claim of pragmatism, they insist a robust public option can’t pass.

Suffice it to say, this issue is going to dominate the headlines throughout the summer. We’ve all got our work cut out for us. If you can make it, I encourage everyone to attend the national rally for healthcare reform sponsored by Healthcare for America Now, and of course, locally we need to continue to support the Sustinet and Pooling legislation, both of which could face a veto from Governor Rell.

Last week, Jack Layton, the leader of the Canadian New Democratic Party, gave a speech in Washington DC on the Canadian Healthcare System.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is Canada’s progressive populist minor party with roots in the labor movement and community organizations — so understandably, we at Working Families feel some kinship with them. (Of course, they’re a little bigger, with 37 members of Parliament.)

His speech reminds us that Americans have a lot in common with our neighbors to the North, and a lot to learn from their healthcare reforms two generations ago.

America is shaping up for a fight on a health care - and it’s going to be tough. I know because in Canada my party has been there - we fought the long battle and we won.  We know: Health care reform is worth the fight.

Sixty years ago Canadians families were on their own to pay doctor and hospital bills. Those with the money got the medical attention they needed, but those without struggled. Some sold their farms, or re-mortgaged their homes, and still others went without care, suffered, and even died because they didn’t have the money. Sound familiar?

Read the whole speech at the NDP website, here.

Tommy Douglas, the Saskatchewan Premier (NDP) who launched Canada’s universal healthcare system was voted the greatest Canadian of all time.

The road to healthcare reform is slower than some of us would like. But Connecticut can take a big step forward if Governor Rell signs two key measures, the ‘pooling’ bill and Sustinet.

Sign our petition to ask Governor Rell to sign Sustinet here.

Our nation’s healthcare crisis is nothing new. Before the housing crisis and the financial crisis, we knew about the healthcare crisis. But the recession is showing just how fragile the lack of good, affordable healthcare makes most of us. In fact, nearly half of all home foreclosures are related to a health problem whose costs spin out of control. That fact comes from an Op Ed column by Senator Chris Dodd in the New London Day yesterday, in which he lays out the case for the public option.

A consensus is emerging that they key to meaningful and long-lasting healthcare is a public option. First, because for the millions of Americans, a public plan will be the only way they can qualify for good coverage. And second, because the public option is key to driving down costs. Finally, behemoth private insurers with administrative costs up to 30% and an incentive to deny claims to drive up profits will have to compete with a public plan with much lower administrative costs and no profit or outsized executive pay packages.

Chris Bowers at OpenLeft is calling the public option the lowest bar to cross for progressive legislation. (If Obama and congress can’t deliver on an issue with this much popular support, will they be able to deliver on any meaningful reform for working families?). And a  memo leaked by the moderate Third Way think tank that makes the case for weakening the public option is causing something of an uproar.

Here in Connecticut, we’re ahead of the curve. Sustinet, which sets up the framework for a robust public option, has passed in both the House and the Senate. And as the national debate will no doubt take cues from the states, the stakes are high as the plan moves forward. Bowers points to moderate Dems as the obstacle. But in Connecticut, because of the outstanding organizing by a huge coalition led by the healthcare4every1 campaign, Sustinet passed both houses with veto proof support. And that’s a rare thing indeed.

With Obama’s healthcare plan coming, a local newspaper fired an opening salvo with its caption contest. I’m referring to a contest where the newspaper provides the cartoon and you supply the caption. This cartoon depicted a man with an oversized screw impaling him, standing in front of President Obama, who is dressed as a doctor sitting at a desk in front of an Obamacare sign.  

Click here> http://blogs.courant.com/cartoon_captions/2009/05/

 That was the first part of the two pronged approach to project a negative image of Obama’s attempt at health care reform. The second was selecting the caption entries, of which the newspaper selected only entries that supported their negative visual. Having a negative visual in the first place, it made it is easy to invite captions negative to health care reform. A visit to their contest webpage showed many entries that supported Obama’s health care plan and suggested it is the current for-profit health care plans that are the cause for the screw-impaled patient. Entries that strongly suggested the screw impalement was caused by the current system were ignored.

 I admit that I submitted a few also, such as:

 I see you’ve been treated by a for-profit health care plan, we’ll get you right in!

We specialize in insurance company screw removals

We have a remedy for that; it’s called a public plan

 Though I was disappointed none of my cool caption entries were selected, I was angry that none of the other more deserving entries that supported Obama were used.

 Just recently the state legislature did their part for health care reform by passing Sustinet and the Pooling bill. Now it sits and awaits the Governor. Will she do the right thing for the people of Connecticut, or for the powerful?

 Fueled with dollars, the corporate manipulated commercial media is a fine and efficient art, especially when attempting to crush independent thought. Whether it’s a newspaper caption contest, a Harry & Louise television commercial, or an Obamacare-bashing radio talk-show host this three-headed monster will be in full rage. We’ll see the same perpetuated myths and half-truths about national healthcare, perhaps with a gentler tone. An unprecedented amount of money will be spent by those most opposed to healthcare reform, the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, even while they pretend to welcome such change. Why? The answer is simple, profits. Who are the real impalers?

This year we fought harder than ever for paid sick days. We all know it’s good for public health, we all know it expands access to preventive healthcare. And we all believe that working families need this basic measure of economic security - and in an economic downturn, they need this more, not less, than before.

Despite an unbelievable amount of dedication and hard work, our push for paid sick days came up just short. As the Courant reports, on the final day of the legislative session, the paid sick days bill stood at 18-18 on the Senate.

Without the votes to pass it, Democratic leaders in the Senate did not call the bill for a vote.

It’s all the more disappointing, because the Senate has already passed paid sick days two years in a row. I’ll have more to say later about exactly which Senators stood with us and which Senators switched to a “no” vote causing the bill to fail. But this year, when workers needed it more than ever, when a yes vote would have finally sent the bill to Governor Rell’s desk, some Senators couldn’t muster the courage to do it.

Politicians siding with business interests and against ordinary working class families is nothing new. But it’s important not to get jaded when it happens. Get angry, yes. Get even, you betcha. But don’t get demoralized. So let’s also take a moment to reflect on what we did accomplish:

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One of those truly important leaders is Speaker of the House Chris Donovan. His close work with advocates has led to the drafting of not one but two healthcare reform measures – the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership (the “pooling bill”) and Sustinet – that combined, make up the most robust framework for universal healthcare in the country.

So, heaping honors and awards on legislative leaders is nothing new. But Representative Donovan is one who profoundly merits such accolades. Let’s face it, our political system still gives every advantage to those with power and money and influence when it comes to shaping policy. Which is why it matters that much more to have legislative leaders who are dead serious about making sure that the voices of ordinary working class and middle class families don’t get drowned out.

On healthcare, the legislation is still pending on the floor of the Senate, and we’ll all have to redouble our efforts. But it is truly a testament to the value of good leadership that these ambitious reforms have made it this far.

More paid sick days on the blogs.

With under two weeks left in the legislative session, CT Working Families’ Executive Director has a new ‘Sunday Speakout’ up at Connecticticut Local Politics. Jon does a great job summarizing why paid sick days legislation is so vital — and why we need it now more than ever.

If you have a minute this evening or tomorrow, I hope you’ll read the article and leave a comment about why you support the paid sick days bill.

Here’s the link:

http://ctlocalpolitics.net/2009/05/24/pass-paid-sick-days/

Over at the Momsrising.org, State Rep. Kim Fawcett has a post up in support of the paid sick days bill.

When our moms, as primary care givers, do not have access to paid sick leave our children suffer. This year nearly half of our working moms will miss work and lose income when their children are sick. Through H.B. 6187 Connecticut is taking the lead in lifting up our parents and protecting our children.

MomsRising.org has been a great coalition partner in the campaign for paid sick days in Connecticut and their Mom’s eye view has been invaluable in reaching out to both the general public on the issue of paid sick days and to legislators.

And hats off to Rep. Fawcett for her support!

Recently the House passed two bills slated to reform health care in Connecticut, the pooling bill and Sustinet. House Republicans voted unanimously against the pooling bill.  So here’s my question, why do Republicans hate health care reform?

The pooling bill will allow nonprofit agencies and small businesses to enter the state’s health care pool.  Some Republicans call the state’s health care plan “the Cadillac of health care bills”. So that’s why they want to deny it to others, because it’s such a good plan? It’s obvious the Cadillac plan is good enough for them to ride in, since as legislators they partake in the plan. What about the rest of us, House Republicans? Do we get to ride in the Cadillac too? Maybe we can get an Edsel.

If the pooling bill is “the Cadillac” then Sustinet is the “Smart Car” of health care plans. Once enacted, it will go a long ways towards providing health care for all and providing a model for Obama’s health care ideas. Polls show people overwhelmingly want health care reform and support a public plan. Those most opposed include pharmaceutical and insurance companies, the CBIA, and Republicans. With both these bills headed to the Senate, there is even concern regarding support from Democratic Senators such as Sen. Harris and Sen. Hartley. Senators, please listen to your constituents and not the money. Finally there is Governor Rell who is pushing her own Charter Oak plan, the lemon of health care plans.