Senator Landrieu Supports President's Reform Bill

Senator Mary Landrieu Finally Puts Her Weight Behind President's Health Insurance Reform Bill

 

NOLA.com reported this morning that Senator Mary Landrieu, the Democratic holdout to Congressman Cao's unexpected cross-party vote supporting the President's health insurance reform plan, has finally come out in support of the proposed senate bill.

"Time is short, the political maneuvering tense and the ultimate vote will be tight, but Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., emerged from a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday as a full-throated enthusiast for the Senate health care bill Democrats want to enact by Christmas.

Times-Picayune archive'Senate Democrats have developed a consensus that combines the best blend of private and public approaches to reduce cost, expand coverage and increase choice and competition for Americans,' U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said Tuesday."While many of us expressed cost and bureaucracy concerns about early drafts of health care reform legislation, it is clear that the product the Senate is debating is a dramatic improvement," Landrieu said Tuesday evening.

"Senate Democrats have developed a consensus that combines the best blend of private and public approaches to reduce cost, expand coverage and increase choice and competition for Americans."

Landrieu's statement, issued under the headline, "Now is the Time to Pass Health Care Reform," is the most positive she has issued about the health care plan, which has been the subject of intensive negotiations in recent weeks. It came a few hours after Landrieu and nearly all Senate Democrats met with the president at the White House to talk about what he described as a historic opportunity they dare not squander.

"And from the discussions we had it's clear that we are on the precipice of an achievement that's eluded Congresses and presidents for generations -- an achievement that will touch the lives of nearly every American," Obama said after the afternoon meeting."

With all due respect, Madame Senator, it's about damn time.

We'll deal with Senator Vitter's ridiculous response to these developments at a later date.

Why the Pro-Life Movement Should Support Health Care Reform

Why the Pro-Life Movement Should Support Health Care Reform

Much has been made of Congressman Cao's recent cross-party vote to support the health care reform bill that was passed by the House of Representatives this week, but Cao has been on the side of our health ever since his election. In fact, as a recipient of his e-mail newsletter (you can sign up on his website), I have personally received no less than 5 messages in the last 2 months from his office directly related to health care issues in our community, including information about local health fairs, instructions on where LA residents can get H1N1 flu vaccines, his work to re-open Charity Hospital, and more. Critics can say what they will, but no one can deny that health issues have been a priority for Cao's office ever since his election.

So why is Congressman Cao so willing to take on an issue that has most Republican (and not a few Democrat) officials quaking in their political boots? There could be many reasons, but for my money, I'll say it's because he is unusually far-sighted for a congressman, especially one from our neck of the woods. Cao's priorities are far from hidden. He wants Charity Hospital re-opened. He wants Louisiana residents to have access to affordable health care. And he wants the Right To Life platform to put its money where its mouth is and take charge of the issue. And ultimately, that may prove to be his most notable battle.

Our Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed by our Creator with certain "unalienable" rights, including the right to life. Lawyers may argue that the Declaration, being a separate document from the Constitution, does not itself endow any rights upon U.S. citizens, and that therefore the failure to save a life when we have the ability to do so does not necessarily violate the legal principles of our nation. I disagree. In a nation where we have both the money and the technology to save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who would otherwise die simply due to lack of health insurance, I believe that we have a moral and ethical, if not historical, obligation to provide that life-saving insurance - whatever the cost.

Indeed, if any political movement of our generation should be backing the call to reform health care, it is the "Right To Life" movement. It doesn't take a genius to see the connection between fighting to maintain the life of a fetus and fighting to maintain the life of a fellow citizen. Or have we reached some sad social benchmark where we care more for the life of a potential person than an actual one?

What Congressman Cao has done with his vote is not only support the right of our citizens to have access to effective, affordable medical care; he has also united the good intentions of the Right to Life movement with the stark realities of a nation which has failed to provide the most basic necessities to maintain the lives of  the citizens it already has. What the Health Care Reform movement may not have taken into account when it began is what the liberal voting base may have to give up in order to see successful reform enacted. Congressman Cao has very likely struck the first blow in a battle that could ultimately determine the way we as a nation proceed with both issues. Ultimately, it is possible that neither the Right to Life movement nor the Health Care Reform movement can come to fruition without the other. The question now is, what is the liberal voting base prepared to give up in order to see real health care reform enacted? And what is the conservative voting base willing to lay on the line in order to to advance the pro-life agenda? If we follow both arguments to their logical conclusion, it seems to me that they unfailingly end up in a place where we must either place the ultimate value on all lives, or none of them.

For those of you who are wondering, yes, my inner feminist is actively screaming bloody murder at the very thought of losing ground on the battle for women's rights, especially in a nation that has not even been able to pass an Equal Rights Amendment. Yet I cannot deny that my perspective on the matter of health care changed when I lost my own health insurance due to a chronic illness - just as my perspective on the matter of right to choice might change if our nation could ensure that any unwanted child born would, at the very least, have access to the basic health and medical care needed to ensure her or his healthiest possible life - no matter what. So if the Right to Life movement wants to gain votes, here is its best chance. Let the Right to Life advocates fight as hard for the lives of our fellow citizens now as they have for the lives of the unborn in the past, and - for the first time in my life - they might in return see my vote and my check headed in their own direction.

Louisiana Congressman Crosses Party Lines to Support Health Insurance Reform

Louisiana Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao Crosses Party Lines to Support Health Insurance Reform

Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao has a history of listening to the concerns of his constituents.

History is being made in our very midst, Louisiana.

Yesterday at 11:15 p.m. the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass their version of the health insurance reform bill. For those of you who are counting, this is the first time in the history of our nation that either chamber of Congress has passed a comprehensive health insurance reform bill. Among the 220 votes supporting the bill (215 voted against it) we find our very own Louisiana Representative, Congressman Cao (pronounced Gow). As if the House vote weren't historic enough, Congressman Cao crossed party lines to throw his political weight behind the reform bill - the only Republican to do so.

As ever, the price for making history is steep. Obviously Congressman Cao runs the risk of alienating his largely conservative constituency by crossing traditional Republican party lines to support health insurance reform. And the news for his liberal constituents isn't perfect either - Cao was instrumental in removing any portion of the bill that would provide government subsidized funds for abortions. Critics of the Congressman will likely opine that he hopes to have his cake and eat it too (does that expression make sense to anyone?). But we here at HFL take a different view, and we'll tell you why:

Over the past several months, we have lobbied each of our representatives in Congress heavily regarding health insurance reform, and that means lots of e-mails, letters, phone conversations, and direct meetings when possible. Any member of Congress will send a return form letter if you write to them, but Congressman Cao has been by far the most responsive politician that I, personally, have ever dealt with. Not only was his response letter immediate, but it was also clear, well-written (you wouldn't believe the kind of crap that some representatives put their name on), and thoughtful. Regardless of one's own position on the matter, it would be difficult to read that letter and not feel that Cao has put tremendous energy and thought into the issue of health care in America.

Congressman Cao's aides are also intelligent, polite, and well-versed in political issues AND on his stance on those issues. This is in extraordinary contrast to, say, Senator David Vitter's aides, who in my personal interactions have managed to be mostly hostile, uninformed, and in all other ways pretty much totally unprepared to communicate with the general public. (We'll get to Landrieu's aides later). A politician's aides tell a lot about how seriously that politician takes his or her position as a leader, and Cao's aides have been unfailingly well informed and eager to involve his constituents. The Congressman also goes out of his way to determine his constituents' opinions on political matters. Rather than wait for opinions to find their way to his desk, the Congressman holds regular town hall meetings in his district, and his website posts surveys on major issues, allowing his constituents an ease of access that is relatively uncommon amongst the more high-brow political types.

But all of this is secondary to the strength of Congressman Cao's convictions, and the lengths to which he will go to be a positive, effective influence on the democratic process. His history of seeking out input from his constituents and his willingness to stand behind his values, putting his votes where his mouth is, make him stand out as a remarkably dignified figure amongst a crowd of glorified snake charmers.

So while we can't say that he does everything exactly the way we, as voters, might want him to do it, we can say this:  If Congressman Cao is brave enough to vote against his party lines for something he believes is truly in the best interest of his community, then those of us who traditionally vote Democrat can vote against our party lines to keep him in office. Because when it comes right down to it, party lines are just a convenient illusion, and one that tends to distract voters (and politicians) from the real issues. They are no substitution for careful consideration and ethical action, and we think Congressman Cao embodies an approach to representation that truly brings the "serve" back into public service.

If you live in LA's Second District, click here to share your thoughts with Congressman Cao.

Phone Calls For Health Insurance Reform Surpass All Expectations

Phone Calls For Health Insurance Reform Surpass All Expectations

Goal Overshot By More Than 300%

Yesterday we posted a link to Organizing For America's project asking supporters of health insurance reform to call their Representatives in Congress and make their views known.

Today, we are happy to report that not only did you respond, but you overshot OAF's goal of 100,000 phone calls in one day - by over 300%! More than 300,000 phone calls to congress were logged in support of health insurance reform efforts!

Here is what OAF and the Obama Administration have to say to those of you who participated in this great show of support:

As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country.

Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible.

I'm looking at the numbers, and with almost all of the reports now in, the tally wasn't 200,000 calls placed or pledged -- it was 315,023. You did it.

Take a moment to watch the President's inspiring words to OFA volunteers on this incredible day.

Your voice was overwhelming -- with reports in the media of congressional offices "completely crushed with calls." CBS News described your effort as an "onslaught." And a congressional aide was quoted with a common response, saying their office was deluged by "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA.

You set a new OFA record, you caught the national media's attention, and you certainly put Congress on notice. But you know that's not what really matters.

The message I sent earlier talked about a woman, Jenny U., whose insurance company cut off her coverage because they decided her kidney donation to her sick daughter counted as a "pre-existing condition." What really matters is that today you brought America one giant, irreversible step closer to being a place where no one will ever have to suffer that kind of injustice again. That's what all the messages, late nights, and phone calls ultimately add up to. It's what makes everything we do together worthwhile -- and it's why we'll keep fighting together until the job is done.

Watch President Obama's special message to you from a call party in New York:

http://my.barackobama.com/TTDreport

Thank you, so much, for being part of the team.

We thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for joining this fight for health insurance for ALL Americans. We have never been prouder to share this great nation with you.
~ Editor and contributors to HealthForLouisiana.blogspot.com

Call Your Representatives Today - 100,000 Phone Calls For Health Care

Call Your Representatives Today - 100,000 Phone Calls For Health Care

Organizing America has declared today, Tuesday October 20, the first threshold for supporters of health care reform to conquer. Constituents (that's you and me) are being asked to call their representatives today to state their support for President Obama's health care reform package, including an affordable public health insurance option for all Americans.

With crucial negotiations taking place in congress, [our] volunteers and other organizations are raising our voices to make it clear to our representatives: It's time to deliver on health insurance reform. We've set a big goal for today - 100,000 phone calls made or committed to in a single day. To hit it, we'll need your help - Will you take 5 minutes to call Congress now?

As of 12:56 pm Central Time today, 89,223 calls supporting health insurance reform have been logged.

To call your representatives, dial the numbers listed below for state Senators Landrieu and Vitter, and go to House.gov to find your district's Representative by zip code.

Senator Landrieu - (202) 224 - 5824


Senator Vitter - (202) 224 - 4623


If you live in another state, go to Senate.gov to find your senator's phone number.

If you can only make one call, please make it to Senator Landrieu, who is one of the senators President Obama has noted as a key vote for health insurance reform.

Editor's UPDATE: 3:46 pm

As of 3:46 pm, over 160,824 calls to our representatives supporting health insurance reform have been logged today! OFA has raised it's goal to 200,000 calls - so if you haven't called yet, you can still help!

I spoke with Senator Vitter's office today regarding his letter stating his position on (resisting) health care reform. His aide seemed unaware of Senator Vitter's stance, other than to say that he does not support a public option. When I read to her statements in his letter, her responses ran along the lines of "I don't know."

I spoke with my House Representative, Congressman Cao, whose aide had a fantastic grasp of the health care situation from both points of view. She stated that the Congressman would like to come out with a stronger statement supporting the reform efforts, and has not yet done so due to the fact that several bills are being discussed and he can't be sure which one will actually be voted upon. We also discussed the need for a public option, which he does not currently support but which he states he is willing to consider. When asked why he has not supported a public option, she stated that he was concerned about the effect on small businesses. I responded that small businesses would no longer be responsible for their employees'  health care if a public option were available - a position which she promised to pass on to him.

I have not been able to reach Senator Landrieu's office due to the number of calls she is currently receiving. Good work Louisiana!

Why don't you call and see if you can accomplish more than we did? Let us know how it goes! Write to us at HealthForLouisiana@gmail.com