Pelosi's announcement a bit back that health care without a public option was a non-starter because of opposition from Progressive Caucus members. It brought a smile to my face when I read it. Damn, I thought, it's about time progressives in congress actually used the same tactics that the Blue Dogs use all the time so successfuly.
So now Bowers at OpenLeft and FireDogLake have begun a process to formalize the tactic. Specifically FDL has created the action spreadsheet presented below. Actually theirs includes all of the progressive members of congress whereas I've only included the members that appear in our House Vote roundup locally. The page linked also includes the ability to tell them about any results you may get from calling these progressive members and asking them to committ to the process for the health care public option.
"And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place," he said on WJJG 1530 AM's "Mornings with Ray Hanania." Progress Illinois picked up the quote.
Greg Hinz is reporting that the Urban League's Cheryle Jackson has formed a Senate exploratory committee. Per Hinz, Jackson, 44, will make her decision "within a couple of months." Meanwhile the Urban League will host its national convention in Chicago.
This is a very mixed bag bill. A lot of giveaways to coal. Cap and trade is not as good as a carbon tax. So who knows why Kucinich voted no, but it could well be similar to Foster's for all we know.
H R 2454 RECORDED VOTE 26-Jun-2009 7:17 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: American Clean Energy and Security Act
Votes are not often close in the state legislature. By the time a bill is on third reading the outcome is pretty much assured because everyone has agreed. On its face unanimity looks good and suggests legislators and committee processes are working well.
However, faced with important questions of value (whether fiscal or moral) I am inclined to believe that there should be conflict (used here in the productive not the pejorative sense) and that the absence of such, or its purposeful exile, should be read as a troubling sign.
More than half of the bills passed by the Illinois state legislature are agreed-to bills, meaning the final bill is acceptable to all parties, which certainly evinces the art of negotiation and compromise but can also mean that the final product has been made transformed into something worthless using the very same skills.
So the latest wrinkle, from our buddy Rahm, in the Obama regime's ever downward spiraling efforts at health care reform are "non-profit cooperatives." So hey, I've got an open mind, just how is that supposed to work?
If anyone here can imagine such a setup actually working, post it to the comments
Bureaucracy expense reduction and economies of scale bargaining are the biggest reasons, especially for single-payer but also, for the public option. So how might that work with a co-op? I suppose that the co-op could get really large. That could generate economies of scale. I suppose further that maybe Medicare could be dumped into the new co-op. So are we looking at the Post Office / Amtrak model of things here?
Help me out here. Could this be made to work? Could a co-op be our Trojan horse? Would it give the Blue Dogs enough of a sense of security that they could take the inevitable heat from the medical-industrial complex?
It is TIME to not feel ashamed to live in "Crook County" anymore. It is TIME for the second largest County in the US to no longer be a punchline. It is TIME to start to roll back the hereditary monarchies (Stroger, Daley, Madigan, Hynes, etc.) in Illinois. It is TIME for progressives in Illinois to get full-on behind Toni Preckwinkle for President of the Cook County Board.
Smart? Indeed - AB and AM from U of C. Not givin' those away for clout. Progressive? Check how many times she's voted against Daley and with us on our key issues - and with people like Joe Moore. Start with the living wage for example. Gets things done? She inherited over 3,000 empty lots in her Ward and I think the total now, after 18 years, is down to like 30. That's not talking about change, that's change we can see.
Yes there are some Congressional races to be concerned about, a few, and Gov. Quinn of course, but progressives in Cook County have a chance to make real change. It is freakin' TIME my friends. (more below) tonipreckwinkle.org
I think we are approaching a tipping point in the push for "universal" health care in the U.S. The progressive caucus has stated that they will not support a health care plan that does not include a public option. The public option is a pre-compromised position from single-payer. The medical-industrial complex is attacking the public option both from with-in and with-out. If they cannot eliminate it from the plan then they desire to emasculate and efeminate it. A public option that will either be non-competitive and/or not implementable until some date uncertain.
And that is about all we know.
So at the moment progressive activists are expending what little influence we have in pushing for an effective public option being included in the plan. But there is a tipping point fast approaching. We will see the tipping point arrive when progressive activists begin expending what little influence we have in pushing for a defeat of the entire bill. A bill that will be at best a Trojan and at worst a virus within the body of heath care change in the U.S.
And at that point we will be facing a double defeat. Not only will there not be an effective public option but we may have a bill as bad Medicare Part D for drugs; not only a defeat for people's health but a boondoggle win for the medical-industrial complex. Perhaps even a triple defeat as the corporatist element within the Obama regime will characterize the progressive opposition to another corporate giveaway as progressives being opposed to health care reform. All because of our insistence on the barely acceptable becoming the enemy of the awful.
Pat Quinn was the featured guest and main speaker at IVI-IPO's 65th annual Independent's Day Dinner on Saturday, 6/20/09. WCPT Radio has posted a podcast of the event on their site.
This is what they said about the event:
WCPT attended this wonderful dinner that featured Aaron Freeman as the host and Governor Quinn as the keynote speaker; the topic was "Reform in Illinois". The event usually drew a couple of hundred Illinois progressives and awards were given to the following individuals:
The Leon Despres Award for Political Independence was given to Toni Preckwinkle.
The Harold Washington Award went to the Save Grant Park Coalition.
The Labor Award went to Carl Rosen, who was instrumental in the Republic Windows action.
The Saul Mendelson Social Justice Award went to Mahaley Sommerville, from Action Now and a long-time social justice activist.
The Legal Eagle Award went to the National Immigration Justice Center and the Voting Rights Award to Xavier Noguera.
It has been the most difficult decision of my life, but I have decided not to be a candidate again for Cook County board president. Nor will I be a candidate for a third term on the board.
My June 30 fundraiser at Hop Haus, my first since the 2006 primary, is cancelled and I will be returning all checks (or in the case of credit cards, ensuring there is no debit to your account).
I am so grateful to you for your support, your encouragement and your friendship during the last two campaigns and my nearly seven years of service. It means so much to me, and made the decision so much harder.
In January, I joined my longtime friend, Care Pages founder Eric Langshur, in founding a new company, Rise Health. In the ensuing six months we have developed a mixture of services and technology which we believe can improve access, lower costs and improve quality in health care.
President Obama is poised to finally pass national health care reform. But to achieve the goal of universal access, quality and affordability, it will take both government reform and private sector innovation. I have come to believe so much in the potential of our ideas that I have chosen to remain in my role as chief operating officer, and begin a new and challenging journey to help improve our national health care system.
Many of you know that I first ran for the board presidency largely because of the dysfunction in the Health Bureau, which not only robbed taxpayers but effectively rationed care to the neediest and most vulnerable in our society. I wrote a detailed plan to improve access to preventive and primary care and restructure the system.
Because of the administration's gross incompetence and neglect, the Health Bureau is now under the jurisdiction of an independent board. The independent board recently hired a CEO, who is beginning to make systemic changes. The jury is out, but we all hope for its success.
I hope that all of you who supported me will stay involved, and support candidates willing to challenge the old ways.
Thank you again for having given me the opportunity to serve. I will be eternally grateful.
The twist, for those of us up north here, is that Larry Suffredin is now forming an exploratory committee for Cook County Board prez. And because of the new law change, you can't run for prez and commish. So if Larry runs, the 13th is an open seat. As will be, now, Forrest's slot.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has met with President Barack Obama and his senior political aides to talk about running for the U.S. Senate seat he once held.
Ms. Madigan's spokeswoman says the meeting occurred in Washington at the White House late last week, with the Senate race the subject.
Ms. Madigan reportedly has not made up her mind, but the meeting came after weeks in which White House operatives reached out to Ms. Madigan and urged her to run for the seat now held by Roland Burris, and after Ms. Madigan said she would agree to think about it.
In the meeting besides Mr. Obama were senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Ms. Madigan also talked with David Axelrod, who ran Mr. Obama's presidential campaign.
The attorney general "is still considering all of her options," the spokeswoman said. "She is trying to figure out how she can best serve the public, and talking to the president is an important part of that process."
So what's keeping her from announcing? Is it just for the drama build-up?
(geez, this thread has devolved into an ongoing discussion of policy. we've lost our way... - promoted by bored now)
Despite the naysayers who have problems with diaries about who might run for what, the Founding Fathers set us up as a representative democracy, so, before we can talk policy, we have to talk about who wants to risk life (style at least) and huge amounts of money (only Illinois Reps. would think that $2,400 per person and tens of thousands for transfers are 'limits') to draft or administer those policies.
Today, one of the keystone possibilities made her decision to stay where she is. 9th CD US Representative Jan Schakowsky decided to stay where she felt she could do the most good. She told Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times:
She told me a statewide contest "would have been very exciting," but she wanted to take advantage of "this moment in history" to use her House leadership position -- she is part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's inner circle -- to work on pending health care and energy legislation.
Alexi Giannoulias is taking a step onto the "Great Orange Satan" , starting a national grassroots organizing campaign for a Senate run...
Illinoisans deserve a Senator who will honor the seat formerly held by President Obama. They deserve what every American deserves--a representative worthy of their vote, one free from the taint of political insiders and kingmakers and one who shares their vision for true change and real progress.
I believe that the choice of who will represent Illinois is too important to be left in the hands of the DC insiders. Both the President and the people of Illinois will need a progressive advocate as the Senate fights for health care, as it seeks to end two wars, and as it enacts policies that benefit America's families.
...
So, I've set a goal for my campaign: 5,000 grassroots volunteers signed up on website. If you believe that the person elected to President Obama's seat should wage a campaign he would be proud of, then join us today.
I also look forward to coming back in the next week or so and talking with members of the community about an example of an issue where Washington is failing us -- bankruptcy reform.
My goal was to send a Republican to Congress from the 14th congressional district. That's not to say that I dislike Foster, Representative [Bill] Foster [D-IL 14], or have anything bad to say about him personally - that's absolutely not the case, by all counts he's a very nice gentleman, very intelligent - but he doesn't, in my estimation, represent the values of the district on various issues. He's not where the majority of the district is - fiscal issues being first and foremost in my mind. He's voted for many of the spending packages where, as far as I can tell, we have no revenue to back them up.
Hastert basically calls Foster too far left for the district. See the link for the rest of the interview...
