Give to Rob Miller for Congress, Defeat Rep. Joe “You Lie” Wilson

Tonight I just made my first campaign contribution of the 2010 cycle. I gave a few dollars to Rob Miller, a Democrat who is running for Congress in South Carolina. You should, too.

Miller is running against GOP Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, who earlier tonight shouted, “You Lie!” to President Obama, after the president pointed out that there will be no health care benefits for illegal immigrants.

Visit Rob’s campaign website to learn more about his candidacy or visit his Act Blue page to make a secure contribution to his campaign.

Who Would Jesus Insure?

You can buy this wristband from http://www.whowouldjesusinsure.org.

My Congressman, Jim Moran, recently held a town hall to answer the questions my neighbors and I have about health insurance reform. Like so many other town halls during this Congressional recess, it was was packed with people on all sides of the issue. My favorite blog, Wonkette, had the best coverage of the event.

As I watched the event on C-Span, I was struck by one sign captured by the television cameras. It asked a simple question: “Who Would Jesus Insure?”

When I pose this question to my friends on the far right wing of the Republican Party, they get very uncomfortable, particular those who are Christian Evangelicals. (Let me clear, they aren’t squirming over the fact that the question fails to use the pronoun “whom” which would make it grammatically correct.)

Sen. Al Franken: Teabag Whisperer

The folks at Talking Points Memo got this video from DustyTrice.com. What I like about it is no one is screaming. Folks gathered with Sen. Franken may not agree with him, but they have to agree that he is respectful to them. As I think about all the elected officials, Republican and Democrat, who have represented me over the years, few have been as courteous to opponents as Sen. Franken was here.

Perhaps how courteous a candidate is to those with whom they disagree should be a factor in our voting decisions.

Universal Health Care: The Cause of Ted Kennedy’s Life

Last night, the most influential Senator of my lifetime died. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) was 77. His hands were on hundreds of laws, most importantly civil rights, education and health care.

Kennedy believed in social justice — his faith informed his politics. Despite being reviled by the grassroots of the right wing, he was beloved by some of the right wing elected officials of the GOP. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the conservative Republican of Utah was his best friend in the Senate.

Earlier this month, Sen. Kennedy, as he lay dying, penned this article for Newsweek where he called universal health care the “cause of my life”. (I also think it’s worth reading the statement he issued when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee pass the health care bill earlier this summer.)

I don’t know if the Congress will pass health care reform or not. But I do know that Sen. Kennedy inspired a legion of Americans who will continue to fight for universal health care.

Don’t you worry, Sen. Kennedy, the dream will never die.

God Bless Barney Frank!

What the Republicans don’t realize is that by failing to call out the the crazy people who agree with them, their own credibility is being permanently damaged.

What the GOP needs is some members like Barney Frank who are willing to stand up to what he calls “vile, contemptible nonsense”.

Have You Had Enough of the GOP Mob?

Have you seen the wingnuts who’ve crashed the Congressional town hall meetings of Democrats to shout down any discussion of health care? A new Democratic National Committee asks if you’ve had enough of the GOP mob. Well have you?

Eric Cantor: Fighting for Insurance Companies

Thanks to AFSCME for taking on Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Panderville) in this new ad.

Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Statement on Health Care Reform

Yesterday the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee voted to pass Affordable Health Choices Act. It’s an historic moment in the history of the U.S. Senate and in the career of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass).  Following the committee’s vote on the legislation, which included 160 of the 200 amendments offered by the GOP members of the committee, Chairman Kennedy issued the following statement from his home in Massachusetts where he is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor:

“This room is a special place. In this room, my two brothers declared their candidacy for the presidency. Today, the nation takes another major step toward reaching the goals to which they dedicated their careers, and for which they gave their lives. They strived, as I have tried to do, for a fairer and more just America – a nation where every American could share fully in the promise of quality health care.

As you vote today, know that I am with you in heart and mind and soul, and I wish very much that I could be with you in person.

I could not be prouder of our committee. We have done the hard work that the American people sent us here to do. We have considered hundreds of proposals. Where we have been able to reach principled compromise, we have done so. Where we have not been able to resolve our differences, we have treated those with whom we disagree with respect and patience. I thank all the members of our committee – Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike – for their dedication and devotion to the great cause of quality, affordable health care for all our people.

Extraordinary thanks go to Chris Dodd. No man has ever had a truer or more generous friend than he has been to me, and no cause has ever had a more able leader than he has been in the great effort to enact health reform.

It is a cause that knows no boundary of party, region, or philosophy. It is a cause that can and should unite us all as Americans. We know, however, that our work is not over – far from it. As we move from our committee room to the Senate floor, we must continue the search for solutions that unite us, so that the great promise of quality affordable health care for all can be fulfilled.

As I said, this room is a special place – and I believe our committee’s actions have added a glorious chapter to the honor roll of history that has been made here.

Americans are an extraordinary people. We have created a nation of liberty and justice. We have defeated forces of oppression, and we have spread prosperity and progress across the globe. When the American people are on the march, there is no barrier that can resist them, no obstacle that can block their path.

The American people are on the march once more, and they will not stop until quality, affordable health care is the birthright of every American. And we are with them every step of the way.”

Virginia’s GOP Congressmen Love Government-Run Health Care, Except When They Don’t

Virginia’s GOP members of Congress kill me. Take their double standards on health care.

Rep. Randy Forbes of Chesapeake tells the Daily Press of Newport News that he doesn’t want a government-run health care system. “We’re going to end up destroying a very good health-care system,” Forbes said. Rep. Rob Wittman of Montross in Westmoreland County tells the same paper that he’s hearing an “overwhelming hesitancy” to a government-run system.

Rep. Eric Cantor of Richmond agrees. He recently wrote in a Richmond Times-Dispatch that, “the root of the problem is [the Democrats'] House bill’s imposition of the so-called “government option.”

Health Care Reform: It’s Time

If we can’t pass health care reform now, when can we pass it? I hope that as the Senate marks up legislation this week, this time they won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.