March 2008 Archives

Here's a top contender for the most egregious political strategy of the current campaign season:

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The accompanying copy in the mailer is nothing more than a list of untrue assertions and seemingly deliberate misrepresentations of Senator Clinton's positions on health care. It is simply false that Senator Clinton's plan would "force everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it." In fact, Senator Clinton's plan not only includes nearly twice the resources for health care tax credits as the Obama campaign but would cap premiums at a low share of a family's income, to ensure that everyone could afford to be in the system. And according to the Commonwealth Fund, the best way to maximize cost reductions in health care is to make it truly universal, with an individual requirement as part of the shared responsibility needed to make the whole system work.

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You can almost hear the advocates for genuine reform telling the Senator that you can't fix the problems of the uninsured and bring costs under control without making sure that everybody was covered. And there were just two ways to go, the advisers probably pointed out: either a single-payer system, a la Canada, or individual requirements for every citizen to buy coverage. The latter approach, of course, would also need serious cost controls, big-time regulation of health insurance practices and subsidies to help low-income families. This is the direction that Hillary Clinton and John Edwards took.

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Obama is left in the extraordinary position of now having to defend a position that most progressives would never embrace -- in essence leaving large numbers of people without health care. And to top it off, he's now attacking universal health care and making a reincarnated Harry and Louise to do the dirty work. I suspect that many Democrats will simply see this as a desperate "go Republican" strategy that could have the unintended consequence of setting back the cause of universal health care.

Dr. Redlener is professor of clinical public health and pediatrics at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He is also co-founder (with singer Paul Simon) of the Children's Health Fund (CHF), an organization providing comprehensive medical care to severely underserved children in 21 of the nation's most disadvantaged urban and rural communities. Operation Assist, created by Dr. Redlener in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to provide health and mental health care to children in the Gulf utilizing a fleet of seven mobile medical units. The CHF is also a well-respected advocacy force representing the needs of children at the federal and state levels of government.

NAFTA-gate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvCEFmKAoB4

On RACE

"How Barack Obama played the race card and blamed Hillary Clinton" from The New Republic, Sean Wilentz

Obama's history as an Illinois state senator

For 6 years of his 7 year tenure "Obama backed legislation that went nowhere; bill after bill died in committee. During those six years, Obama, too, would have had difficulty naming any legislative achievements."

In 2002, IL Dems controlled both legislative chambers and the governor's office. Then "Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills."
"I don't consider it bill jacking," Hendon told me. "But no one wants to carry the ball 99 yards all the way to the one-yard line, and then give it to the halfback who gets all the credit and the stats in the record book."

"On the stump, Obama has frequently invoked his experiences as a community organizer on the Chicago South Side in the early 1990s....

"as a state senator, Obama evaded leadership on a host of critical community issues, from historic preservation to the rapid demolition of nearby public-housing projects, according to many South Siders.

"Even many of his staunchest supporters, such as Black, still resent the strong-arm tactics Obama employed to win his seat in the Illinois Legislature. Obama hired fellow Harvard Law alum and election law expert Thomas Johnson to challenge the nominating petitions of four other candidates .... he knocked off all the contenders. He won the seat unopposed."

source:Barack Obama and Me, Houston Press

 the quarrel between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton came down to a matter of direct objects. Both "reject" and "denounce" are transitive verbs -- they act upon a direct object -- but the candidates weren't talking about the same objects. The object of Mr. Obama's denunciation was Mr. Farrakhan's opinions, particularly his anti-Semitic comments, whereas Mrs. Clinton was urging her opponent to reject the minister's support. The thrust of Mrs. Clinton's challenge was that her opponent was merely highlighting a particular disagreement with Mr. Farrakhan, while still accepting his -- and his organization's -- backing.

To make the distinction even sharper, suppose, hypothetically, that Mr. Farrakhan had given money to the Obama campaign. In that situation, could Mr. Obama argue that denouncing Mr. Farrakhan's views was just as good as rejecting his donation? Presumably not, as he would still face calls to return the check.source: NYT, The Object of His Rejection, Adam Freedman

Health care policy has been debated and discussed in great detail. In an economic context, Clinton's American Health Choices Plan provides a mandatory path to universal health care for all, ensures coverage is not denied because of preexisting conditions, and gives small businesses a tax credit for health care coverage. By widening the pool of coverage, it is more likely to be implemented by health insurance companies, create additional competition amongst them, and thereby possibly reduce rates.
Obama says his plan would provide universal health care, though not mandatorily, and reduce family premiums by $2,500 per year (though it's hard to see how he can commit to that number, an average 30% premium reduction). His plan would be available to the self employed, small businesses, and all children, and would also not turn anyone away for preexisting conditions. In place of a New Deal type of government-mandated inclusion, it utilizes a government watchdog, establishing a National Health Insurance Exchange to oversee plan fairness and standards, and increase competition amongst insurers.

Although stories about reproductive health and politicization of science have made headlines recently, stories of how these problems are solved are less often told. On August 31, 2005 I resigned my position as Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because the agency was not allowed to make its decisions based on the science or in the best interests of the public's health. While my resignation was widely covered by the media, it would have been a hollow gesture were there not leaders in Congress who stepped in and demanded more accountability from the FDA. Today, women are able to access emergency contraception, a safe, second chance option for preventing unintended pregnancy in a timely manner without a prescription. Senator Clinton is the leader that made this happen, and I can tell the story from having watched it unfold.

I have been working to improve health care for women and families in America for nearly 20 years. In 2000, I became the Director of Women's Health for the FDA. I was rather quietly doing my job when the debate began in 2003 over whether or not emergency contraception should be providedover-the-counter (OTC). As a scientist, I knew the facts showed that this medication, which can be used after a rape or other emergency situations, prevents an unwanted pregnancy. It does not cause an abortion, but can help prevent the need for one. But it only works if used within 72 hours and sooner is even better. Since it is completely safe, and many women find it impossible to get a doctor's appointment within two to three days, making emergency contraception available to women without a prescription was simply the right thing to do. As an FDA employee, I knew it should have been a routine approval within the agency.

Plan B emergency contraception is just like birth control pills - it is not the "abortion pill," RU-486, and most people in the United States don't think access to safe and effective contraception is controversial. Sadly, in Congress and in the White House, there are many people who do oppose birth control. And although this may surprise you, this false "controversy" not only has affected emergency contraception, but also caused the recent dramatic increase in the cost of birth control pills on college campuses, and limited family planning services across the country. The reality is that having more options for contraception helps each of us make our own decisions in planning our families and preventing unwanted pregnancies. This is something we can all agree on.

Meanwhile, inside the walls of the FDA in 2003-2004, the Bush administration continued to throw road blocks at efforts to approve emergency contraception over the counter. When this struggle became public, I was struck by the leadership that Hillary Clinton displayed. She used the tools of a US Senator and fought ardently to preserve the FDA's independent scientific decision making authority. Many other senators and congressmen agreed, but she was the one who took the lead, saying she simply wanted the FDA to be able to make decisions based on its public health mission and on the medical evidence.

When it became clear that FDA scientists would continue to be overruled for non-scientific reasons, I resigned in protest in late 2005. I was interviewed by news media for months and traveled around the country hoping that many would stand up and demand that FDA do its job properly. But, although it can help, all the media in the world can't make Congress or a President do the right thing.

Senator Clinton made the difference. The FDA suddenly announced it would approve emergency contraception for use without a prescription for women 18 and older - one day before FDA officials were to face a determined Senator Clinton and her colleague Senator Murray at a Senate hearing in 2006. No one was more surprised than I was. I hope all of those who benefited fromthis decision know that it wouldn't have happened if it had not been for Hillary Clinton.

Sometimes these success stories get lost in the "horse-race stories" about political campaigns and the exposes of taxpayer-funded bridges to nowhere, and who said what to whom. This story of emergency contraception at the FDA is just one story of many. Senator Clinton saw a problem that affected people's lives. She then stood up to the challenge, never wavered and worked to solve it. The challenges we face in health care, our economy, global climate change, and issues of war and peace, need a leader who has those skills and commitment. This is my view.

As a physician and patient advocate, I know the problems with healthcare. Universal healthcare in which everyone is covered and we get rid of the middle-man (the insurance companies) is the solution. But the 2nd