Category: Congress

Health care is a human right. In my own definition of the progressive movement, I count that as a basic progressive principle.

For various reasons, from my own personal perspective, it is simply unacceptable to settle for anything less than true universal health care. Some of those various reasons are my experiences with health care in the United States, as well as those of my friends and family, some of whom have serious or chronic conditions.

In tonight’s EENR for Progress, we look at why we need universal health care, proposals for universal health care, and what progressives can do to achieve it.

Here’s part four of the second round of congressional races.  Earlier parts are here

Florida has 25 representatives: 16 Republicans and 9 Democrats

Filing deadline is May 2, primary is Aug 26

Of the 22 districts with more than 17% veterans, 12 are in Florida; I think this makes Florida an excellent pickup ground – the veterans, traditionally a very solidly Republican group – are tired of the war and tired of being abused by the powers that be.  Remember – Democrats support the troops, Republicans support the war

“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

                         — Congressional oath of office

In the flush of excitement after the November 2006 elections, when Democrats had taken control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years and anything seemed possible, there was much discussion in the progressive blogosphere about the tantalizing prospect of finally holding to account the criminals in the BushCheney administration through the use of the constitutional mechanism of impeachment. (This in spite of the fact that incoming House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi had taken impeachment “off the table” half a year earlier.)

To some who had worked so hard to get Democrats elected to Congress, impeachment seemed the most obvious and necessary thing in the world now that BushCo’s Republican accomplices were no longer in the way to stop it – a natural process that would follow the administration’s criminal misdeeds as surely as night follows day.

Others argued against impeachment. Let’s not focus on the past, they said; we need to move our Democratic agenda forward. If Congress spends all its time on impeachment, it won’t get anything else done. Besides, they would argue, Republicans will spin it that we’re just out for revenge. It will hurt our chances in the 2008 elections. Anyway, we don’t have the votes to guarantee success. Not to mention that the Clinton fiasco cheapened impeachment forever in the minds of the public.

Here’s part three of the second round of congressional races.  Earlier parts are here

Colorado has 7 representatives: 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans.  Filing deadline May 29, primary August 12

Connecticut has 5 representative, 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.  Filing deadline May 3, primary August 12

Delaware has 1 representative, a Republican.  Filing deadline July 25, primary Sept 9

Docudharma Note:  When I set up an account here, I originally intended NOT to simply cross-post my dKos diary.  That said, this is different.  I'm proud to be part of the 24 hours of blogging for Gilda Reed, progressive candidate for Congress from LA-01.  This is my entry in the round-the-clock blogging on dKos:

I was two years old when my family left Methuen, MA, for New Orleans. My mother, a NOLA native, didn't care much for Boston winters. She told my dad she was going back home with us kids and he was welcome to join us. My parents initially rented a house on Bonnabel Blvd., in Old Metairie, then bought a house not far away on Dream Ct. They moved closer to the lake when we outgrew that house, and that's where they lived out their lives.

T. Hale Boggs represented Metairie/Jefferson until his death in 1972. His wife Lindy succeeded him in the LA-02 seat and continued to represent the suburbs until the 1980 redistricting put Metairie/Jefferson in LA-01. There are still more Democrats registered in LA-01 than Republicans. It's just a matter of reminding them that Dems have done better by them historically than Republicans ever have or ever will.

This is what they will remember:

They'll remember the mold that covered the walls when they returned after evacuating for the storm.

They'll remember how they ripped out the walls of the houses they worked most of their lives to build and pay for.

They'll remember how so much of what they owned was carried away by trash collectors as worthless. (BTW, these photos are from my house.)

But most importantly, they'll remember the man who did absolutely nothing to help:

and they won't be too well-disposed towards those who think he did a good job.

Like Steve Scalise.

Gilda's opposition on the Republican side consists of Steve Scalise of Jefferson, Ben Morris of Slidell, and Tim Burns of Covington. Polls indicate that Scalise currently leads this field, with Morris five points behind him. (There is a 33% “Uncertain” in this race.) In spite of the large Uncertain percentage, my money is on Scalise, because the Republican money is on him.

Steve Scalise is 42 years old, from Jefferson, LA. He is married and has one daughter. His degree (from LSU) is in Computer Programming, and he lists his employment as a Computer Systems Analyst with Diamond Data Systems, a Metairie company specializing in DoD work.

In actuality, Scalise is a career politician, having been elected to office for the first time at age 30. He has been a Louisiana State Representative for the past 12 years (District 82). Scalise was unable to stand for a fourth term because of Republican-initiated/supported term limits. In spite of numerous expressions of interest in running for LA-01, Scalise ran for the State Senate (District 9), in the fall of 2007. His opponent in that race, former JP School Board member Polly Thomas (R-Metairie), predicted the exact situation that is unfolding now–that if PBJ were to win the LA-GOV race, Scalise would immediately qualify for LA-01, in spite of not even having been sworn into the office for which he was currently running. Thomas was savagely attacked by Scalise in the campaign for suggesting that he would abandon District 9 (if he were to win LA-01, Scalise would serve in one legislative special session and never represent the district in a regular session). Since the general election for LA-01 is 8-May, Senate 9 will be without representation, since there will be no time for a special election to fill the remaining 90% of Scalise's term.

Scalise is Roman Catholic, a graduate of Archbishop Rummel High School.

Scalise's positions on various issues:

Iraq

Scalise lists “Strong National Defense” as an issue for his campaign, but there is absolutely no reference to the current Middle East wars on his website. The disrespect this does to our troops as well as the intelligence of the voters of LA-01 is incredible.

Guns

Scalise has been the NRA's go-to guy in the LA legislature for over a decade. He has authored legislation for the gun lobby on several occasions, most notably a bill to retroactively prohibit municipalities in the state from suing gun manufacturers.

Abortion

Scalise is pro-life and has a 100% pro-life voting record with the Louisiana Right to Life Federation. The Louisiana Family Forum named Steve Scalise “Outstanding Family Advocate.” The LFF closely aligns themselves with Radical Cleric Dobson and Focus on the Family as well as Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. Favors no exceptions for rape and incest.

Flood Protection

Scalise's campaign website says he supports funding 100-year-storm protection for Southeast Louisiana, yet he stands by the records of his predecessors. His friend David “Diaper Dave” Vitter, and PBJ both fully supported the Cheney Administration's ongoing underfunding of flood control projects for Southeast Louisiana. Scalise offers no explanation for this conflict in his words and actions.

Housing

Opposed re-building of affordable housing initiatives post-storm.

Healthcare

Voted last year to cut 1,532 state jobs from the budget, most coming from the Department of Health and Hospitals. Adamantly opposed to rebuilding Charity Hospital New Orleans, even though it was one of the state's largest employers, teaching hospitals, and the primary source of healthcare for the metro area's uninsured.

Education

Voted last year to cut $177 million in education funding from the state budget. Supports tuition tax deductions for families that have children in parochial schools.

Marriage/Gay Rights

Chief architect of the 2004 “Defense Of Marriage Amendment,” which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The amendment overwhelmingly passed in the legislature and at the polls. It was upheld in several court challenges and is now a part of the state constitution. Supports restricting no-fault divorce.

Voting Rights

Took the lead in deveoping “ballot integrity programs” for the LA Republican Party. The plans included increasing the number of Republican “poll watchers” for the 2002 Landrieu-Terrell Senate race.

Smoker's Rights

Opposed a ban on smoking in Louisiana restaurants (the ban passed and went into effect on January 1, 2007). What is significant about Scalise's opposition is that he did what one of his primary benefactors, the Louisiana Restaurant Association, told him to do. In many states, state-wide smoking bans are welcomed by restaurants, lest a county-by-county patchwork create inequities. In Louisiana, however, restaurants are gambling venues. By banning smoking, video poker players who want to drink, smoke, and gamble, have to go someplace else. That has caused a huge drop in restaurant gambling revenue. Scalise conveys the impression that he is a gambling opponent, but he serves a special interest that has made a lot of money from video poker in the last 15 years.

The Company He Keeps

There are numerous “whispers” floating around Scalise, the sort of stuff that sounds like it comes right out of a Karl Rove-operated campaign. We cannot confirm any of these sorts of allegations at the present time, so we will not dignify them here. No doubt his Republican opponents will pull out those guns before the 3-March closed primary.

Rebuilding Louisiana: Gilda Reed 24-Hour Online Fundraiser

Help us support Kossack Candidate Gilda Reed for Congress in Louisiana's 1st District! She's running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Bobby Jindal. We'll be posting diaries about Gilda for the next 24 hours to raise support and bring attention to her candidacy. Please join us and learn more about this great Democratic candidate!

Donate to Gilda securely via ActBlue.

David Sirota has a very interesting article in the February edition of In These Times. It is also available for viewing online.

While I don’t agree with everything he says in it I think it is a good point to bring up and a fascinating article. In it he talks about why “Empowering Capitol Hill progressives is just as important as presidental campaign platforms.”

It is a good start to the broader discussion of what the end results of each canidate would be. A discussion that should not only include congress and platforms but also electoral coattails and working style among other things. But those will have to later. In this essay I will just be focusing on the arguments Sirota makes.  

I am all for running everywhere, and the 50 state strategy.

But neither we nor the Republicans are running everywhere (at least not yet!) In this series, I will look at where we are not running (I am not going to look at where Republicans are not running, as I have no desire to help Republicans, however modestly)

This diary is partly inspired by the great work done by BENAWU.

crossposted to dailyKos and SwingStateProject

As everyone knows, the NIE (“National Intelligence Estimate”) advised that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.  Bush was aware of this as far back as August, 2007, and probably sooner, if the truth be known.

Nonetheless, nothing has stopped him from continuing his rant about how dangerous Iran is to us and the world.  And in December, 2007, and this month, January, 2008, his efforts increased.

His trip to the Middle East of January 8, 2008, supposedly predicated on a wish to help the peace effort between Palestine and Israel, and a meeting with both leaders (for the first time), also included Kuwait to meet with U.S. troops [to prep them?], Amb. Cocker and Gen. Petraeus and [hold onto your seats] to hold round-table discussion on democracy with Kuwaiti women, Bahrain for meeting with King Hamad and visits with U.S. Navy 5th fleet, United Arab Emirates, to meet with Pres. Sheikh Khalifa and deliver a speech in Abu Dhabi, then to Dubai and to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah, then meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Sharm el-sheikh, Egypt, to meet with Pres. Hosni Mubarak and then return to the U.S. on Jan. 16th.

. . . . Bush hopes to spur negotiations among Israeli and Palestinian leaders vowing to make peace and lay the ground work for two independent states by year’s end. . . . .

and this is the best:

. . . . Bush, also touring several Arab nations, will address more than the role they can play in encouraging reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. He also will explain his vision for democracy in Iraq and his concern about the potential security threat posed by Iran. . . .(emphasis mine)

The article goes on at great length about the so-called efforts Bush hopes to make toward the Israeli – Palestinian conflict and peace negotiations.  Doubt as Bush set to visit Mideast — Chances called slim for breakthroughs as final year begins.  

More:

With the comment, “We were stonewalled by the CIA”, the co-chairmen of the 9/11 Commission once again highlight what is a major problem for the people of this country. We have allowed the current caretakers of our government to do as they wish, say what they want and to do so with no accountability repercussions. They are, literally, getting away with crime. Today, The Huffington Post reports and Glen Greenwald blogizes on the CIA matter.

(Cross-posted on DailyKos, where it has really stirred up the Kossacks.)

Enough is enough.

I spent 20 years of my life working to elect Democratic candidates.  Because that’s how I made my living, and because I believed it would make a difference, I’ve also given regularly to Democratic candidates over the years.

But the list of Dems who might get a check from me just got a lot shorter, after their latest cave-in on Iraq.

If they won’t defund the war, maybe it’s time to defund the Democrats.

There are 70 billion reasons to quit giving — one for every dollar they just appropriated for the Iraq war and occupation.  

Writing it that way makes it seem like too little.  This is better:  $70,000.000,000.00.  That’s how I’d use it in a campaign commercial against one of them in a Democratic primary.

No matter how you write it, it is a lot of money.

Did I mention that it’s with no strings attached?  No requirements to even begin to plan for troop withdrawal.  Nada.  Nothing.  Zip.  Zilch.

Seventy billion.