With hundreds of Texans who attended rallies across Texas yesterday in the wake of Prop 8 being ruled unconstitutional, it's refreshing to see at least a couple of our Democratic leaders stand up and make a point about equality for all citizens. Democratic Lt. Governor nominee Linda Chavez-Thompson tweeted shortly after the ruling.
So glad to hear Prop 8 was overturned today. It was discrimination at its worst. I will keep fighting for equality for all Texans. #equality
Democratic Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston issued the following statement.
"I've always supported marriage equality for all Americans and believe that the U.S. Constitution supports it as well. When Texas passed its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions in 2005, I filed a constitutional amendment to let voters repeal the discriminatory amendment. I'm glad to see that our country continues to move forward. Every year, the public's opinion on marriage equality is more supportive. The law should prohibit discrimination, not sanction it."
Surprisingly, incumbent Republican officials statewide have been oddly silent on the matter. Governor Rick Perry, who was in California at the time of the ruling incidentally, has tweeted nothing other than being in San Francisco. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott who has defended Texas' Proposition 2 banning gay marriage, has been mum. A curious silence for Republicans who usually never miss a chance to bolster their anti-gay credentials in an election year. Not to mention a bit of luck for Bill White who would likely rather not have issue a statement at all on the matter.
On this date in 1965, the last great President from Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, providing medical care for senior citizens and some of the neediest members of our society. In the 45 years since, these programs have helped decrease the poverty level amongst seniors by two-thirds, and have only improved over time in order to meet the needs of those it is designed to help.
Bad-ass defender of our social safety net and all-star legislator Representative Garnet Coleman had this to say about today's auspicious historical date:
"It's hard to believe that a program so essential to the health of our seniors and individuals with disabilities was once controversial and decried with shouts of socialism.
"Forty five years ago, many seniors and Americans with disabilities were given an opportunity to continue to live with dignity. When President Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, he gave a safety net to seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low income children.
"The new health care law is closing the Medicare doughnut hole. No thanks to the 'just say no camp', seniors have received $250 checks to help to pay for their medications. Our country needs to keep looking forward and continue to improve Americans' access to quality health care. We can't let Republicans take us backwards."
Coleman has been an unstoppable advocate for the health reforms passed into law and signed by President Obama. These reforms make Medicare and Medicaid work even more effectively for those who desperately rely, who literally live or die based on their access to care through these programs.
Specifically, the health reform bill phases out the Medicare prescription coverage gap known as the doughnut hole. In July, seniors began receiving $250 checks to help offset high prescription cost. By January, the health care law will close the doughnut hole by 50 percent, and by 2020 it will close the gap in coverage completely.
It's great to know that our Seniors are one step closer to not having to choose between paying the electric bill and buying their medications, or forced to cut pills in half to try and stretch out the time between refills.
Of course, to this day Republicans have tried to weaken or block these reforms, lower reimbursement rates, and make it increasingly difficult for Americans to access the health care they need. It is unfortunate that the Republicans continue to care more about the big insurance companies' profit margins than working Americans' ability to see a doctor.
So an extra thanks to Garnet Coleman for championing health reform, and thanks to the late, great LBJ for having the wisdom and foresight to implement these programs so that Americans can be one step closer to having reliable, affordable access to quality health care.
I thought his statement was extremely good, so I've decided to reproduce it in full below:
Born a Suspect
"Life is crazy, sometimes I hate life. Know why? Because I was born a suspect. All black people are born a suspect. I came out my momma's stomach, anything that happened within a 3 block radius, I was a suspect." --Chris Rock, "Born Suspect"
Chris Rock uses humor to illustrate a sentiment felt by many people of color in this country. This is the sad, sorry legacy of Jim Crow laws that were meant to divide and suppress a group of people, and it will be the legacy for Latinos if laws like the ones in Arizona are allowed to stand.
Under Arizona's stringent anti-immigrant legislation, a person can be born a suspect because the law now makes their ethnicity "reasonably suspicious."
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Arizona law. I'm proud of the Department of Justice for stepping in to stop legislation that will create a sense of terror for many residents of Arizona. I'm fully opposed to Arizona's misguided law because it will erode the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents who look a certain way. As an African American, I'm all too familiar with the effects of racial profiling and the strain that it places between law enforcement and communities.
Besides being morally reprehensible, the Arizona law will take precious resources from law enforcement and drive a wedge between police and communities of color. I'm grateful to our federal government for clearly stating that legislation that encourages racial profiling and puts U.S. citizens in harm's way is not welcome anywhere in our country.
I'm hopeful that this lawsuit will dissuade other states from mirroring Arizona's ill-advised and unconstitutional law. Fortunately, leaders in Texas from both parties have spoken against Arizona's immigration law, making it clear that it does not belong on our books. Texas is not Arizona.
Click here to read the press release sent by the Department of Justice on the lawsuit.
Today, Arizona's governor signed into law a bigoted, narrow-minded immigration bill that will make non-white (especially Latino) residents into second-class citizens, subject to racial profiling. The bill will also undermine public safety, as law enforcement will be forced to spend their days asking minorities for their papers, rather than focusing on real safety issues in Arizona communities.
The Center for American Progress has details on the bill:
The law essentially legalizes racial profiling:
The law puts communities of color in the crosshairs by requiring state and local government workers to determine if a person is illegally in the United States based on a "reasonable suspicion."
Legal experts maintain that the law will result in racial profiling, as it does not prohibit police officers from relying on race or ethnicity in deciding who to investigate.
The law undercuts the Constitution and imbues local police with federal authority:
Arizona is attempting to grant local police arrest authority for administrative violations of federal immigration law, even though the state police does not even have that authority under federal law.
The measure does not require the local police to have a search warrant or even suspect that some illegal action has occurred.
The law criminalizes the solicitation of work even though courts have previously ruled that the solicitation of work is protected speech under the First Amendment.
The law will harm the state and local economies:
The Texas-based Perryman Group calculated that if all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Arizona, the state would lose $26.4 billion in economic activity, $11.7 billion in gross state product, and approximately 140,324 jobs.
The Immigration Policy Center noted that, "with Arizona facing a budget deficit of more than $3 billion," the new law will "further imperil the state's economic future."
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and other local leaders anticipate a drop in new business ventures in the state because of the harsh new law.
The law will be expensive and take cops away form community policing:
The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police firmly opposes the law for fiscal and public safety reasons, noting that fear of government officials will diminish the public's willingness to cooperate with police in criminal investigations and will "negatively affect the ability of law enforcement agencies across the state to fulfill their many responsibilities in a timely manner."
Local taxpayers will bear the heavy costs of lengthy court litigation.
The costs to arrest, detain, process, and transport undocumented immigrants out of Arizona will drain local government treasuries. ... If the federal government were to handle the entire undocumented population, the cost would be approximately $23,482 per person, based on a recent study by the Center for American Progress.
State Representative Garnet Coleman released a statement on this horrible bill, which puts naked bigotry ahead of public safety and sound public policy:
This bill is reminiscent of dark times in our country's history when people were targeted based on the color of their skin. With the stroke of her pen, Governor Brewer has mandated racial profiling. The citizenship of Americans who have lived in Arizona for generations will be questioned based on their appearance.
Instead of focusing on stopping crime, Arizona police officers will be forced to sweep up students, gardeners and nannies who have committed no crimes. Immigrants who witness crimes will be too afraid to report them, therefore turning immigrant communities into safe havens for criminals.
It's unfortunate that the Republican party continues to use this community as scapegoats to rally parts of their base. This is bad public policy that no state should mirror. I'm thankful that responsible legislators and people of good will at the federal level are taking a hard look at this issue, and I encourage them to pass a sensible comprehensive immigration reform bill as soon as possible.
Shame on Arizona. Yet again, another terrible Republican Governor makes their state the subject of nationwide scorn and derision.
Former New York Governor went on Fox 7 Austin's morning show to discuss his opposition to health care reform. Sitting opposite him was State Representative Garnet Coleman. It's almost not a fair fight, as the video below shows:
For those who don't have time to watch the whole thing, here's what happens: Pataki starts off with two minutes straight of talking points. They are the same as every member of the Party of No says every day. Then Rep. Coleman got to speak. Here's what he said, along with Pataki's immediate affirmative response:
Garnet Coleman: This bill stops the prevention of people having health care coverage for their preexisting conditions. And clearly Texas benefits, because we get $190 billion over the next ten years. Our costs within the 10-year period of the authorization of the bill is $1.5 billion, and less than $13 billion in the next ten years after the Medicaid expansions start in 2014. So this is a good bill for Texas and a good bill for America.
Clearly, if you are a parent and you have children, your children can stay on until your own health coverage until they are 26 years old, and many families like that. And the other pieces that are extremely important are that people will have an opportunity to have insurance that have never have, and that's clearly a benefit. Plus, there's something called recision, where people are working, they have health insurance at their company, and all of a sudden they are kicked off their health insurance only because they have an illness that supposedly costs more money than the employer or the insurance company is willing to bear, and that's just not right.
Interviewer: Governor, let me ask you -- is it not fair to say get the bill through and tweak it as they go, the basic provisions seem to be sound?
George Pataki: No, the basic provisions are not sound. The Representative just very eloquently laid out three very good provisions in this bill, and that's why we're saying repeal it and replace it with real health care reform. Pre-existing conditions should be dealt with -- you are correct about that. The ability of an insurance company to just drop someone because they might all of a sudden become expensive is wrong -- that should be contained in health care. Having children stay on logner is a good provision that should be a part of health care reform as well.
Well which is it, Governor? You can't say none of the provisions are good -- and then go through and list all of the provisions Rep. Coleman laid out and agree with them. I know hypocrisy is the strong suit of Republicans and their talking points, but I mean -- wow!
Meanwhile, after his morning interview, Pataki joined almost all of Texas' most prominent Republicans -- including Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, and Senator Dan Patrick -- for a "Repeal and Replace" health care reform rally.
The crowd -- with all those prominent Republicans -- was in the tens of tens:
Today could mark the most important day for health care in America in a generation. The United States House of Representatives is preparing to vote on health care reform today -- legislation that would have a tremendously positive impact on Texas.
State Representative Garnet Coleman chairs the Legislative Study Group. (Note: He is my former boss). For the past year, Rep. Coleman has worked tirelessly on the health care reform legislation, spending days and weeks on end helping with the legislation and lobbying for its passage. Late last night, he sent out CBO estimates on the impact the legislation will have on Texas.
You can view a pdf of the letter here. I've copied the entire LSG report below, but here are the highlights:
A million Texans will be added through an expansion of Medicaid, with 100% of the costs of new enrollees covered until 2018, then reduced to 90% by 2020.
Over the ten-year timeline of the bill, Texas will spend $1.4 billion -- the bulk of those dollars after 2014. Over the same period of time, Texas is expected to receive $120 billion from the federal government.
Most of Texans 5.9 million uninsured citizens will gain health insurance, and those who are insured will earn the benefits of historic insurance reform.
Health insurance reform will provide immediate relief to Texas families by preventing insurance companies from inexplicably and excessively raising their rates. It will cap the amount of money an individual can spend on out-of-pocket expenses, eliminate lifetime and unreasonable annual limits on benefits and ensure that families aren't driven into debt by health care costs. Additionally, it will stop insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and prohibit insurance companies from kicking people off their policies when they're sick and need it most.
Below is the full text of the LSG Policy Update about the CBO projections:
With the United States House of Representatives poised to take a vote on health care reform tomorrow (Sunday, 3/21/10), we wanted to provide you with some data on the expected financial impact on Texas state government.
Congressman Henry Cuellar provided us with a letter from Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The Chairman responds to an inquiry from Congressman Cuellar on the fiscal impact of the Medicaid provisions in health reform on the State of Texas.
The House will take two main votes tomorrow: one on final passage of health insurance reform, and one on a sidecar reconciliation bill that improves upon the main legislation. Taken together, these measures will have an historic impact on our country and especially in Texas where almost 28 percent of the population is uninsured.
One important provision is the Medicaid expansion that will bring a million Texans living at or near the poverty level into coverage. Currently, Texas covers parents with incomes up to 26 percent of federal poverty level (FPL). The legislation will increase that to 133 percent of FPL while covering 100 percent of the costs of new enrollees until 2018, then stairstepping down the reimbursement level to 90 percent by 2020.
There have been various estimates of the proposed impact on the Texas state budget - Congressman Cuellar's letter sheds some light on the projected state impact as viewed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). To begin with, the legislation under consideration would be in effect for ten years - through the end of 2019 - at which point Congress would have to reauthorize it. Going on the timeline of the bill (2010 - 2019), Texas should expect to spend around $1.4 billion over ten years, the bulk of which would not come until after the changes go into effect, after 2014.
This stands in contrast to estimates by HHSC you may have seen cited in the press that peg the cost at approximately $24 billion. That estimate is on a different timeline: going from 2014 - 2023, or four years past the legislation's life. It also includes approximately $6 billion in possible cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding that is generally used to compensate hospitals that perform uncompensated care. The HHSC estimate also does not include many of the provisions in the proposed reconciliation improvement bill - for instance, Medicaid DSH reductions are smaller in the Medicaid bill. The CBO projects a $1.2 billion reduction in DSH funds over the course of the legislation (2010-2019).
All told, Texans and Texas state government stand the chance to benefit greatly from federal healthcare reform legislation. Most of the 5.9 million uninsured Texans will gain health insurance, all insured Texans will gain protection from the worst practices of the insurance industry, and Texas will likely receive over $120 billion in federal dollars.
Economist Ray Perryman noted that spending on CHIP and Medicaid has a 3.25 multiplier effect - meaning every dollar spent generates 3.25 times that amount in economic activity. The legislation has the potential to create jobs and boost economic activity in our state while also ensuring the health and well being of all its citizens.
Thank you again to Congressman Cuellar for passing along Chairman Waxman's analysis. You can view a pdf of the letter here.
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." — Frederick Douglass
Today, Rep. Coleman sent out an e-mail celebrating the one-year authorization of SCHIP reauthorization. With all the attention on what President Obama and Congress has done (and hasn't done) the last year, it is easy to lose sight of the real work that was accomplished with the election of a Democrat to the White House.
Rep. Coleman (who I had the privilege to work for during the 80th Regular Session in 2007) has never lost sight of the real work, and his e-mail today reminds us of how important re-authorizing CHIP was, especially for a state like Texas. From his e-mail:
Today marks the first anniversary of President Obama's reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The expansion of the program was crucial to providing health insurance to children from working families, and is expected to cut the number of uninsured children in our country by half in the coming years.
The reauthorization of the program was one of President Obama's first orders of business upon taking office and was particularly meaningful after President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar legislation. President Obama called the expansion a down payment on quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
In Texas, 495,781 children rely on CHIP to access health care. January was the only month that Texas' enrollment levels exceeded 500,000 since 2003, when Republican lawmakers instituted enrollment barriers that purged hundreds of thousands of eligible children from the program. The federal government gives Texas $2.52 for every $1 we invest in the program.
During the 81st Legislative Session, I authored legislation to increase enrollment in and public awareness of CHIP. My bill would have insured an estimated 80,000 Texas children from working families by allowing their parents to buy in to the program. Despite bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, political action by the Governor, conservative Republicans, and Senate leaders caused this bill to die in a Senate committee. As one of the original authors of CHIP in Texas, I will continue to work to eliminate the red tape that keeps eligible children from receiving health care.
Today, we have 495,781 reasons to thank President Obama.
Rep. Coleman, as he notes, was one of the original authors of CHIP in Texas. Since then, he has championed it at every step of the way -- crafting legislation and drafting amendments for legislation to restore the devastating cuts and policies enacted by Rick Perry, David Dewhurst, and Texas Republicans in 2003. As he (and all of us) give thanks today to President Obama for his leadership on this issue, let's remember to thank our leaders in Texas, too.
Our money’s on Perry as the victor in the March primary, if only for the anti-Washington sentiment swirling around the state. But he won’t emerge unscathed. As the primary takes its toll on his public image, doors open for the likely Democratic candidate, well-liked Houston Mayor Bill White, whose energy and planning initiatives, along with his economic management, have won him broad favor. By building a coalition of Hispanics, independents, and moderate Republicans from Texas’s growing, more Democrat-friendly urban centers, White will waltz into the governor’s mansion. But just barely.
Along with their prediction, they post the following video from PBS Houston:
Secondly, White received the endorsement of three House Democratic leaders today -- State Representatives Garnet Coleman, Jim Dumman, and Pete Gallego. The three issued the following joint-statement:
We are excited to partner with Bill White in his campaign to bring leadership to our state and meet Texas’ tough economic challenges. In Rick Perry’s decade of failure, our state’s budget has given away millions in special interest hand-outs when we should have been investing in sensible solutions that benefit everyday Texans. Texas needs leaders who put partisanship aside and let government work for the best interests of its people, and Bill White will do that as Governor.
Reps. Coleman, Dunnam, and Gallego released individual statements of support, as well. Each focused on economic issues -- an encouraging sign, to be sure. All three House Democrats have led the fight for public policy throughout the decade, and if they are coming out on White's behalf to challenge Perry on economic issues, then we should expect that -- at least at the top of the ticket -- we will have a true policy discussion on the economic challenges Perry has laid before the state.
With the announcement that Tom Schieffer is officially out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary, several of his highest-profile Democratic supporters released a statement today. From Representatives Garnet Coleman of Houston, Jim Dunnam of Waco, Jessica Farrar of Houston and Pete Gallego of Alpine (emphasis mine):
"We thank Tom for his steadfast support of Democratic principles, and the sacrifices that he and his wife have made over the last eight months as they traveled across Texas, addressing our states' crisis of leadership.
"We were proud to endorse Tom to serve as the next governor of Texas because he was willing to address issues and concerns that are important to Texas families - public education, jobs, children's health insurance, rising college tuition, energy, protecting the environment and transportation.
"The Democratic Party is still the only one that offers a chance for real change in Texas. Texans still deserve better than one Republican who wants to be governor for life and another who thinks the governor's mansion is a retirement home.
"We look forward to moving our state forward and redoubling our efforts to bring real leadership back to the state of Texas."
These four elected officials are tremendous progressive leaders in the statehouse. Their support of Schieffer carried significant weight, and perhaps prevented many Democrats from initially dismissing the Bush-voting former representative. As the race progresses, it will be interesting to see where their support moves. Previously, Reps. Coleman, Farrar, and Gallego had endorsed Mayor Bill White in his Senatorial bid.
Currently, with White not yet officially in the race and Shami and Gilbert averring that they will stay in the race, these become strong endorsements of the person who may be perceived as the next "establishment candidate," given the clout and respect these four carry amongst the progressive community.
Keep your eyes peeled, folks! This one is far from over just yet.
Compared to the Rick Perry vs. Kay Bailey Hutchison primed up bloodbath, attackfest, the Democratic ticket has been quiet and to a lesser degree, boring. Things have been so slow, bloggers and activists have started draft movements for Senators Leticia Van De Putte and Kirk Watson and former Austin District Attorney Ronnie Earle.
In the past 24 hours, there has been movement in the Governor's race on the Democratic side.
Yesterday, potential Agriculture Commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert announced he was interested in the top job instead. Today, Tom Schieffer show significant signs of life in the same place he started his race 6 months ago. Even Kinky Friedman sent an email out to his campaign list for the first time in months today.
State Representatives Garnet Coleman, Jim Dunnam, Jessica Farrar, and Pete Gallego joined Senfronia Thompson in endorsing Ambassador Schieffer.
"I am gratified by this broad base of Democratic support," Schieffer said. "These leaders have long been in the forefront - often fighting against strong Republican opposition - of efforts to improve education, make quality health care available to more Texans, improve our transportation system and lower insurance rates and utility bills. Together, we can reverse this race to the bottom and improve the quality of life for Texas families."
These endorsements represent an interesting cross section in the Texas House. Besides representing diverse parts of the state, each is a distinct leader in the state legislature.
Coleman chairs the Legislative Study Group, a nonpartisan caucus dedicated to the development of sound public policy for Texas families. Dunnam chairs the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, which played a key role in allocating federal stimulus dollars during the recent legislative session. Farrar is the current chair of the House Democratic Caucus and the founder and vice chair of the Women's Health Caucus and founder and secretary of the House Environmental Caucus. Gallego is a former chair of the House Democratic Caucus and former chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus.
When Burnt Orange Report met with Schieffer in July we talked half the time about his Democratic credentials and half the time about policy. The elected officials endorsed him spent the entire time talking about Schieffer's qualifications and drawing a strong comparison between the Ambassador and his Republican counter parts, but the discussion of Democratic credentials were front and center.
"We are proud to endorse Ambassador Tom Schieffer to serve as the next governor of Texas because he is addressing issues and concerns that are important to Texas families - public education, jobs, children's health insurance, rising college tuition, energy, protecting the environment and transportation," Coleman said. "Tom Schieffer is going to be the next governor of Texas because he cares about solving real problems for Texas families."
Jim Dunnam made his statement after Coleman.
"Democrats across Texas can be proud to support Tom Schieffer - a fellow, lifelong Democrat who has never missed voting in a Democratic primary since he was old enough to vote in 1968," said Dunnam, the House Democratic Leader.
"Tom's service to our country during the previous administration doesn't change that," Dunnam added. "Texans deserve better than one Republican who wants to be governor for life and another who thinks the governor's mansion is a retirement home. That is why Democrats across the state will unite behind Tom Schieffer."
During press questions, Rep. Dunnam added, "we aren't a litmus test party. For us to have a candidate who is independently minded is positive."
"Tom Schieffer will be the next governor of Texas because he is a proven leader, not an ideologue," Gallego said. "His successful record as a lawyer, businessman and diplomat proves he will bring people together from across the political spectrum and put the needs of Texas and Texans ahead of narrow partisan and ideological interests."
Of course the question was asked whether Schieffer's Democratic credentials were a concern to any of the endorsers. None of them said it was an issue. Garnet Coleman went as far as to say that he couldn't disagree with any person who voted for a friend and business partner. Senfronia Thompson added her belief many Democrats have voted for a Republican but Schieffer was one of the few to be honest about it. Dunnam followed up with the fact he viewed it as a strength.
Will that stop the question? Only time will tell but now there is a chorus standing behind Schieffer and the backing of the House leaders allowed him to sum up how he will approach this race.
"This is the Democratic Party's first opportunity to win in a long time. The Republican Party has been bankrupt by its leader," Schieffer said. Nobody is entitled to anything. You have to earn it."
Questions may still exist about Schieffer, but with a Democratic primary looming and a campaign being organized, voters and activist may get their answers sooner than later.
