Last Sunday, on Meet the Press, Kay Bailey Hutchison spewed one whopper after another about the recently passed Senate health care reform bill. KBH spouted the same fear mongering myths as had John Cornyn in his recent newsletter to his so-called constituents. Kay and John's grotesquely misleading talking points are also a clone of what John Culberson (TX7-TeabaggerR) stated in his pricey and slick brochure.
This week alone I have been bombarded by snail mail and electronic mail from my Texas lawmakers mentioned above. Sadly and outrageously, all of the letters and brochures are filled with nothing but fear mongering tactics and blatant lies.
From Hutchison:
After hearing from constituents over the last several months, some members of Congress have now learned that using the term "government plan" elicits a strong negative from voters (because you have been scaring voters about government for years.) so they have now latched onto a new way to describe the same thing: a co-op. Texans should not be confused by this new packaging of the same idea. The co-op is a back door to a government takeover of our health care. (Really? According to whom? You?) The co-op would be started with federal funds, and it remains unclear whether or not taxpayer dollars would be used if the co-ops begin to fail. The Administration has tried to bail out the banking, housing and auto-industry. Would the co-ops be next?
Wow. Let's talk about an exercise in deceitful fear mongering. This is the first time I have heard about a co-op that would replace the public option and would ultimately become single payer health care. This would be a true dream come true for the American people.
But it ain't going to happen.
Because if a single payer, universal health care reform bill had been introduced there is no way in hell that Republican enabling Lieberman and the three sell-out Democrats known as Blue Dogs would have ever in their dreams voted for the Senate HCR Bill. Like Cornyn and Hutchison, Lieberman and the Blue Dogs serve as major pimps and go to bitches for the insurance industry.
Kay Bailey Hutchison should also remind herself that banking, housing and the auto-industry collapsed under her and her Party's watch. Like most Republicans Kay Bailey has always been in favor of dismantling every living regulatory legislation and she has never supported government oversight, transparency nor checks and balances of any sort.
Based on the mail I have read from Senators Hutchison, Cornyn and my U.S. House Rep. John Culberson, it is obvious that the Republicans are repeating the same lies over and over. The cover of Culberson's brochure reads:
HEALTH CARE TAKEOVER
.
The brochure shows a stethoscope lying on a flag draped on top of a building called:
INSURANCE
A couple of Culberson's bullet pointed lies:
2.5% tax on all individuals who do not purchase government run health care.
8% tax on businesses who cannot afford to purchase government run health care.
Notice how the Republicans frequently use the term government run. They do this to attach a negative and fearful meaning of government. The intended message? The evil government will take over one's life and control one's destiny. The Republican Party has spent years demonizing government run anything b/c they'd rather have the sharks, i.e. their cash cow donors, on Wall St.,in corporate America and the insurance industry to remain permanently in the driver seats.
Let's take a peek at Republican and other pimped out lawmakers willingness to enable corporate greed and corruption.
First up, Culberson's lies. His are only the tip of the iceberg.
Hey dude, I am one of your constituents and quite frankly you are full of stupid nonsense. It is stunning to me that you would include me and other progressives in your district among your special interest groups and deluded teabaggers. I'd venture to suggest that you will have an election challenge in the very near future.
According to Culberson's brochure.
The uninsured should 1. don't get sick or 2. if you do, die quickly.
The Democratic leadership bill, H.R. 3962 costs over $1.2 trillion; contains $729.5 billion in new taxes, adds 111 new offices to the government (jobs anyone?); and creates, expands and extends 43 entitlement programs. (There they go again with their entitlement obsession. Apparently the only ones who are entitled to be entitled are Republicans.) Now here is a really huge whopper: The bill also prohibits the sale of private insurance after 2013; cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare; and exempts members of Congress from the public options but no one else.
If Culberson had really read the bill instead of dancing with teabaggers he would have known that his claim about prohibiting private insurance is a bald faced lie. It is outrageous for Culberson to think he can willfully insult the intelligence of so many of his constituents with such stupid nonsense.
What Republicans are not telling us is the fact that HCR will cut the deficit by $127 billion, coverage will be extended to 94% Americans, 31 million more than have coverage today.
What the heck is wrong with that?
Remember those evil doing non-existent WMDs in Iraq? And Iraq's non-existent ties to Al-Qaeda?
The GOP is promoting health care reform as if it is a WMD. It is one that exists only in their heads.
Our organization helped create a candidate forum to allow citizens of Euless the opportunity to hear from all of the candidates, both incumbent, and challenger, on the issues.
We were able to secure the Euless Fire Fighters Association as a sponsor for the event, as well as have Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram moderate the debate as to make it as fair a venue for everyone.
That said, Right-Wingers Carl Tyson and Veva Lou Massey, known for not showing up to hear from citizens at Town Hall meetings, and other civic venues for citizens to speak out, did not show up to face over 80 Euless voters.
The word is that both candidates were struck with the Joe Lieberman virus. What is this virus you ask? This bug infects elected officials with the sense that they are superior to the people they represent and are therefore entitled to the position they hold. Moreover, how dare you make me face my constituents and...ugh...actually speak to the peasants?!?!
I was simply responding to a comment by KT, but it got a bit long. Therefore, I have a diary entry. I think I'll be cross-posting a variation of this at the Daily Kos, too; for all the good it will do. I've been annoyed with the strong anti-Lieberman movement, and I thought on the night of his minor victory I would express myself in as calm of a manner that I can.
As a disclaimer, let it be said that I would vote for Ned Lamont in the general election. I like his policies better than Lieberman's. In fact, I like Ned Lamont an itsy bit more than Lieberman.
I am not blaming Ned Lamont for what is going to turn out to be more campaigning that Democrats will have to do, or for more money that Democratic activists might have to spend to get a Democrat to be this Senator from Connecticut. Everything he has done has been smart and admirable. All he is trying to do is get a more progressive voice in that particular Senate spot, and he wants that voice to be himself. This is a democracy, so by all means I'm glad he is going for it...
U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman conceded defeat in the Democratic primary just after 11 p.m. in the bitter Connecticut primary.
But Lieberman pledged to continue his candidacy as an independent in the general election in November.
"Incidentally, we are gonna go," Lieberman told supporters at the Hartford Hilton hotel.
Challenger Ned Lamont defeated Lieberman by more than 10,000 votes, according to unofficial vote returns.
"The old politics of partisan polarization one today," Lieberman said. "For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand."
Joe, this isn't Lamont's fault. This is a democracy where people can run in a primary and defeat incumbents. That's part of the deal.
If we are to complain about having a distracting election going into the fall, it's not because Lamont won, it's your fault for not accepting the results of a primary election like anyone else and believe that the world owes him a seat in the Senate. You rank right up there with Tom Delay in the "I own this seat and fuck everyone else" category.
Lamont has beaten the Democratic Party's 2000 Vice Presidential nominee. Lieberman had all the help in the world he could ask for or buy. For his loss, he has no one to blame but himself.
Joe, former Texas Republican Carole Strayhorn would like to officially welcome you, a fellow Party turncoat, into the Independent fold. You can give her a kiss as you join her in defeat this November.
Lieberman's indy bid not only damage Democrats' chances of retaining the seat, but they distract us all from the many opportunities we have in picking up Republican held districts across the country and in Texas.
What can you do to help?
Many Democrats, regardless of whom they supported in the CT primary, stated they would support the Democratic nominee, as is the normal thing to do in elections. In the next few days you can take action to save us all from a distracting Indepedent run.
1. Urge Senate Minority leader Harry Reid to strip Lieberman of all committee assignments. (202) 224-3542
2. Urge the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) to support Ned Lamont as he the Democratic Senate nominee. (202) 224-2447
3. Call your Texas Democratic Congresspersons and ask they support Ned Lamont as the nominee. Directory here.
While you're here (and can't do anything about elections in the NorthEast), read about and donate to the first wave of TexRoots endorsed candidates. Remember, we're behind these guys and believe in them because of your expressed support for them. We fully expect that you'll want to donate to them anyways before November, so why not start today.
But yes, Lieberman is losing the early vote and yes, he did just lose his own precinct. Then again, he may just lie about it and blame it on the Lamont campaign. Oh wait, that would actually be true. Him losing his precinct is the Lamont campaign's fault.
Lamont to Lieberman: "All your base are belong to us!!1"
Also, if you think that 1 vote doesn't matter, then you obviously don't live in the 41st State House District of Connecticut.
State House - District 41 - Dem Primary
4 of 4 Precincts Reporting - 100.00% Name Party Votes Pct Schmidt, Rita Dem 457 34.60 Wright, Elissa Dem 456 34.52 Kindle, Michael Dem 408 30.89
While I'm not sure how our Lieberman delegate and blogging friend Greg Wythe is taking it, it's a dismal day for Joe Lieberman as the former 'next vice-president of the United States' looks to be running away from the Democratic primary in Connecticut.
Washington Post: Facing a stronger-than-expected Democratic primary challenge and sagging poll numbers because of his support of the Iraq war, Sen. Joe Lieberman said Monday he'll collect signatures for an independent campaign if he loses next month's primary.
"While I believe that I will win the Aug. 8 primary, I know there are no guarantees in elections," Lieberman told reporters on the steps of Connecticut's statehouse. "No one really knows how many Democrats will come out to vote on what may be a hot day in August."
It's only July and it seems that someone is feeling the heat a bit early.
I never thought that Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and Carole Keeton Strayhorn in Texas would have something in common. I guess when you can't win a primary, run as an independent!
