(very important, get involved today! - promoted by Matt Glazer)
82% of Americans think our health care system needs a "major overhaul." On top of that, over 90% of Americans [pdf] think the next President and Congress should improve the quality and affordability of health care.
With the worsening economy continuing to be the top issue for most Americans, this hope for change isn't hard to understand. American health care spending is projected to reach a full 1/5th of our GDP by 2015, which means by then, we'll be spending twenty cents of every dollar we make on health care. Health care premiums have risen 86% between 2000 and 2006 while wages only rose 20%, putting the strain on working families. Health care costs continue to be the #1 cause of bankruptcy in America.
"Rapidly rising health care costs are not simply a federal budget problem," the GAO report says. "Growth in health-related spending is the primary driver of the fiscal challenges facing state and local governments as well. Unsustainable growth in health care spending also threatens to erode the ability of employers to provide coverage to their workers and undercuts their ability to compete in a global marketplace."
Quite simply, with rising health care costs (including $50 billion per year to pay for insurance industry advertising) being born out by working families and American businesses, health care is a top economic concern. To keep American workers at their best, and to keep American business competitive in the world, something has to change.
Nancy Pelosi has recently declared health care expansion to be #2 on her list of legislative priorities, right after ending the Iraq war. In the past month, tens of thousands of Americans have told us they want quality, affordable health care for all. Now it's time to ask Congress.
So, Congress, which side are you on? Are you with us for quality, affordable health care for all? Or are you with the insurance companies, working to preserve our broken system?
We've set up a quick and easy way for you to contact your Members of Congress and ask them if they support our vision for health care reform. Just click here and enter in your phone number and address. Choose the elected official you want to talk to and in a few moments, we'll call your phone and connect you automatically.
Over the next few weeks, we want to make 100,000 calls to Congress, asking every Member which side they are on. We need your help to do it, so please click here to call!
Once your done with your call, tell us what happened so we can keep track of where Congress stands. As of today, we're proud to announce Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), are with us. The rest, so far, are unknown. You can see the full list here.
Health care is a priority for the American people. It's a priority for Nancy Pelosi. It's up to us to make sure it's a priority for Congress as well. Please take a moment, call your Members of Congress, and ask them which side they are on.
Oh, and if you have a blog or website, you can help spread the word about this campaign by embedding the widget you see above on your site. Just copy and paste the code here.
(The Responsible Plan was announced last night at Take Back America. It is a smart proposal to responsibly end the war in Iraq, and Rick Noriega is the responsible choice to represent us in Washington D.C. - promoted by Matt Glazer)
The Plan is a two-pronged strategy. First and foremost, it is a comprehensive set of ideas and concrete policy proposals to get America out of Iraq quickly, safely, and responsibly. It draws heavily from the mostly ignored Iraq Study Group Report and it points to specific bills in Congress that can be passed today to end the war in the right way.
"The Responsible Plan To End The War In Iraq" is not only good policy, it's good strategy too. With 10 candidates all signed on to one specific plan (and hopefully with more to come), you have the beginnings of a real anti-war voting block in Congress. If these members get elected while promoting this plan vocally and visibly, they will have an unimpeachable mandate when they get to Washington. Because this plan involves more than one candidate, there will be stronger pressure not to cave or compromise when the tough votes come up on the floor.
Rick is running for Senate to responsibly end the war and bring our troops safely home, with a phased military re-deployment that responsibly extracts our forces from Iraq’s civil wars, and brings home the funding spent on the war to invest in education and health care.
This is the Plan’s mission, too:
The U.S. does not have enough troops to remain in Iraq at the current levels indefinitely. The limitations on troop availability will demand some drawdown in the short term.29 While the current administration and its allies may seek to portray a return pre-surge troop levels as the beginning of a military withdrawal, it is not enough to reduce troop levels to pre-surge levels. We must end the presence in Iraq of U.S. troops.
This should be accomplished based on planning provided by our military leadership; the safety of our remaining troops during the drawdown period is of utmost importance. Moreover, the drawdown of troops must be coordinated with increased civil and economic assistance, and executed in such a way as to contain the threat of terrorism and prevent an abrupt destabilization of the region.
Noriega has endorsed, in his own words, many key points of the Plan. The Plan places a high premium on nation-building and diplomacy, especially dialouge with Iraq’s neighbors, to help end the war. Noriega believes in diplomacy too:
The past eight years of foreign policy has demonstrated that isolationist approaches are really not productive, even with international bad actors like Syria and Iran. We need to recommit ourselves to diplomacy. I support the bipartisan Iraq Study Group’s view that we need to engage our adversaries in aggressive diplomatic efforts to resolves conflicts and differences. Diminishing the United States as an international influence has not been productive in terms of the state of the world.
The Plan also includes numerous proposals to help prevent “future Iraqs” from ever happening again. These proposals include restoring habeas corpus and supporting our troops with adequate veterans programs, two things Noriega slammed his opponent John Cornyn on:
“Yesterday, [John Cornyn] voted against restoring the Constitution’s basic right of habeas corpus. Yesterday, he voted against the Webb-Hagel amendment, legislation that would have provided a safety net for our troops, requiring that they spend as much time at home with their families as they spend deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. And today? He’s wasting the Senate’s and the people’s time by introducing a resolution about MoveOn.org’s ad!
Here is Noriega again, championing veteran’s healthcare and responsible redeployment, two things at the heart of the Plan:
While I have sacrificed, Cornyn rejected responsible troop deployment limits, twice voted against increased funding for veteran health care, against funding for armored vehicles, and against protecting soldiers’ civilian salaries while they’re serving in Iraq.
On Christmas morning 2004, outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, my buddies and I drove to our base camp to use the computers. We wanted to be with our kids when they woke up that Christmas. To get there we drove through a near ambush-anytime we drove on the Jalalabad Road, it was risky, and we had an incident on our way.
That Christmas morning, I suspect the government listened to our conversations. They occurred between two countries; Afghanistan and the US. They probably didn't realize the difference in tone in my voice as I spoke to my wife and children that morning as my heart raced still from our encounter on the road. My wife did.
I fought to defend our country and our constitution in Afghanistan. I fought for the right to privacy for every Texan. Mr. Cornyn must now stand up for the privacy of every Texan and American too. We as a nation cannot grant anyone sweeping amnesty if they violated the law.
Americans understand the need for safety and the need for intelligence gathering. What they will not accept is an abuse of power, of crossing the line on American's privacy.
I would join Sen. Dodd in opposition to any retroactive provisions that allow a "get out of jail card" for violating the Constitution. If Mr. Cornyn had ever had the opportunity to have his Christmas conversation listened to by the government, on a day that he feared for his life in a convoy on Jalalabad Road, he would do the same."
Moreover, a national clean energy initiative would provide an immense new number of jobs and economic development that would rival the technology boom of the recent past.
This Plan is good policy, and the more candidates that sign on, the more powerful the mandate. Rick Noriega has already endorsed this plan in so many words. He should be the first Senate candidate to join this initiative.
If you agree, email his campaign. Tell him to formally endorse “The Responsible Plan To End The War In Iraq.”
Lost among all the Obama/Clinton pie fights was the Texas Senate primary race. Rick Noriega not only won the primary, but passed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. With the primary behind him, the people-powered Noriega campaign can take on Bush lap-dog John Cornyn with full force.
"Without these critical tools, U.S. intelligence officials would be blind and deaf to the important information that allows them to detect our enemies and deter attacks against Americans and our allies. So I'm encouraged that the Senate finally overcame the partisan obstacles and delays to pass this important wartime legislation to help keep Americans safe. And I urge the House to pass this bipartisan legislation swiftly."
Here's Noriega's:
"On Christmas morning 2004, outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, my buddies and I drove to our base camp to use the computers. We wanted to be with our kids when they woke up that Christmas. To get there we drove through a near ambush–anytime we drove on the Jalalabad Road, it was risky, and we had an incident on our way.
That Christmas morning, I suspect the government listened to our conversations. They occurred between two countries; Afghanistan and the US. They probably didn't realize the difference in tone in my voice as I spoke to my wife and children that morning as my heart raced still from our encounter on the road. My wife did.
I fought to defend our country and our constitution in Afghanistan. I fought for the right to privacy for every Texan. Mr. Cornyn must now stand up for the privacy of every Texan and American too. We as a nation cannot grant anyone sweeping amnesty if they violated the law.
Americans understand the need for safety and the need for intelligence gathering. What they will not accept is an abuse of power, of crossing the line on American's privacy.
I would join Sen. Dodd in opposition to any retroactive provisions that allow a "get out of jail card" for violating the Constitution. If Mr. Cornyn had ever had the opportunity to have his Christmas conversation listened to by the government, on a day that he feared for his life in a convoy on Jalalabad Road, he would do the same."
By avoiding a runoff in a crowded field, Rick demonstrates he has broad support. While you can't extrapolate those numbers directly to general election turnout, it is a clear sign that Democrats are excited not only about their presidential choices, but about down-ticket races as well.
So thanks, Texas voters! While you were out voting for Obama or Clinton, you are also helping elect a candidate who's a decorated veteran, against the war, will vote "no" on retroactive immunity, and would work to bring American dollars back home to boost our ailing economy.
Last week, the Republican Party of Texas and by proxy Senator John Cornyn asked for the release of Democratic challenger Rick Noriega's military records. The scheme was pretty obvious:
The Texas GOP seems to think Swiftboating veterans still works. Today, they have asked Democratic Senatorial candidate and decorated veteran Rick Noriega to release his military records to the public:
The Republican Party of Texas, and by extension, Senator John Cornyn, has requested that I release my military records to them. I am astounded and outraged at the implications of this request. Over the past few years, some Republicans have conducted the most dishonest and disreputable attacks on veterans that our nation has ever seen.
Today, Noriega released his records to the public and we found out just how laughable this scheme really was. You see, it turns out Noriega is a bona fide hero, a decorated officer, and in possession of numerous commendations and exemplary performance reviews.
A quick tour of the records leaves no doubt about Noriega's record of service. I count page after page of top marks, and paragraph after paragraph of glowing praise. You can see the full records over at Noriega's campaign website, but here's just a few choice quotes, as a sample:
"His dedication and loyalty to his mission and his men drove him to exceeding the standards in all assigned tasks. His dicipline and moral courage are displayed by his graduation from the Masters Fitness Trainers Course."
"1) Outstanding in dedication to his job and mission.
2) Unexcelled in loyalty.
3) Integrity is above reproach.
4) Selflessly gave of his time and energies."
"He is one of the best lieutenants I have ever known in 35 years service."
Sounds like the kind of guy you would want in the Senate, right? Compared to John Cornyn, a lap-dog Republican, I think the choice is pretty clear.
