Damn! Dan Seals beating Mark Kirk; Melissa Bean holding off a republican businessman in a heavily republican district; Bill Foster leading Jim Oberweis in Dennis Hastert's old district, and now the Tribune endorses the democratic challenger Jill Morgenthaler over the republican incumbent Peter "Rubber Stamp" Roskam. To be fair they did endorse Tammy Duckworth over Roskam two year ago but this is an endorsement over an incumbent republican.
Wow
As I started to detail in and earlier diary (Yes, I know, I’m pimping - sue me), Roskam loves to vote NO especially when the legislation would help hard working Americans.
So this is the perfect opportunity to add to the list I started, so here is another "NO" vote by soon to be former congressman Roskam.
I simply do not see why anyone would not vote for this:
HR 6331 - To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare Program...
This bill, at its core, is trying to help low-income families by allowing them access to preventive medical and mental health services. But this next section is the one that should be all over the airwaves and newspapers:
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for increasing the delivery of mental health services or other health care services to meet the needs of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas.
Now, as an American I find it repulsive that Roskam would vote against this bill at all, but as a veteran of the United States Navy I am enraged that a chicken hawk republican like Roskam is even able to cast a vote in congress as my representative. Why would I want this section of the bill to be used over all the others? Do I feel that veterans are more important than anyone else?
Absolutely NOT! But thanks for asking: it’s because Roskam loves him some veterans, especially when he can use them to help him get re-elected:
Like here, "showing" his love and support in a press release on Memorial Day.
Or even as he tries to cut taxes, anyway he can, for his big business donors; by giving them a tax credit to hire veterans.
Again, don’t get me wrong businesses should be encouraged to hire vets – but because they are worth hiring (and they are), not so the owner or CEO can get another tax deduction.
***As a side note for those of you that do not live here in Illinois: here are some snippets of what Roskam's buddies in the House Republican Conference thinks of this bill:
The bill requires the disclosure of highly sensitive and proprietary prescription drug prices. CBO and FTC have indicated that similar disclosures would lead to significantly higher drug prices.
I don't see how releasing the prices our government pays for prescription drugs can drive UP prices, and apparently nether does the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) or the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). After a quick search of their web sites I found nothing that says that anywhere.
This fund would threaten the solvency of the Medicare program by raiding the Medicare Trust Funds.
Raiding...(snicker), I love republican hyperbole.
The bill authorizes the Secretary to use Medicare Part D claims data for "improving public health" and allows the data to be made available to Congressional support agencies for the purpose of conducting Congressional oversight, monitoring, making recommendations and analysis of the Part D program.
Can't you just see all the members practicing doing the little finger quotation marks when they read from the published talking points on this legislation and why they voted against it? And gathering data for Congressional oversight? How dare these democrats expect congress to do its job; can’t have any of that can we?
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The swing towards democrats in the suburbs is very apparent here in Illinois, please help us defeat members like ol’ Rubber Stamp here and give Barack Obama the backup he needs to overcome not only the republicans but any blue dog democrats that get in the way.
Here are some helpful donation links for your viewing pleasure:
Jill Morgenthaler
Dan Seals
Bill Foster
Dupage County Democrats
And Last but certainly not least:
The Next President of the United States