Our Durham delegation of eight constituents left the NC Health Care for America Now Town Hall that was underway yesterday for a meeting with an aide to Senator Hagan. We were surprised to learn upon our arrival that Senator Hagan was actually on her way to the Town Hall we had just left and a bigger surprise as we met her in the hallway right outside the office door. We had the opportunity to speak with her and we became her entourage on the way to the Town Hall. As you might imagine, there is more to this story under the fold...
We entered the Town Hall meeting with Senator Hagan as she made her surprise appearance and felt the energy emanating from the spontaneous standing ovation from the few hundred participants in attendance. The atmosphere was electric as she was introduced and invited to speak.
On the long bus ride back to Durham, our trip organizer, Avery, turned on the microphone for the loudspeaker and asked the group "Please raise your hand if you were satisfied with what Senator Hagan said at today’s town hall." Not a single hand went up.
There is a big disconnect between what Senator Hagan’s supporters are asking for and what Senator Hagan is stating publicly. And this needs to be rectified (in my opinion).
On the one hand, we love Senator Hagan. As we were waiting for the elevator outside of her office, Rhonda told Senator Hagan about how she is unable to get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Senator Hagan placed her hand on Rhonda’s shoulder and assured her that healthcare reform will put an end to that practice. Senator Hagan "gets it" and connects on a personal level - which is one reason we worked so hard to get her elected in the first place.
"Will you be making an announcement today?" I hopefully asked Senator Hagan while crossing the street. Her response was "I’m not signing anything today." I explained that I was referring to the HCAN core principles document that had been signed and endorsed by Obama and Biden and 20 senators and 176 representatives. It was not clear if she knew what I was talking about. I told her that it was disheartening to see how her positions on healthcare reform were being misconstrued and how she was being vilified by some in the media. I suggested that signing onto the HCAN core principles would put an end to that. As we approached the town hall, I offered "Folks want to hear that you support a viable public option."
I know she heard me. I just don’t know if she was listening.
Our bus arrived well before the National HCAN rally was to begin at Upper Senate Park earlier that morning. Lathered with suntan lotion and wearing shorts, my Durham for Obama t-shirt and a red baseball hat emblazoned with my HCAN sticker (rally attire), I suggested to Thao that we check out the HELP Committee mark up meeting going on in nearby Dirksen Office building. We arrived in time to witness the testy exchanges between Senator Dodd and Senator Gregg and an impassioned speech by our citizen hero, Senator Bernie Sanders. The room was filled with very few citizens dressed like me and a lot of folks dressed like lobbyists and legislative aides. Senator Hagan was nowhere to be seen and I wondered if her legislative aide, Michelle, was there. Lots of attendees were paying close attention and taking notes.
Perhaps it’s just naïve on my part to think that just because everybody I know in the world wants either a single payer system or a strong public option for healthcare reform, that Senator Hagan would know this.
Her suggestion at the Town Hall meeting that perhaps a strong public option could be administered by the states fell absolutely flat. She wants to ensure that a health care reform bill can be delivered to the president and not get caught up in labels, but the mood at the Town Hall went from optimism and hope to well, fill in the blank.
A healthcare plan administered by the states? How would the issue of portability be addressed? How would small states be able to negotiate with powerful interests? Would we have 50 separate IT departments? This concept is as untenable as exploring some type of co-op plan.
If we can’t have a single payer system, why not a strong and viable nationwide public system like our president is advocating for?
"You know that Durham got you elected" I proudly declared to Senator Hagan on the sidewalk. She acknowledged that Durham is a "powerhouse" and could not refute the supposition. After all, we are damn proud of what we accomplished through her Durham headquarters during the campaign. Thao reminded everybody on the bus ride home "We made phone calls for her. We canvassed for her. We worked so hard at the polls for her."
And of course, the numbers back that up. While Hagan got 52.65% of the popular vote statewide, she got 74.25% in Durham County. We provided a margin of nearly 70,000 votes for her just in Durham County.
So there is a disconnect between what Senator Hagan is saying and what her constituents are asking for.
Chris Kromm ProgressiveSouth has an e xcellent diary posted that delves into these issues.
Some say that Senator Hagan is now beholden to special interests that are angling for a watered down healthcare reform bill that is destined to become a "bailout" for private insurance companies.
That view is just not held by your diarist. I believe that Senator Hagan does care about meaningful healthcare reform and wants to make a positive difference for the voters that elected her as well as for all citizens in North Carolina and the country. In the insular world of DC, she is listening to voices that are not representative of the citizenry that elected her.
We need to demand Senator Hagan sign the HCAN core principles. It’s not enough anymore to call her office and say that you support a Public Option. We need a strong and viable public option that will bring affordable health care to all Americans and force private insurance companies to compete. We need to sound the drumbeat for Senator Hagan to sign on to the HCAN core principles and invite her back for a standing ovation that erupts at the end of a Town Hall meeting.
Please note, signing on to the HCAN core principles has little to do with the final legislation, but when the HELP committee in the Senate won’t even bring up the Public Option as an amendment because of uncertainty of Hagan’s position, well, that is a very big deal.
Take heart, readers, we are not taking this "Hagan disconnect" lightly. Not in Durham, not in the Triangle, and not in the State. We will be informing our fellow citizens about the need to let Senator Hagan know how passionately we feel about this issue and we will not let up until we are heard, understood, and represented in the way we deserve.
"Sign the HCAN core principles" is a short and succinct message that can be delivered to Senator Hagan at 202.224.6342 by anyone, anytime, especially if you are a constituent in North Carolina.