A little back story, as a graduate student my research center had the contract to conduct the evaluation of PeachCare for Kids, the Georgia Child Health Insurance program. As part of this evaluation I had the privileged to watch the first sets of enrollment data file in on the program. These were kids from families that were desperate, flat out of options. Kids who needed glasses but couldn’t afford them, or kids whose teeth were rotting in their mouths because of lack of insurance and money to see the Dentist.
Georgia’s program has always taken a typically Southern approach to S-CHIP. Early research found that the program generated higher enrollment numbers when a premium was charged in exchange for benefits. Although this premium was only a token, $7 for the first child, or $14 for 2 or more, it gave participants a sense of pride in what they were doing. These were the children of working folks, from country rednecks, to inner city hip-hoppers, to Latino day laborers, you know the type. The kind of folks whose sweat keeps this nation running. Workers all with a fierce pride and a streak of independence. Our research found that these people were too full of pride to accept insurance for free, but if you allowed them to pay a premium (and really the cost of the premium only paid for the administrative cost of administering the premium) they would line up, swallow their pride and get their kids insured.
What were the results? Well what do you think? Not surprisingly kids with good health care do much better than kids without it. It’s no mystery. If kids have the glasses to see, if your throat doesn’t ache constantly from dental decay, if you can afford to get a flu shot every year, and if your parents have regular contact with pediatricians that monitor your speech, development, health, and ask probing questions about the safety of your house, kids do better.
Watching that first enrollment data come in was a source of pride as the number of children with health insurance rose each month. These were children who now had the care they needed, and these were families that no longer had to dread enrolling their kids in school sports for fear they might break a bone and the family would be unable to pay.
Not that S-CHIP has been easy to fund in Georgia, in fact the opposite. Just last year alone, the program almost capped enrollment and the state is struggling with its financial costs. The reality is that we have been waiting for Washington to reauthorize the bill and send some help our way.
So imagine my complete shock, dismay, and anger to find out that
Jim Marshall, D, GA-8 voted against reauthorizing the bill. How could it be possible that someone could live in Georgia, call themselves a Democrat and vote against this bill? If you can’t vote for this bill, then what exactly gives you the right to call yourself a Democrat anyway.
Well, I’ll tell you what I’m doing. I’m assuming a vote is coming up to try to override the veto. I understand the Democrats need to find something like 10 more votes to over-ride the President.
Today is the day that I declare war on Jim Marshall’s vote on this bill. What did I do about it? Well . . . .
- I called his office 202-225-6531 in Washington and I explained to him that a Democrat that voted against the S-CHIP bill was in fact no Democrat at all. I asked his office politely to change his vote. They refused and offered to send me a letter explaining his position on the issue. I argued that I didn’t need a letter; I needed him to change his vote. I argued that if he didn’t I would do everything in my power (which may be limited but is not nothing) to find a Democratic Primary Challenger to face him. If the primary challenge failed, I would actively argue that Georgia and National Parties should not give him any money, and that in fact a Republican in his seat would be preferable to him because we’d get the same results but could more clearly place the blame. His office didn’t seem to care.
- I called the state party of Georgia 404-870-8201 and asked them what their position on Jim Marshall’s vote of S-Chip was. They said they were pissed too, but that they are not in the habit of supporting primary runs against sitting incumbants. I argued until I was blue in the face and the poor boy on the other side of the phone couldn’t mount any credible counter argument and frankly didn’t try. He agreed to start a tally sheet to keep track of folks calling the state party office expressing their irritation.
- I called the Democratic National Committee - 202-863-8000 – who gave me the run around. They wouldn’t discuss the issue, they said they had no control over the votes of individual congressmen, and said they would not entertain a discussion of primary challenges. Great, thanks for nothing DNC.
- I sent emails out to my friends in Georgia and asked them to call.
a. Jim Marshall’s office 202-225-6531
b. The Democratic Party of Georgia 404-870-8201
c. The DNC 202-863-8000
I asked them to express their personal dissatisfaction with Jim Marshall’s vote and asked them to urge the state and the national party to impress upon him the need to stand with other Democrats.
- Finally, I wrote this diary to you. I’d like to ask other members of the Dkos community to identify and target the Democrats who voted against this bill as well as any Republicans that might be on the fence. Use the comments or your own diary to post information. If you don’t have the time for that, just free-ride on my work and call Jim Marshall.
Together we can get these votes and pass this bill. Its not too late.