While I try to maintain my decorum in Top Comments, I have been know to be a little more acerbic in comments. I have managed to maintain my equilibrium through two presidential elections, countless site dramas, and even the infamous pie fight. However, the healthcare reform melodrama is about to get on my last nerve.
Events of this past week finally pushed me over the edge. I simply had to vent. And what target could be more deserving than Blanche Lincoln? Well, I can think of a couple of others, but Lincoln is my Senator, so she owes me a cogent explanation for her behavior on health care.
Although I have been at a high simmer throughout the health care debate, my letters and phone calls to my representatives (two DINO senators and a Repub representative) have focused on making positive arguments for the need for reform and the importance of the public option. But by Thursday of this week, I had been pushed over the edge and I was compelled to tell someone what I thought of Blanch Lincoln’s performance on the Senate Finance Committee. Who better to unload on that Blanche Lincoln and her campaign director?
I spent much of last weekend trying to help a friend with a critical medical problem. He is 45 with three children. Three years ago he suffered complete renal failure and has been on daily dialysis since. Although he had worked for the same employer for 20 years, dialysis rendered him unable to work, so he lost his insurance and is, of course, uninsurable. I've been helping his family try to navigate the healthcare system, find resources to cover his $3700/month drug bills, and find the information needed to make decisions about his health.
Because he was relatively young and in good health, he was an ideal candidate for a transplant. However, since he doesn't have insurance, he must rely on Medicaid and the Kidney Foundation for his medical needs. While Medicaid will pay for most of the transplant expenses, they will not pay for the anti-rejection drugs he would have to take for the rest of his life. The Kidney Foundation would pay for the half of the cost of the drugs, which would still leave him with a monthly bill of $7000. That is about double what his wife makes per month working two jobs. (She works one of the jobs just to provide insurance for her and the kids, but it pays so little that she has to work a second job to afford groceries.)
Being on Medicaid, he is subject to Part D (for disaster) rules and entered the "donut hole" in August. We found some additional support from a pharmaceutical company for two of his medicines, but not the parathyroid med, which is $1700 per month. Although he has responded well to parathyroid medication, without it his calcium level, which should be around 200, goes over 1500 and his blood pressure becomes uncontrollable. At the moment, he is a stroke waiting to happen – until Medicaid kicks in again in January.
The only solution his doctor can offer is to remove the parathyroid. Medicaid will pay for the surgery, and the meds he will need to take afterward are generic. He will also no longer be eligible for a transplant and will have a life expectance of 3 years. So that healthcare reform we were so hopeful about last November – the one that is now proposed to take effect in 2013 – probably isn’t going to be much help for him, or the 225,000 other Americans who, according to the researchers at Harvard Medical School, will die waiting for healthcare reform.
So I really wasn’t in the mood to listen to the Senate Finance Committee debate the monstrosity they have proposed in their attempt to completely derail healthcare reform. When I received a fundraising e-mail from Blanche Lincoln on Monday telling me that her top priorities are "job creation for Arkansans and improving our health care system," I responded with an e-mail stressing the importance of the public option for controlling costs and noting that it was favored by a majority of Arkansans.
I did monitor the discussion and the votes, particularly about the public option on Tuesday. I'm sure you recall who voted against both public option amendments, ensuring their defeat. But the proverbial straw came on Wednesday in the form of yet another fundraising solicitation, this time from Steve Patterson, Lincoln’s campaign manager. My response to him, copied to Lincoln, was a little more direct.
Dear Steve,
Given Blanche Lincoln's performance yesterday voting against the public option in the Finance Committee, I have to admire your nerve in sending out a solicitation for donations. Too bad there isn't anything to admire about her actions.
Lincoln has said frequently that she would not support HCR legislation that did not reduce the budget deficit. It is unfortunate that she did not have the same standards for the Bush tax cuts and warmongering. And even though the Congressional Budget Office certified that HCR that included the public option would save $110 billion MORE THAN a bill without the public option, Lincoln still voted against the public option. TWICE. Seems that new-found fiscal responsibility didn't last long.
Since Lincoln doesn't seem to care that poll after poll shows that a majority of Arkansans favor HCR with the public option, it is interesting that she still tries to pretend that she isn't selling out her constituents. But we aren't nearly as stupid as she seems to think and we are paying attention. I will not be sending one cent to Lincoln's campaign -- nor to the DSCC, thanks to her actions, as I made very clear to Bob Menendez. It appears that Lincoln is already well-paid by the insurance and pharma lobbies.
In your letter, you say that "the national Republicans have put a target on her back." If Lincoln spent more time addressing the concerns of Arkansans, she would not have to be so afraid of Republicans. Democrats were sent to Washington in record numbers because the American people were tired of business as usual and wanted their problems addressed. Republicans lost because of exactly the behaviors Lincoln is emulating. If she wants to continue as Senator, she should try acting like a Democrat instead of standing out prominently as a DINO who is determined to thwart any attempts to provide relief to ordinary Americans.
I would also suggest that Lincoln's behavior is not going to get her one single Republican vote. Fortunately for her, in Arkansas that isn't really a problem. However, alienating Democrats is a problem. If we don't vote for her, she will not be re-elected, and I know of dozens of Democrats who will not be voting for her unless she starts voting for us instead of siding with corporate interests.
As Harry S Truman said, "Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time.
Lincoln will have one more chance to do the right thing when the final bill comes around in the Senate. Rest assured we will be watching. If she sides with Republicans and the insurance companies and against Arkansans again, I will not only not vote for her, I will be certain that everyone I know is reminded daily that Lincoln serves at the bidding of corporations, even though it means selling out Arkansans.
Polite and positive didn’t seem to work, so we’ll see if I get any response from this approach. Hundreds of American are dying EVERY DAY as a direct result of our heathcare system, but many of our elected representatives don’t seem to mind making that sacrifice if it nets them a few bucks.
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Tonight’s Top Comments....
From Oke:
Maybe it was Friday, or the moon, or just community frolic, but this thread provided a few chuckles last night. It began with horsefeathers being kind. Then trivium took it to another level, and it went on from that point.
From phonegery:
In the long and interesting thread following ABC News 'Stunned' To Discover Dead Peasant Insurance by Alien Abductee, these two comments made me laugh out loud. When Andhakari inquires about the source of the tax loophole, Crazy like a fox provides an all-too-accurate answer.
In the same diary, hannah recalls a college roommate’s quest to learn the facts of life. While Demena wonders how she got into high school without knowing, Ben Goshi has a good guess about where she went to school.
From pixxer:
The celebrations surrounding incondite's third update have resulted in consumption of massive amounts of Kleenex and congrads and celebrations all around. Two of the comments I thought worthy of more attention, for entirely different reasons, are a wonderful memory from wilco920 and the official award from Bill in Portland Maine.
From trashablanca:
Here is a righteous smackdown from a really unexpected source. My dear friend, Dreaming of Better Days lays out the law for a winger with a sweet grace and economy of language.
Here's a powerfully honest comment by hpchicago.
Top Mojo excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, and C&J comments:
1 - Republicans have become so accustomed to.....feelingsickinMN.....237
2 - ABC News.....Alien Abductee.....233
3 - thanks, Alien Abductee ........newpioneer.....177
4 - I really think the Rethugs are caught off-guard.....davidkc.....144
5 - Cornell West is right: Obama, where's the beef?.....enthusiast.....136
6 - I like this quote I read on a blog.....deepsouthdoug.....133
7 - You're apologizing for not getting ........Meteor Blades.....124
8 - Another possible aspect is that what if you have.....Wes Opinion.....103
9 - Well, I knew......War on Error.....100
10 - Grayson.....songseekerma.....92
11 - Socialist Wisconsin has protection.....realwischeese.....85
12 - Hit them where it really hurts.....Cecile.....80
13 - I started to drown by New Years Day, 2008.....Nulwee.....79
14 - It is your call Ace. You.....Something the Dog Said.....78
15 - Or, best of all........Psychotronicman.....75
16 - Thanks for sharing.....kazoo of the north.....70
17 - Hello, dear heart......Dreaming of Better Days.....69
18 - If you are dependent on your parents for.....AndyS In Colorado.....68
19 - Yes, we must reconnect.....realwischeese.....67
20 - My god, this diary is amazing......GreenMtnState.....67
21 - Even Keith and Rachel were.....Tirge Caps.....66
22 - She's been a bit sluggish.....FishOutofWater.....65
23 - When you start with a weak compromise.....Puddytat.....64
24 - I'm even embarrassed to mention it here........Lupin.....64
25 - BECK/BUCHANAN 2012!.....Crashing Vor.....64
26 - I think we all suspect a quid pro quo.....SmileySam.....63
27 - If the companies offer no health coverage,.....Friend of the court.....62
28 - Here's the kicker......War on Error.....62
29 - Wow........Kristina40.....60
30 - It's frustrating and angering, because.....Nulwee.....59
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1 - Tip Jar.....Alien Abductee.....731
2 - Tip Jar.....davidkc.....525
3 - Tip Jar.....realwischeese.....457
4 - Helen Deserves a few hundred More Roses For This.....SmileySam.....438
5 - tip jar and thanks.....exmearden.....344
6 - Tip Jar.....incondite.....338
7 - Tip Jar.....Eclectablog.....253
8 - Tip Jar.....Michael Moore.....238
9 - Republicans have become so accustomed to.....feelingsickinMN.....237
10 - ABC News.....Alien Abductee.....233
11 - Tip Jar.....Chun Yang.....180
12 - thanks, Alien Abductee ........newpioneer.....177
13 - Tip Jar.....itzik shpitzik.....167
14 - Tip Jar.....samoashark.....148
15 - I really think the Rethugs are caught off-guard.....davidkc.....144
16 - Cornell West is right: Obama, where's the beef?.....enthusiast.....136
17 - I like this quote I read on a blog.....deepsouthdoug.....133
18 - You're apologizing for not getting ........Meteor Blades.....124
19 - Another possible aspect is that what if you have.....Wes Opinion.....103
20 - Don't falme me, please!.....it really is that important.....103
21 - Well, I knew......War on Error.....100
22 - Tip Jar.....Sara R.....99
23 - Tips for my progressive company.....realwischeese.....93
24 - Grayson.....songseekerma.....92
25 - Socialist Wisconsin has protection.....realwischeese.....85
26 - Tip Jar.....ukiyo.....82
27 - Hit them where it really hurts.....Cecile.....80
28 - I started to drown by New Years Day, 2008.....Nulwee.....79
29 - It is your call Ace. You.....Something the Dog Said.....79
30 - Or, best of all........Psychotronicman.....75