Roxanne Conlin has written diarieshere and stayed around to talk as she starts her run for the Senate against Chuck Grassley. Those who saw Senator "Pull the Plug on Grandma" yesterday at the health care summit can only wish her well. She is live at CrooksandLiars right now if you want to ask her questions. And I am sure she will be back here.
From her website, on health care:
During the healthcare debate, President Obama met with Senator Grassley three times and called him three more times to keep in touch. In April, Senator Grassley declared, "I'm doing everything I can to make the reform effort in Congress a bipartisan one." That was then, but by August his campaign sent out a fundraising appeal stating, "The simple truth is that I am and always have been opposed to the Obama Administration's plans." That same month, he made the absurd claim that the legislation would allow the government to "pull the plug on Grandma." People are dying because they don't have health insurance. Senator Grassley should be at that table fighting to keep every one of us safe.
...snip
At this time, we don't know what the final bill will look like, but I want to tell you where I stand. There are three principle goals I want in Health Insurance Reform bill;
First: it must give access to affordable healthcare to every American.
Second: we must improve the quality of care.
Third: we must reduce costs.
Chuck Grassley has to run way to the right to get past a GOP primary in Iowa, and his usual rightwing conservatism is not enough for that group. Thus you see him trying to sabotage health care reform while repeating the same insane talking points the rest of the crowd is using. We can do better. Iowa deserves better. Roxanne will give him the first real race he has had since John Culver.