Hi Howie, hi Andrew!

Welcome to the Lake, Andrew…

Hey Andrew, good to see you again!

Sorry, took me a second to register…Glad to be here.

Welcome back to FDL, Andrew. We’re all eager to catch up about how the campaign has been going since October. But before we get into the political stuff, can you tell us about the health insurance bill you introduced into the state legislature Thursday? Is there a chance it can pass? I know the lower house already passed an anti-consumer bill written by the insurance companies.

Yes. I have two bills on health insurance. We got them both out of committee last week, despite heavy opposition from the Republicans. Steffanie’s Law would mandate that private insurers cover the costs of experimental clinical trials, and I also have a Veteran’s Health Insurance bill that would provide state insurance for those middle income veterans who cannot get VA coverage due to Bush’s decision in 2003 to limit coverage for our veterans. There are an estimated 2 million Veterans nationwide without health insurance.

I read about Steffanie’s Law. Do you have enough votes in the legislature to pass it? And is it the kind of thing that the federal government should be considering as well? I mean is this what you hope to accomplish when you’re in the U.S. Senate?

HB3111 is coming over to the senate. It would prevent any new mandates from becoming law.

Good morning Howie and welcome Andrew Rice. Do you see Tom Coburn’s admission that going into Iraq was a mistake as a first step towards the “blurring” that worked so well for Senator Joe Lieberman in 2006? I worry that the clear distinctions between you and Senator Inhofe will be sanded down in voters’ minds if Oklahoma politicians like Coburn edge away from Bush — and McCain! — on the occupation of Iraq.

Thanks for coming by again to chat — I’m proud to be your supporter, albeit in a small way, from here on the Left Coast!

Welcome back, Andrew. So good to have you here again. It was remarkable to hear the Coburn statement this week. Has anybody asked Inhofe to comment?

I feel confident we have the votes to get it out of the senate. In the Oklahoma Senate we have an even split between Republicans and Democrats, 24 - 24. I feel confident are entire caucus will be supportive, and there a couple of independent-minded Republicans with some integrity that should support us. One of them voted for both of my bills in committee last week.

Inhofe said (in response to Coburn) something like, “that cannot be true, and it just can’t”….I guess the reality based community hurts when it bumps up against the way you want to see the world.

Inhofe’s (and McCainb’s) stubborn insitence that our troops should stay in Iraq for many years is not playing well across Oklahoma, where we have many communities who have young soldiers who have already sacrificed a great deal for our country.

Inhofe– of all people– seems to be questioning Coburn’s sanity on this. He’s not taking the bait, Teddy. He’s boxing himself into a corner and offering Andrew a golden opportunity to paint him as an ultra extremist. His first response was to claim it was impossible Coburn even said it!

HB3111 is coming over to the senate. It would prevent any new mandates from becoming law.

Andrew, could you elaborate? Is this similar to the failed attempt to impose TABOR on our state? (Yes, I am one of your constituents.)

Tulsa World (main paper for that city) quoted him -

Coburn’s latest comments on the war clearly surprised his fellow Oklahoma Republican senator, Jim Inhofe.

“No, no, he couldn’t have said that,” Inhofe said Wednesday when asked to comment.

A veteran member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has made a number of trips to Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion, Inhofe is a staunch defender of the war.

“I cannot believe he said that,” Inhofe said, adding a few minutes later that he disagreed with Coburn.

It would essentially prevent bills like my bill, and the autism insurance bill, “Nic’s Law”, from becoming law. It protects private insurers from having the state of Oklahoma force them to pay for what the doctors of our state say their patients should be covered for. The many loopholes that they use to currently not cover people who buy their product, would continue unabated.

I see. Thank you.

The fight over my bill is a consumer fairness issue. Until we find a way to get everyone covered with universal coverage, we have to force the insurance companies to provide the product that people are entitled to when they buy it.

Hi Howie and Andrew. MayDaze, I am living in Tulsa. Andrew, how can we help defeat HB3111?

I’m going to be meeting Andrew in person out in L.A. next Saturday afternnon. If anyone is in the area and wants to come along, get in touch with me by e-mail. Meanwhile, if you would like to see a senator in Oklahoma who would like to end the occupation of Iraq and who is for universal health care and who doesn’t believe global warming is a commie hoax, consider donating to Andrew’s campaign through Blue America.

If the Republicans are so disconnected with the general public to have it heard in committee, I’m confident we can kill it. Their ideological impulse may be so strong that they continue to fail to see that Oklahomans and Americans across the political spectrum and across income levels are demanding major reforms in healthcare, and favor insurance mandates.

Inhofe’s (and McCainb’s) stubborn insitence that our troops should stay in Iraq for many years is not playing well across Oklahoma, where we have many communities who have young soldiers who have already sacrificed a great deal for our country.

How are you and other OK progressives tapping into that reaction against staying in Iraq? So many Democrats seem afraid to push on that, for fear of being branded weak and “coddling the terrorists”.

If you can turn this against Inhofe in OK, progressives everywhere will sit up and take notice.

You guys should know (probably Andrew or his campaign has already seen this) that Andrew takes a lot of flack from rightwing extremists for making sense w/bills like the clinical trial mandate. The quote HOwie uses above, about this insurance bill named for a brave teenager figting cancer, had them saying Andrew wrote a bill because of Sicko. These cowards on one blog, redoklahoma.org, said,

This may come as a shocker, Andrew, but just because Michael Moore tells you to think a certain way on TV doesn’t mean common sense Oklahomans will agree.

They ignore the fact that families in Oklahoma are being driven into deep debt by greedy insurance companies making arbitrary rules. They ignore that the girl for whom the bill is named is dying and still fighting for help for others like her. THe extreme right wing in this state doesn’t understand that people are sick of the politics of fear and hatred, and as an Oklahoman, i’m glad to show them in November exactly where those tactics will get them.

To Sen. Rice - thank you for standing up to those insensitive cowards. Go Rice go!

I’m in OKC.

Steffanie Collings, who my bill is named for, is dying from a brain tumor. She is 19 and lives in Noble, Oklahoma. Both of her parents work, have private insurance, and because the company refused to cover her clinical trial, her family is now over $400,000 in debt. I’m told the Norman Transcript ran a good editorial on the bill this morning, but I have not seen it yet.

McCain’s refrain is “let them (the soldiers) win”. But they’ve already finished the job we’ve trained them to do, and which they risked their lives to do. My wife’s cousin is being trained in the army right now to win battles, not police civil wars. I was campaigning all over northeast Oklahoma the last 2 days, and countless people told me in small communities, “bring them home, they’ve done their jobs”.

Would anyone like to match my $25 contribution today?

I also meet military folks all the the time in Oklahoma who are dismayed at how much this prolonged occupation is stretching our military thin. This is one of the many reasons I was opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning….particulary because 9/11 was being used to justify the war, and my older brother David was killed in the WTC. Afghanistan is the legitimate war, but it has also become the forgotten war.

I kicked in a little. Will send more next month - before March 31, a critical point for the campaign, as I understand it.

If you were campaigning in northeast Oklahoma, you were talking with people represented by one of two rubber stamp disgraces (Sullivan, a complete warmonger, and, unfortunately, Dan Boren, a reactionary Democrat who often backs Bush and Cheney– more than any other member of Congress other than Jim Marshall). Do you sense when you’re on the campaign trail that people are ready for real change and are going to vote for it? Or will they just get scared and vote to keep things the same by voting for an extension of Bushism with McCain and Inhofe? I keep saying that if we can win in Oklahoma, the GOP is finished for a decade.

Andrew, I have a question which is mainly about the US Congress, but would also apply to State government at well. The Republicans have such a lock on the mainstream, corporate media that whatever deliberate misrepresentations and out and out falsehoods they spout are treated as gospel and faithfully repeated without question. I am mainly referring to television, since that is where many Americans turn for their ‘news’. It seems as though the Democrats do not understand the necessity of quick rebuttal. Is it so difficult for them to hold press conferences to correct this misinformation campaign? A critical part of leadership is the ability to educate, but the Dems seem to have abdicated this responsibility.

Just a note about red states and blue states, and who is vulnerable and who is not….Jim Inhofe’s approval/disapproval numbers are the exact same as Norm Coleman’s and Gordon Smith’s. Our poll from December 2007 showed he could not get above 50% against either me or a “generic Democrat”….this is exactly where Tester and Webb were in Feb. 2006. As my name id and positive profile grow over the coming months we will close the gap. I actually argue that red state republican incumbents like Inhofe (and Burns in 2006) are actually more vulnerable than blue/purple state Republicans like Susan Collins, because the Inhofe and Cornyn’s of the world do not moderate at all on any issue. They think %50 + 1 of their states are the right wing base, when in fact they are not…and swing voters want to leave them, they’ve had enough.

I will also contribute 25 today and more as I can.

I was campaigning all over northeast Oklahoma the last 2 days, and countless people told me in small communities, “bring them home, they’ve done their jobs”.

There’s a campaign ad for you — a series of ordinary folks (maybe even some vets), offering a one sentence introduction:

My neighbor trained to fight to protect our country as . . .
my son . . .
my daughter . . .
my buddy from high school . . .
my coworker . . .
I . . .

Then each one comes back to the screen, in the same order, and brings back the same refrain: “His/her/my job is finished — isn’t it time to bring them/us home?”

If two people match Teddy’s $25, I’ll put in another $50 and that will mean two things: we will have just raised Andrew’s campaign $100– and Blue America will be the biggest single online source of contributions for the campaign. (Right now we have the most donors but another group edges us in the dollars department.) Here’s the place to contribute.

I like the ad idea that George Bush is holding our troops hostage and using them as human shields to protect him and his illegal, immoral invasion.

Sorry I can’t participate more, I just want to chime in as an Oklahoman, that Andrew would be great for our state and needs national support. The media in OK is horrible and that will be a major problem in getting info out. We will need $ for advertising in a big way.

I think Drew Westin’s book gets at a lot of this. “The Political Brain”. Being very aggressive in pre-butting and countering their noise machine is something my campaign is very focused on.

Thank you to those who are giving online. And to those who are unable, please go to the website and sign up for emails, and encourage friends to as well. www.andrewforoklahoma.com

Good to see you here again, Andrew. I am a former Oklahoman.

Do you feel that there are significant differences between the health care proposals of Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama, and if so what are they?

I applaud your focus on holding private insurance companies accountable to their subscribers.

My 3 year old Noah wants to contribute to the chat:

zf l 88888

Hi Noah! My cat Tigris wants to say hi to you… kghj

Hello Howie. Welcome Andrew.

Without descent healthcare, the individual is unable to fully realize his/her opportunities in a democracy. Not only are people devastated by a chronic illness or disability but they suffer financial losses they have little chance of recouping. The increased cost of living continues to slide them hopelessly backwards.

Do you have other members of the state legislature who are as passionate and committed to viable healthcare solutions as you are? Do they stand strong on this issue? If you are not there, who will take up the mantle?

I think the mandate difference between their plans is somewhat significant. If the private insurers are going to be part of the solution, and frankly it remains to be seen if they are willing to be part of the solution, but if ultimately still have a place at the table, then we have to find aggressive ways to protect consumers (not pre-existing condition refusals, etc…) and also have mandates that young healthy people contribute a reasonable amount to cover to help covering unhealthy people: shared sacrifice.

Hugs to Noah! Now that former EPA Admin Christine Todd Whitman has tesified before Congress that the Clear Skies Act of 2003 actually allows more pollution including mercury, will you revisit or repeal it?
And that is why Whitman resigned, she could not support it.

There are others who are just a passionate as myself. We got the “All Kids Act” passed last year in the state, but it has been compromised by Inhofe and Coburn’s opposition to expanding SCHIP, as well as Bush making rule changes that prohibit our state and others from billing medicaid at a higher % of the poverty level.

“There are two main issues with health care right now– one is the problem with no coverage.

I see one real issue which addresses all other issues;

a business has bills to pay, they have to pay for heat, electricity, maintenance of their building, their equipment and all their assets

a laborer is one of the businesses assets and they somehow get to defer maintenance of these assets on to everyone else

it is ABSURD that business isn’t FORCED to provide health care for it’s laborers, OBVIOUSLY they are better off with a healthy workforce then one that’s sick and OBVIOUSLY when they get US to pay THEIR bills they are cheating the system

this is really the only way to frame the debate;

“the health of a businesses workforce is an expense of theirs just as the health of their equipment”

bing

now, IF businesses would rather a single payer health care because THEY know that’s the most efficient, then fine, BUT the expenses of that health care MUST be realized by the business, NOT the laborer…possibly a combination of both, with the business being taxed the greater portion over the laborer

but really, there is only one issue;

health care needs to be payed by industry, not by the laborer, not by government

Welcome, Andrew!

As a champion of increased access to quality health care, you understand the challenges we face in creating and funding an effective health care system, let alone Universal Health Care — the following is my opinion on the issue, along with excerpts from Ted Kennedy’s speech calling for Medicare for All.

Again, thanks for being here Andrew!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Obama/Clinton debate on Universal Health Care Mandates vs No Mandates are evidence of just how screwed up the politics of health care have become.

Obama said that in a perfect world, he would choose a single payer system. My concern is that any reform less than a single payer system is doomed to failure, but a single payer system requires a major restructuring of the health care financial system and the tax code.

That said, I support Medicare for All — because it is simple to understand, people like Medicare, and it has the potential of bringing the insurance industry on board with Medicare Plus HMO systems. The devil is in creating a viable tax system to pay for it.

Lately, I’ve been thinking that a 1-2% tax on corporate revenues (not profit) over $1m might be part of the solution — it would function as business activity VAT, which would generally benefit the Federal Budget.

Other options would be a 5-10% tax surcharge on income of more than $1m, along with a similar 5-10% surcharge on unearned income of more than $200k. These approaches are designed to increase the tax burden on the upper income tax payers, while sparing lower income taxpayers.

Ultimately, a single payer system may require an increase in the FICA from 15.3% to something like 20-25%. If we can make the change with a gradual phase in, it might be possible — but finding any mechanism that delivers Universal Health Care without giving away the benefits to the insurance industry is the challenge of our time.

Ted Kennedy — A Democratic Blueprint for America’s Future

An essential part of our progressive vision is an America where no citizen of any age fears the cost of health care, and no employer refuses to create new jobs or cuts back on current jobs because of the high cost of providing health insurance.

The answer is Medicare, whose 40th birthday we will celebrate in July. I propose that as a 40th birthday gift to the American people, we expand Medicare over the next decade to cover every citizen - from birth to the end of life.

It’s no secret that America is still dearly in love with Medicare. Administrative costs are low. Patients’ satisfaction is high. Unlike with many private insurers, they can still choose their doctor and their hospital.

For those who prefer private insurance, we will offer comparable coverage under the same range of private insurance plans already available to Congress. I can think of nothing more cynical or hypocritical than a Member of Congress who gives a speech denouncing health care for all, then goes to his doctor for a visit paid for by the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan.

I call this approach Medicare for All, because it will free all Americans from the fear of crippling medical expenses and enable them to seek the best possible care when illness strikes.

The battle to achieve Medicare for All will not be easy. Powerful interests will strongly oppose it, because they profit immensely from the status quo. Right wing forces will unleash false attack ads ranting against socialized medicine and government-run health care.

But those attacks are a generation out of date - retreads of the failed campaign that delayed Medicare in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, we are immunized against such attacks by the obvious success of Medicare. It is long past time to extend that success to all.

The Democratic Party’s proudest moments and greatest victories have always come when we stand up against powerful interests and fight for the common good - and this coming battle can be another of our finest achievements.

To make the transition from the current splintered system, I propose to phase in Medicare for All, age group by age group, starting with those closest to retirement, between 55 and 65. Aside from senior citizens themselves, they have the greatest health needs and the highest health costs, and need our help the most.

The first stage of the phase-in should also guarantee good health care to every young child. We made a start with the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997. It does a major part of the job, and it’s time to complete the job now.

As we implement this reform, financing must be a shared responsibility. All will benefit, and all should contribute. Payroll taxes should be part of the financing, but so should general revenues, to make the financing as progressive as possible.

We can offset a large part of the expense by a single giant step - bringing health care into the modern age of information technology.

By moving to electronic medical records for all Americans when they go to the hospital or their doctor, we can save hundreds of billions of dollars a year in administrative costs while improving the quality of care. …

The last point Kennedy makes is a key to reforming the health care system. A centralized electronic medical records system creates the opportunity for real cost savings, by shifting from reactive to preventative medicine. It costs ten times as much to treat a person for diabetes as it does to prevent the diabetes in the first place.

I should add that the most advance and cost effective health care system in the United States is run by the VA — and it is the best because of it’s centralized electronic medical records and preventative medicine.

well, I think we can find an approach very much like what you describe. But I think the government and the employee still play a role in payment, with the burden being lightest in the worker.

Once we attain universal coverage, the costs will come down. I believe the biggest driver of costs is the cost shifting by hospitals and doctors to help break even because of the uncompensated care for the uninsured.

The taxpayer already picks uo the cost of the uninsured, but in a very inefficient and costly way (on the back end). We need to cover people up front, with primary care, and save everyone money, and provide the health security all Americans deserve.

If two people match Teddy’s $25, I’ll put in another $50

Consider it matched. Considering what I just paid to get my dog out of the kennel, $25 for progressive Oklahoman ain’t nothing.

I think health care, like political campaigns, should be paid by government through taxes.

I wanted to suggest an ad that features the 363 tons of cash (the largest transfer ever) to the Iraqi Finance Minister, because he asked for it to pay Iraqi pensions. A picture of that would get you many many votes.

I can do another $25.

I agree on both counts.

I wanted to add that I am sad that after years and billions of dollars, the US and Iraqi government can not provide electricity 24 by 7 to Bagdad. Very sad for the people of Iraq.

Maydaze and victoria, as online Okies, maybe we can connect and brainstorm about how to counter the msm media on behalf of AR.

well, I think we can find an approach very much like what you describe. But I think the government and the employee still play a role in payment, with the burden being lightest in the worker.

I see no reason the laborer has to pay the bulk of the expense, possibly the bulk of the expense can shift to the laborer if they have a non working family, but as you say, we pay for the uninsured on the back end and there is no reason for this

this is a society and there are bills to pay if you want to do bussiness in a healthy society

one of those bills would be the health of your workforce, just as the health of your equiptment

you see, while we might end up with a scenario as you describe, we have to frame the debate so the bar we are fine with is easier to achieve

therefore, we have to frame that debate as if health care is an expense that business should bare for themsleves rather then externalize the their costs to the rest of us

The League of Conservation Voters just came out with their scores, and Inhofe has the lowest ranking in congress. I am sure that his over $900,000 from the industries that omitt carbon into the atmosphere has nothing to do with his voting record!

There is an interesting story in the works, in the New Republic, that examines how climate change is emerging as an important issue in “Red” agricultural states like Oklahoma, and how it is a game changer with young evangelicals who are committed to “creation care”. My race with Inhofe will be a focus of the piece.

Hi…Late to the discussion. As an Oklahoman,(Grand Lake), I’m proud to chip in $25 now, more later.
It is well past time for Inhofe to be out of public diservice.
From what I’ve seen of Andrew, this is our best chance to get him out since he’s been there.

Andrew, What’s your take on public financing of elections? Seems the only way to empower people instead of money.

Hi to yellowdogD (Grand Lake)…when people come through Oklahoma, you must stop over in Grand Lake (far Northeast corner of Oklahoma). It is one of the most beautiful parts of the state.

I see some other problems, including pre-existing condition exemptions, unavailability at any cost for some inidividual buyers, retroactive recision based on errors in applications, and the 20-30% of premium that is wasted as it is spent on profits, marketing, administration and claim denial–while medicare does that for about 3% and even a non-profit such as Kaiser-Permanente for 8%.

I think public financing is something we have to get to. If you take away Inhofe’s special interest money, he has very little monetary advantage over me to commmunicate to Oklahoma voters.

Tulsa World will probably endorse Andrew. They usually go against Inhofe. Of course, we know which way the Oklahoma Daily Rag will go. There is no changing their minds.

Of course, we know which way the Oklahoma Daily Rag will go.

Gaylord’s rag, the Daily Disappointment? ;)

(For non-Okies, it’s really called the Daily Oklahoman.)

perris, so everyone must be a corporate employee? No room for healthcare for self-employed, artists, unemployed?

this doesn’t seem quite right to me. I’d rather see healthcare provided as an overall benefit of citizenry, similar to public education.

The former CEO of United HealthCare got a $600 Million “golden parachute” last year. So it is laughable when the right wing in Oklahoma argue that they are concerned insurance companies will have to raise premiums if bills like “Steffanie’s Law” are enacted. If they want to side with insurance companies this election year, then I’m happy to have this fight with them through November and beyond in the U.S. Senate.

That’s a surprise to me, but I don’t follow the World.

Sounds like an idea, maybe we can get yellowdogD in on it.

Let’s hear more about those golden parachutes, CEO pay, private planes, and huge lobbyist staffs the healthcare giants have in DeeCee. It’s time to suit up in the class war the Oligarchs have been fighting since Reagan!

The more the merrier… y’all contact me at peacearena at gmail. Let’s start a email list to plan the revolution.

Yes,peacearena, I’m in. Another thing that we should do, if we haven’t already, is join our local Democratic party groups. I get emails from the Tulsa Democrats, but have yet to attend a single meeting or event. Need to get myself into the mindset that all politics are local.

no, not at all, what I am saying is the corporate world provides the costs of health care to the laborer, it’s one of their expenses

for those self employed there is already a tax differential and that differential should cover their health care

health care costs would be necessarily low because there it becomes single payer…small bussiness exceptions and things like that

in essence, the corporations would be subsidizing those that are self employed

That level of money is what’s driving Inhofe, as well - special interests trying to keep the politicians in their pockets in DC. The Rice campaign sent an email a while back saying how many people giving $10 it would take to match $ INhofe accepted just from Jack Abramoff - and it was quite a few. So I’ll pitch inanother $25 to match Teddy & others, but keep in mind how many of us it will take doing $25 at a time to make a dent in the big money inhofe can raise from PACs.

Oklahoma Democrats are motivated. We had great turnout at the events we just had in Tahlequah, Wagoner, Stillwell, and Muskogee!

Earlier today I was at the State Convention here in Oklahoma City, where we are selecting delegates to the national convention. The hotel ballroom was jam-packed.

Andrew, is the Oklahoma Democratic Establishment supporting you? Has Brad Henry been helpful? What about Boren?

There are serious droughts in Atlanta and Las Vegas, is that a problem in your state, yet?

Andrew, you are going to be in Coweta on Thursday? What will be the focus of your speech?

we go from serious droughts (the drought from 2003-2006 was worse than the dust bowl drought) to serious flooding. One extreme to the other. I met a farmer in Okemah (birthplace of Woody Guthrie) who had terrible hay crops for several years because of drought, and then could not bale his hay in 2007 because the flooding made it too wet to cut.

I’ll be talking about what I believe our (meaning democrats across Oklahoma, from city council to state legislative races) winning message can be this November.

We have the best opportunity for change in Oklahoma in 20 years. Swing voters are angry and want change.

I know I do! One thing I’d like to change is Pelosi’s and Conyers’ view of impeachment!

Andrew - Oklahoma is fortunate to have you. I’m in California and a member of Kaiser Permanente. We are now three generations with Kaiser. I owe them my life and my granddaughter’s life. We have no complaints except one. I am tethered to Kaiser. I can only live in an area where there is a full service Kaiser. Otherwise, I have no health insurance.

As people get older, I see retirees relocating to less expensive areas, however, if your medical insurance dictates where you live to get that coverage, you end up with a very high cost of living not to mention you cannot make a choice to suit your needs. This added expense is indirectly due to healthcare. Rarely is it considered.

In the past three years I’ve been in two auto accidents in which someone plowed into my car (no, it’s not my driving). In the first case the paramedics took me to a Reno hospital (no Kaiser there) and the bill for emergency was $20,000. They did nothing. I picked the glass out of my own body. In the second case, I was in California and demanded they drive me to Kaiser (two blocks away). I was refused. It had to be some county hospital. A dear witness to the accident drove me two blocks to Kaiser where I received excellent treatment. The bill was $600. Wasn’t the auto insurance company fortunate I was a member of Kaiser and they got by so cheap?

My point is, there are far better, workable systems that reduce coverage cost than the current capitalistic insurance model in which the purpose is to make a profit at the expense of the customer.

Folks, if the Oklahoma Senate race seems a little far from home, let me bring it back to something very important here at FDL: every single new Democratic Senator inaugurated in January 2009 makes Joe Lieberman that much more irrelevant to our working majority.

I’m in for $25 from lovely Minnesota.

QuakerGirl, thanks for your story and your point.

Let me add something to that: while several Blue Dogs and DLC types will be elected in November, Andrew is an independent-minded populist who will never be a shill for corporate interests and will not be someone who sells out progressive values and principles. I expect Senator Rice to be part of a broad coalition of progressives who will be working on cleaning up the catastrophe Bush and Cheney and their rubber stamp Congress are leaving.

Do you have any Superfund sites in your state? Becuase, I believe Bush has not funded much cleanup in the past 7 years.

Inhofe also still has the ability to kill good legislation for the entire country. When he was chair if the EPW committee, he tried to run a bill that would prevent the state of California from enacting tougher carbon emission laws. It is not just us Okies that are negatively effected by Inhofe.

Tar Creek

Tar Creek is a major superfund site….after ignoring it for years, Inhofe finally began to work to get money to relocate families that literally live on top of the site. He only got serious about it when he saw the political writing on the wall.

There was a documentary on PBS about Picher, OK. I think you can watch it online.

Re Inhofe’s late conversion on Tar Creek, the Oklahoman noted this in today’s paper.

My family demonstrates the need for preventive care in saving lives and money. My sister and her husband are self-employed. He had a preexisting condition and his health insurance is $1,000.00 a month. They live modestly and have just finished putting my niece through college. My sister has only major medical hospitalization insurance, since it was cheaper. It has no coverage for preventive health and screening. She consequently went to the doctor only if she was very ill. Well, she is, now. She has just been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer that has spread to the liver. The docs say it has been there for quite a while. A simple chest xray would have caught this long ago, when it might have been treatable with RFA or some other procedure. The cost of her care now is almost unimaginable, and the emotional cost to our family is beyond measure.

About 15 years ago my family (who had and still has healthcare insurance) was almost bankrupted because we had 20% share of cost insurance (PPO)and a child with a seizure disorder who was in ICU once a month. We didn’t qualify for help because the state said we made too much money, but we couldn’t keep up with the medical bills and our cost of living bills. We ended up changing to an HMO who doesn’t cover much, and spending 11 years paying off the debt. What is being done for people in our situation?

Unfortunately, Victoria’s story is very common. The Republicans (with the exception of a few terrific mavericks in the Oklahoma legislature) do not get it, that we are on the verge of this system collapsing. But for many of them, politics is more important than good government.

Mr. Rice it seems that you’re going to have a hard campaign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.....on%2C_2008

If you get nominated I advise you to send a guy to follow Tommy around with a video camera and see if he has a Macaca moment like George Allen did.

I also advise you to talk alot about the rising oil prices and how it’s the GOP’s fault in part.

You might also want to talk about how crappy the economy is thanks to Bush and His buddy Tommy.

I lasty advise you to talk with no end about Religion.

A Masters Degree in Theological Studies from Harvard University Divinity School should be worth somthing.

Good luck.

Howie, fyi, looks like your BlueAmerica page is now the tops on Sen. Rice’s page on ActBlue. His total donor # is close to 700. …hey, let’s put Sen. Rice into the ‘700 Club’ on ActBLue!

Yes, we have several terrific democrats in Congress now that had “hard campaigns” in 2006.

Hammer Inhofe with his comment about how global warming was invented to improve the ratings on the Weather Channel, he said it in a Committee hearing and it was on C-Span, it makes him look like an idiot.

The Webb vs Allen battle was epic.

Andrew it would be great to have voice for healthcare consumers in the US Senate. Good Luck.

Inhofe and Allen rarely differed on anything. Blue America was rooting for Webb– and we even helped out with some ad placements– but we didn’t do a fund-raiser for him because he doesn’t meet all our criteria. I’ve liked him in the Senate but he disappoints every now and then. Andrew on the other hand… I can’t think of a better candidate anywhere. Webb v Allen was epic. When Andrew beats Inhofe it will be historic! Once more: Blue America. I did my match, like I said I would.

Victoria - I am grateful you put your family health history in public view because as much as we would all like this to be private, it is the accumulation of the suffering and mental anguish that millions of Americans are enduring that is overlooked. Faceless numbers are a statistic while a personal account is a tragedy.

Bless your sister and her family and you for shedding light on America’s shameful medical focus on the dollar. The care of this woman and prevention should be the primary purpose of health insurance.

It has been many years ago, but I lived in both Sweden and Canada, and experienced very good ’socialized’ health care. Our taxes were indeed higher, but we could live in good conscience knowing that we were being both providers and recipients of the common good. Why does the common good seem such an unfamiliar concept to this administration and its followers?