Monday, October 26, 2009

Berkeley Students Change the Location of their Tuesday, October 27 Demonstration

Dear all:
I just received an email (below) and a map (above) from the organizer for Berkeley Students for Health Care Reform.

"We've had to change location due to the large anti-choice billboards in front of Sproul.

"Since we don't want to hold our event anywhere near their demonstration, we've decided to move our demonstration to the other side of Sather Gate, in front of Dwinelle Hall and Wheeler Hall."

If you'd like to participate, please make sure to be there at 11:50 a.m. Please email me if you have any questions.

Thank You For Your Calls - Reid Includes the Public Option with an Opt-Out

Thank you so much for your calls to Harry Reid's constituents in Nevada. Our champion caller is an East Bay physician who, with his wife, made 175 calls over the weekend! Of course, he was one of the original Feinstein 1200!

All that hard work has paid off. Senator Harry Reid today announced that the Senate health care bill will include a public option with an opt-out.

So can we stop calling?

I just heard back from Marta Evry at veniceforchange.com who counsels that we should not become complacent. The bill isn't yet up for a vote. Alas, we'll have to keep the pressure - and the calls - going.

But for the moment, take a breather to appreciate what you've done, and to recharge for more activity.

Thanks again for all your hard work,
Eva

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Have you contacted your (or someone else's) U.S. Senator today?

On Friday, Ellen Shaffer of EQUAL Health listed Senators Lieberman, Lincoln, BEN Nelson (not Bill), Bayh and Landrieu as people who could use your encouragement to support a strong public option.

Here are links for their contact information - you can email this weekend, and a Monday morning call would also be helpful.

Lieberman:
http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/

Lincoln:
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/

BEN Nelson:
http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact-me.cfm

Bayh:
http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/

Landrieu:
http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

New Ad Addresses Obama

One of our physician-members watched this video and pronounced it both "respectful of the President" and "strong."


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Nevada Effort Goes Live!

I received a large number of enthusiastic emails and calls in response to the last email newsletter. Many people wanted to get involved with Marta Evry's efforts with firedoglake.com to reach out to Nevada Dems to encourage Harry Reid to push hard for the public option.

So... THANK YOU!!!

I'm pleased to announce that the effort is now "live" so you can use this link to start calling. Or you can copy and paste from below:


IMPORTANT: I tested it out late this morning to trouble-shoot it, after Ellen Shaffer of EQUAL Health urged caution on the third part of the short questionnaire for the Nevada Democrats you'll be calling.

So here are three tips, which I hope will be useful to you:

1. When you register to start calling, the first question is VERY well-scripted for the Nevada Dems, many of whom are extremely loyal to Harry Reid. It paints a picture of Harry Reid under assault from the GOP and special interests. Saying it like you mean it really helps to "get your foot in the door" - it's your opener.

2. The second question in the script is good, but it demands that people know what a public option is, and what triggers are, etc. Many of these Nevada Democrats don't understand what a public option is in the first place. Before you start calling, please consider reviewing this Robert Reich video, which provides the most straightforward explanation, or use my excerpt from Reich's video below:

"Imagine you live in a city like, say, Cleveland. Right now, in most of that city, you can choose from only a few plans. With the public option, you'd be able to choose between these plans and the public option. That's it. It's that simple. If the public option costs too much, or doesn't provide good service, you stay with your private plan. And the public plan would not be subsidized by the government. The public option works because it would have the scale and authority to negotiate lower prices from health care providers - this would push the private insurers to get the same deals."

As for the language in the questionnaire script about "triggers, delays and opt-outs"... if they don't know what the public option is, they likely won't know what a trigger is. Be aware that these people may not have that much time for a phone call. So after you explain what the public option is, you may have to simplify the "triggers, delays, opt-outs" part by saying, "a public option that - importantly - is affordable and open to everyone on day one."

3. The third part of the questionnaire talks about a democratic (primary) challenge to Harry Reid. Ellen Shaffer of EQUAL Health had reservations about that, and I didn't quite understand what she meant until I started calling, and as soon as I asked the first question, I got feedback about how loyal the individual is to Harry Reid. Serious, heartfelt loyalty. This is something we need to be sensitive to, so if you get that loyalty feedback, I would skip question number three, and emphasize how Harry needs their help to support the public option. On the other hand, if the person is immediately critical of Harry Reid, then by all means use the third part of the questionnaire.

We're calling people in the privacy of their own homes, and we're asking them for a favor, so we need to carefully consider their feelings first. A lot of these Democratic voters are older, so let's also not call too late or too early in the day.

I was planning to go hear Michael Lighty speak on single payer at the Wellstone Democratic Club tonight, but now that this is live, I'll be calling from home this evening.

If anyone has feedback to share with the group about this effort, please let me know.

Another Day, Another Mitch Stewart Shakedown

As I was typing Wednesday's email newsletter, I was interrupted by yet another message from OFA Director Mitch Stewart in which he doesn't mention the words "public option" but he does ask me for a donation.

If I didn't make the donation, the linked website informed me, I couldn't watch the entire video of the President's special address to volunteers today.

You know, that speech wherein President Obama once again blew off the public option? Yes, that one.

Difficult as it may be to imagine, I didn't whip out my bank card for that one.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Robert Reich to Obama: Don't Pay the Lobbyists Their Hush Money

Reich elaborates on his blog entry today.

Robert Reich's Bombshell on the Deal with Insurers - and where do we go from here?

I've excerpted three quotes, for those who don't have time for the entire 15-minute interview with Robert Reich on today's WNYC program.

1) Reich’s “bombshell” on the agreement between the White House and health insurers,

2) A quick quote from Reich on insurance anti-trust exemptions, and

3) Most importantly, Reich's clarification of what is now possible through the Senate.

1. Reich’s bombshell: “Originally there was a kind of agreement between the insurance companies and the White House, started last January, and that agreement was the WH saying to the insurance companies:

‘Look, we can get you 30-35 million more customers, but you have to agree to just, uh, to be quiet. Don’t do what you did during Bill Clinton’s health care fight. Don’t run ads against us, don’t be an obstreperous, negative lobbying force. At the very least be quiet, you’ll make much more money if we can get this thing through. And when it comes to a public option, we, that is the White House, we will not push it. If it gets enacted, that’s okay, but we’re not going to push it, that’s up to Congress.’

“Now that deal began to unravel probably about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and certainly the last piece of that unraveling was a major study produced by the insurance lobby in Washington saying that the health care reforms emerging from the Hill were going to cost consumers much more than the White House or the Congressional Budget Office had let on. Why did the insurance company do an about-face? I think because instead of getting the 25-35 million new customers that they were promised by the White House, it looked as if they were only going to get 20 million new customers. And the Senate Finance Committee and other committees were even toying with the idea of reducing the penalties on people who would not necessarily sign up, which means there could be even fewer benefits for them.”

2. In response to the question of whether there is an anti-trust exemption for insurance companies: “They do have an anti-trust exemption, and that means that there is really not very much that the government - unless that exemption is taken away - can do about insurance companies getting together and monopolizing a local market or a national market. Which is exactly why I and so many others have been calling for a public insurance option, something that would give the insurance companies some real competition. And (in Saturday’s media address) the President did come down rhetorically on the insurance companies, but I did not hear anything about him going to demand a public option.”

(Editor’s note: this mirrors President Obama’s omission of any statement about a public insurance option, or “public option”, during his fundraising appearance in San Francisco on Thursday evening. So is he still trying to “play nice” with an insurance lobby that is trying to destroy his health care reform package? Mr. President, the insurance lobby is not your real friend. Those of us holding you to your promises are, believe it or not, your real friends - we want, and need, for you to have a genuine legacy, and we believe that's possible if you don't continue to bend to corporate interests.)

3. Most importantly, Reich clarified: “Most people don’t understand but it’s critically important in terms of understanding the process of the Senate: All Harry Reid has to get is 60 senators (and there are 60 democrats) to vote for a procedural motion to get the health care bill to the Senate floor. They don’t have to vote in favor of the health care bill. If they don’t like the health care bill, if they’re Mary Landrieu from Louisiana who’s in serious trouble because her state is so conservative, they can say to constituents: ‘I’m just voting for procedural motion because I think it’s fair to get the bill voted on.’ Now once Harry Reid gets those 60 votes for procedural motion to overcome a filibuster and gets the vote to the floor, then all he needs is 51 votes, and by many peoples’ head counts, he does have 51 votes, including a good chance of 51 votes for a public insurance option. And again that option is critically important because if we don’t have it, we won’t be able to afford health care in years ahead because there won’t be competition for the private insurance companies.”


Reports from Inside the President's October 15 Fundraiser in San Francisco

Inside the President's Fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis, October 15, 2009, San Francisco:


From Anonymous 1:

"As I walked south along Powell towards the entrance to the hotel and looked towards the plaza, all I could see was a mass of humanity pushed up against the barriers holding signs of every size, shape and denomination. It was almost surreal in its abstraction.

Inside was a very different scene; a rather demure but joyous sense filed the rooms at least for the first couple of hours of standing and waiting. Finally after over 3 hours of standing, often so tightly packed movement was restricted to rocking ever so slightly from one aching foot to the other the final set of doors opened and en masse we rushed into the welcomed relief of a large air conditioned room.

Then followed more standing (at least for us in the free or $500 SRO location) eventually followed by some opening comments, some great entertainment, and finally Nancy Pelosi’s introduction of the President. From that point on the crowd was behaved as if at a Rolling Stones concert. The President devoted the vast majority of his time recapping his administration’s accomplishments to date and the challenges that await us. He said repeatedly it was going to be tough and would take a long time.

Unfortunately there was very little mention of health care reform. I must hasten to add there was so much applause that much of what he said was hard to hear. Afterwards I asked several people and they all concurred no one heard any mention of the public option."

From Anonymous 2: During the reception at St Francis today, talking to a few people, I got the impression that Feinstein could be a problem during cloture vote. We’ve got to keep up the pressure - in fact increase it substantially - since all 60 D votes are needed for cloture to avoid Republican filibuster. There is a real concern that she is waiting for an opportune moment to cause trouble. Neither she nor Boxer were there (at least I did not see), but Pelosi intro'ed the President.”

And later from the same person:

“As much I as would like to protest, I think the President needs us to get over the legislative mess that is also known as the US Congress. A few insiders were dropping some hints as to why they are playing the way they are; it’s very complicated politics from what I gather with an 8-year horizon.”


From Anonymous 3:

“Dear Eva thank you, your (single payer) lapel tag was a great success. I got a lot of thumbs up. Obama was very aggressive on the insurance lobby and on Republicans. He knew his constituency here.”


From Anonymous 4, sent to us on Saturday, October 17:

“*Change–verb (used with object) 1. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's opinion; to change the course of history. *from Dictionary.com


“I forked over $250 for the "privilege"of standing with the $500 donators at Thursday's fundraiser for the OFA/DNC. By the way, the $250 came out of my unemployment check. I wish it had come out of a REAL paycheck, one I have not received in 18 months. But I digress.

“Now that it's been two days since the event, I am ready to comment on my experience and all that it has brought up for me.

“I have to say, I felt patronized by our President. He should have known that many of us in the ballroom worked tirelessly to get him elected, gave money during the campaign and have engaged ourselves from the primaries through the transition period (I hosted a healthcare event in December, trusting that Tom Daschle had been thoroughly vetted) and onward in support of Mr. Obama's administration through the OFA/DNC.

“I wish he had first driven along Powell Street where the protesters and followers had been standing for hours…. Then, come into the dinner ($15K a head. Woof.) and reception to report that "there are a lot of passionate citizens out there that we need to recognize and listen to. I don't want to be another elitist President."

“But his speech – pep talk – was him telling us of all the great things he's accomplished since becoming President. Yes, he has made changes "we can believe in" – the Lily Ledbetter triumph regarding equal pay for women, starting the closure of Gitmo, the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor to the Supremes and most importantly in my book, having meaningful dialog with world leaders over issues that threaten every human on the planet.

“I don't think he should be so proud of "keeping our economy from the brink of collapse...". The banks and investment firms that were "too big to fail" are bigger and back to taking huge risks with other people's money while smaller institutions are going under. The unemployment rate creeps higher each month and home foreclosures have not ceased.

(Editor's note: Although the Feinstein 1200 is largely concerned with health care reform, Anonymous 4's reference to "too big to fail" is in fact something we should be concerned about. As former Chief Economist for the IMF Simon Johnson has pointed out, that quality has actually increased risk in the system, which puts Obama's leadership at risk.)

“So, I am one of the "Impatiently Waiting" (see editorial by Charles M. Blow in Sat. 10/17's NYT) for our President to "stand up for his convictions". I wonder: Mr. Obama is head of his party, I mean he is the freaking President and he can't sell members of Congress in the Democratic Party (let alone the party of "no") to fight off the lobbyists and do what's right for their constituents?

“Back to Thursday night. I am glad I saw the President in the flesh talking to his supporters in San Francisco. I really, really want to trust that he knows what he is doing, has a stellar staff to carry out his strategies and that by the end of his first term, we will all look back and say "See? We should have been more patient with the guy. We now have a world-class healthcare system that works for everyone, we did not commit more troops in Afghanistan or Pakistan but instead have found more creative ways to use our intelligence network to find, expose and stop the terrorists who threaten the safety of our country and those of our allies. And all the troops are back from Iraq! Hooray! And guess what?! Small business growth is up, profitable and providing goods and services in the new Environmental Industrial Complex. They are hiring and the unemployment rate is down to 4.7% again. How amazing is it that America is now leading the fight against global warming? The new green house gas emission regulations are working, thanks to the administration, Congress, the EPA and the incredible, energized band of volunteers across the country who are holding their elected officials and the largest emitters accountable!"

Essential Listening: Robert Reich on How the Administration's Deal with Health Insurers Unraveled

Friday, October 16, 2009

The Report from Outside the President's Fundraiser

"A modified form of hunger strike for those whose political convictions are not quite so radical is giving up chives." -Woody Allen, Without Feathers


At about the same time that Tracy Chapman started singing “Talking ‘Bout A Revolution” for President Obama’s fundraising group inside the Westin St. Francis, I was standing outside the event in the dark (literally) with the single payer protesters to my left and the tea party protesters to the right. Several other groups, from Ron Paul libertarians to the satirical group "Billionaires for Wealth Care" to an apparent one-man cannabis awareness committee, filled the spaces in between.


The level of nervous energy from competing factions in the crowd was enough to convince you that change is inevitable. What, exactly, that change will be remains undetermined, but I hope that it is the change the President was elected to deliver, and not the change that the tea partiers seem to be threatening.


When I first arrived at 3:45 p.m., I learned that the right-wing tea partiers had been there for at least an hour. (I keep telling you, our side needs to get up earlier!) Interspersed among them were some African-American supporters of Obama who were stoically ignoring the occasional vitriol from the right for the chance of glimpsing this historic President.


Down at the corner, legendary Single Payer Now leader Don Bechler had convinced a number of stray passersby to help hold up several of the enormous 15-foot long signs he’d painted. White-jacketed single payer physicians stood at the edges of the signs, looking like the missing Elgin marbles suddenly reattached to the Parthenon. And there, in the midst of this, was the Lincolnesque Dr. James G. Kahn. I have to admit that I hadn’t considered that Dr. Kahn would himself show up. Seeing Kahn standing there like an ordinary protester on the street was akin to having an attending physician help you change an incontinent patient’s diapers; it was as unexpected as it was appreciated.


Meanwhile, the right was there with a colorful variety of paranoid signs. The strangest was a very large one that said “Obama is a Judas,” which struck me for its seemingly unconsidered potential to offend atheists and believers alike. Where did they come up with that? HOW did they come up with that? Compared to the Judas reference, the tea partiers’ derogatory images of Obama seemed tame.


The other tea party sign that compelled my attention was one that read: “China Owns Us.” I was tempted to pencil in, “Thanks to an obscene amount of treasury debt sold to China during the Bush administration,” but I’m almost certain that my efforts would have gone unappreciated.


On the corner, a hippie started playing a wooden flute and the right-wingers started another chant of “U.S.A! U.S.A.!” I recalled Norman Mailer’s Miami and the Siege of Chicago and wondered what would happen if the rest of us also started chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” Would that throw them off their game? It was hard not to think of Harvey Korman as Hed-leyLamarr in “Blazing Saddles” signing up these right-wing miscreants for the raid on Rock Ridge.

Hedley Lamarr: "Qualifications?"

Hooded man: "Stampeding cattle."

Hedley: "That’s not much of a crime."

Hooded man: "Through the Vatican?"

Hedley: "Kinky! Sign here."


A solitary black man walked through the crowd wearing a knit hat with Obama's name stitched across it and holding an American flag with Obama's likeness on it. He was excoriated by two particularly vociferous anti-war protesters. I was impressed by his stoic, affable response to their anger. When I complimented his unflappability, he responded that he had marched as a child for civil rights with his mother, and that he understood that it would take time and support for the President to enact real change.


I spent the last hour discussing the strategies of a bunch of anti-war Ron Paul acolytes who had been unsuccessfully trying to peel off supporters from the tea party group. “We were approaching them, saying, ‘Guantanamo hasn’t been closed and the wars are still raging!’ but the tea partiers just think that’s great." He added incredulously, "We say: they're still torturing people. But they think torture is great. And when we try to explain HR 1207 to them, their eyes just glaze over. How do you talk to these people?


Indeed.


I thank the anti-war protesters and Single Payer Now groups for showing up - because without them, the tea partiers would have been the largest group represented. As it was, they were merely the loudest. And this was the first time I noticed that the tea partiers were joined by a somewhat vocal group of Eastern European immigrants.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Our Thank-You Carrot (Cake) For Senator Feinstein

After a great deal of effort, our side finally won some important concessions from Senator Dianne Feinstein (the namesake of our group.) We subsequently decided, as a group, to stop prodding her with the "stick" of protest, and reward her with a "carrot" (in this case, a carrot cake decorated with baby carrots.)

This is the text of our letter delivered with the cake on October 14:

"Dear Senator Feinstein,

"On behalf of the Feinstein 1200, we would like to thank you for signing Senator Brown’s letter last week supporting a robust public option.

"We applaud your recognition of the need to control premiums, and the essential role of the public option in doing this.

"We also support your more recent proposal to createa a national rate authority to control premiums and to oversee the health insurance industry in America.

"The fight has only begun, and we look forward to joining you!”

Above is a picture of Feinstein staffer John Murray holding the home-made carrot cake prepared for the Senator (we also made one for the very thoughtful security staff.) If you want the recipe, it's from Martha Stewart's website, but for a lighter, tastier cake, I would increase the buttermilk and reduce the oil.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Your hard work pays off: Dianne Feinstein signs Senator Brown's letter

Dear all:

Look carefully at the letter, there are two names on each line. Senator Dianne Feinstein's name is on the 7th line, second name in.

Congratulations on the results of your hard work. And many, many thanks for all the calls you made, the emails you sent, the signs you held, the videos you made, the petitions you signed and in some cases the trip you made to the Senator's office while you were in DC... and so on.

We'll have more on this later, but I just wanted to send you the good news as soon as possible. I tried to get through to Dianne's office to say thank you, but the senator's line has been busy all morning.

With warm regards and thanks,

Eva Chrysanthe
on behalf of The Feinstein 1200

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Meet Maggie Mahar In Person Today at UCSF

Maggie Mahar In Person Today at Noon!
There will be a free San Francisco screening today of the highly anticipated new film, "Money-Driven Medicine." The film is based on Maggie Mahar's acclaimed book of the same name. And Maggie Mahar herself will answer audience questions! This event is free and open to the public, so I advise you get there early if you want a seat. "Money-Driven Medicine" was produced by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney.
Details:
Weds, October 7, 2009
UCSF Laurel Heights Auditorium, Room s124
12:00-1:00 Film Screening
1:00-2:00 Q&A
Maggie has her own blog, here is the link:

Monday, October 5, 2009

Your Comments - The Success of the Veterans Administration Hospital System

Thanks to Linda for this article from Bloomberg News:

"The VA system is a larger enterprise than that envisioned for the so-called public option being considered by Congress, where the government would run a nonprofit insurer as an alternative to the private industry, not provide care. That hasn’t stopped opponents such as House Republican leader John Boehner from warning that President Barack Obama favors “government-run health care,” a criticism that bothers many veterans.

I really get annoyed every time I hear these talking heads talking about ‘the government can’t run anything,’” said John Rowan, 64, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, who visits a New York clinic for complications from contact with the chemical Agent Orange. “Most veterans would give it a fairly good rating.”

Thomas Frank Asks: Whatever Happened to Change?

Heather Podesta, the "It Girl" of D.C. lobbyists, with her husband.

Thomas Frank, the author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?" calls it for what it is.
"There is something uniquely depressing about the fact that the National Portrait Gallery's version of the Barack Obama "Hope" poster previously belonged to a pair of lobbyists. Depressing because Mr. Obama's Washington was not supposed to be the lobbyists' Washington, the place we learned to despise during the last administration."
If, say, you were feeling sluggish and wanted to boost your blood pressure, I suggest reading the entire article.

Montana Man Confronts Baucus

Call it his "Nolan Ryan Moment." One of our favorite Feinstein 1200 physicians, now in Montana, sent this local article about a fed-up former Montana insurance salesman, Mr. Levente Csaplar, who confronted Senator Max Baucus' office staff last month.

Mr. Csaplar told the Senator's staff that, because of Baucus' "dithering" and "inadequate" work on health care reform, Baucus "didn't deserve" to display a portrait of revered Montana Senator Mike Mansfield in his office. Mr. Csaplar also took on some tea party protestors. Good stuff, give it a read .

First, We Take Manhattan...