I waited with baited breath at the CAP/SEIU debate to hear what the Democratic candidates had to say about the health care crisis in this country. With the exception of Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards, no one offered a comprehensive plan to address the problem. They all “felt our pain.” I am sorry but that is no longer enough.

The most disappointing was Barak Obama – primarily because I want to like him so much. (Disclosure: I even sent him a check.) When a member of the audience noted that Mr. Obama’s website contained no serious discussion of how he would address the problem, all he could say was, “Our campaign now is a little over eight weeks old.” How long have we known about the health care crisis? How many millions of dollars has Mr. Obama collected? How long has he been in political office? I believe Mr. Obama is currently a member of the U.S. Senate. If, as he says, the health care crisis is the most important domestic issue facing this country, what is and has he been waiting for? The time to show his “leadership” is now. Don’t ask the American people to wait.

In a very close second place was Hillary Clinton – but this may be because my expectations are so low. She spent most of her time whining about how hard it was in 1994. All she could offer was a series of minor band aides, which completely failed to address the underlying problem that a vast sector of the populous cannot afford health insurance and that employers are being bankrupted by the rising cost of the premiums.

While it may not be as much fun as kicking Scott McInnis or Bob Schaffer, the availability of affordable heath care is far more important.

For those of you who don’t know it, a commission to study health care proposals and report to the legislature is in full swing - 208 Commission. They are conducting hearings to receive comments from the public about what needs to be done. Formal proposals for consideration by the commission are due April 1, 2007.

Some very good people at Health Care for All Colorado have put together a proposal for a single-payer system to be submitted to the commission. They have done a very comprehensive job. (Even preparing proposed legislation for those detailed oriented of us who believe that the devil is always in the details.) I highly recommend that everyone read their proposal and give them your comments.

As important - SEND THEM MONEY! They will be facing an array of insurance company and health care industry opponents who have virtually unlimited resources.

I opened the Denver Post on Tuesday to find an article entitled "Ritter forms business council".  Link  As a small businessperson I was intrigued. Who was there representing my interests – a progressive small business. Try as I might, I could not find a list of the people on the council. However, the article did list the co-chairs of the council - Pat Vincent, president of Xcel Energy's Colorado operations and Rick Sapkin, chairman of the business lobbying group Colorado Concern.

Vincent was easy – a representative of big business and certainly not my friend or ally. But, I have to admit my ignorance of Colorado Concern. So, I started looking around. What did I find – Colorado Concern is another representative of big business – it donors are 80 chief executives. See, Denver Business Journal Link  In fact, Jessica Peck Cory, a policy analyst with the Independence Institute in Golden, describes Colorado Concern: as “the godfather of big business groups in Colorado.” Link

Where does a small progressive business fit in to your plans, Bill?

Update:  Well the list is out.  Not a single representative of small business let alone a true progressive political philosophy:

"The Business Advisory Group will be a bi-partisan effort to work on business issues that are in the best interests of Colorado," said Pat Vincent, president and CEO of Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company. "We will look at economic development opportunities that benefit all residents in all parts of the state."

"Other members include: Reeves Brown, head of the Western Slope’s Club 20 organization; Rob Cohen, chairman and CEO of the IMA Financial Group Inc. and chair of the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce board; Hubert Farbes, an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt and Farber; Craig Ferraro, partner and CFO of East West Partners; John Ikard, president and CEO of FirstBank Holding Co.; Walter Isenberg, founder of Sage Hospitality; Annette Quintana, co-founder of TeamExcel Inc.; Ann Sperling, former senior managing director of Trammell Crow Co.; Wellington Webb, former mayor of Denver and head of The Webb Group."