What is our country coming to?

Earlier today, we learned about an offensive, racist billboard right here in Colorado--attacking President Obama and comparing him to terrorists. The billboard was created by Wolf Automotive, at their location here in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Check out the photo to the right, then join the pledge to boycott.

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/WolfAuto

We called Wolf Automotive to ask them what their intent was in putting up that sign. The man we spoke with defended the sign, and indicated he has no intention of taking the sign down, and it was quickly apparent that he was a "birther."

The "tea party" movement and the "birthers" are becoming more and more outrageous. They're in the thrall of demagogues like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Peter Boyles, Sarah Palin, and right-wing elected officials in Colorado like Senator Dave Schultheis--who sent out a statement last week comparing President Obama to the 9/11 terrorists who flew United Flight 93 into the ground.

We'll defend anyone's First Amendment right to speak his or her mind. However, the "marketplace of ideas" that the First Amendment protects only works when everyone speaks out. If hate like that spread by Dave Schultheis and the owners of Wolf Automotive are allowed to go without a response, then we allow the perception that these ideas have merit.

We have both the right and the obligation under the First Amendment to publicly reject ideas that we find abhorent and offensive.

Please help us respond to this latest attack from the Right by doing a couple of things. First, please click on the link below and pledge to boycott Wolf Automotive until they take down this billboard.

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/WolfAuto

After you sign the pledge, we'll provide you the phone numbers for the Wolf Automotive Group--they have four dealerships located in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Please take a few minutes to call and ask them, respectfully, to take their sign down. We want to respond, but we want to resist being dragged into incivility by the hatred that we're confronting.

P.S. If you are on Twitter, please copy and paste the tweet below and share far and wide:

Join the Boycott! Wolf Automotive Group in CO WY & MT proud of their anti-Obama, anti-Muslim, racist hateful billboard. http://bit.ly/4KLxtz

P.S.S. Denver talk-radio host Peter Boyles has apparently been coordinating with Wolf Automotive for months on this. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108289

Cross-posted at ProgressNow Colorado

Statement on Scott "McLobbyist" McInnis Avoiding Primary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 9, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Huttner, Founder at 303-931-4547

DENVER--In response to reports that Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry is suddenly leaving the Republican race for Governor, Michael Huttner, the founder of ProgressNow Colorado released the following statement:

"If this is true, it's the old D.C. lobbyist guard stepping out of the shadows to clear the field for Scott 'McLobbyist' McInnis. McInnis' ties to lobbyists, oil and gas interests, and corrupt cronies like Tom DeLay can't help but make one wonder what's really going on when his primary opponents start dropping out of the race.

This comes on the heels of awful press for McInnis, detailing his flip-flop away from his former stand in favor of women's health rights to the extreme right. So right after outraging the conservative base by avoiding a primary, he's alienating the vast majority of Coloradans who support a woman's right to choose.

And it should come as no surprise that this story broke first in Washington D.C. instead of Colorado, since that's where 'McLobbyist's' best friends are. We call on McInnis to disclose which of his lobbyist friends helped push Penry out."

###

As Colorado Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry hypocritically attacked the state government and Governor Bill Ritter during Colorado's ongoing budget crisis, ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization demanded Wednesday that Penry come clean about immediate family members both recently hired and currently employed by Mesa State College.

"It is ridiculous beyond belief that 'Pandering' Josh Penry misrepresents fiscal reality and vital state services for political gain, while his own family pockets state funds each payday," said ProgressNow Colorado Founder Michael Huttner.

Penry's Misrepresentation 

The Denver Post recently reported that despite Penry's attacks on Governor Ritter's so-called "hiring spree," most of the growth in state employment can be traced to simple population growth, increases mandated by the voter's passage of Referendum C in 2005, and legislation passed by the General Assembly--including legislation sponsored by Sen. Penry. (Denver Post, "Analysis suggests increased Colorado state jobs may be overstated," 10/11/2009)

Penry's Hypocrisy 

Last week, the Grand Junction Sentinel reported that state-funded Mesa State College "has a history of hiring former political workers and those connected to them," including Kristi Pollard, the recently-hired 'Interim Director of Development' at Mesa State and Sen. Josh Penry's sister. Jamie Penry, Sen. Penry's wife, is also a former Mesa State employee according to the Sentinel. (Grand Junction Sentinel, "Mesa State hires as campus grows, enrollment soars," 10/25/2009)

"That Penry would make these lazy, irresponsible accusations, while his own family snaps up the very same high-paying state jobs Penry complains the loudest about, is just mind-boggling and laughable," said Huttner. "Penry at the very least owes the public a good explanation. I think he owes the public, and thousands of hard working Colorado civil servants he's insulted, an apology as well."

"Finally," concluded Huttner, "we call on Penry to immediately disclose whether he personally has sought employment at Mesa State College while serving in the Colorado General Assembly, or at any time discussed the hiring of his family members with Mesa State officials." 

You think I'm kidding? It could have happened to me.

A few winters ago I let my new neighbor--a woman who had just escaped from an abusive relationship--borrow my car. She knocked on my door in the middle of the night, crying. Her newborn baby had a 105 degree fever, and she had to get to the emergency room.

Everything went fine until she was pulled over because one of the brake lights had burned out. As it turns out, her license had been suspended due to an unpaid ticket, and she didn't even know it. It was no big deal--the police called me, I put on my moon boots, and trudged half a mile to drive her and her baby home from the spot where she was pulled over. The police were nice, considering the circumstances: no tickets for her or for me.

If I-300 had been law, the police would have been required to impound my car, and I would have been forced to pay the $2,700 in bonds and fees to retrieve my car from the impound lot. And that doesn't even include the cost of towing.

That's why I'm asking you to vote No on Denver's Initiative 300 before 7:00 p.m. tomorrow.

It's deceptive. It's scary. It's expensive. And it's unnecessary.

Police officers already have the ability to impound vehicles if they are concerned about public safety. The Denver Post, Mayor Hickenlooper, ten members of the Denver City Council, House Speaker Terrance Carroll, and a long list of Denver community organizations and individuals oppose Initiative 300. And the proponents of this nightmare are counting on low turnout in an off-year election to sneak this one past us.

You can get more details on Initiative 300 by visiting http://www.VoteNoOnImpound.com.

1. Vote. Turn in your ballot by 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. You can drop it off at the Webb Building downtown (201 W Colfax) or do a drive-through dropoff at the Denver Elections Division office. (3888 E. Mexico Ave. at Colorado Blvd.). It's too late to mail it--you need to hand deliver it.
2. Forward this e-mail to 5 friends in Denver.
3. Share this information on Facebook status, Twitter, and other social networks to remind people to vote and vote no on I-300.

If you haven't received your ballot yet, or if you lost it or spoiled it, go to either the Webb Building or the Denver Elections Division before 6:00 p.m. today, or between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. If you have any questions about the process, dial 311 to contact the Denver Elections Division.

Wednesday, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bill that has been championed mainly by Democratic members of Congress for over a decade in the face of largely Republican opposition based on hideous lies from legalizing pedophilia to canceling the free exercise clause.

Somewhat lost in the celebration and remembrance of Matthew Shepard, the bill's namesake, was the story of Angie Zapata, an 18 year-old transgender woman from Greeley. She was brutally beaten to death with a fire extinguisher and left for dead just over a year ago because, as the thug who murdered confessed, "gay things must die."

“It’s not like I went up to a school teacher and shot her in the head or killed a straight, law-abiding citizen," he boasted to his girlfriend in a jailhouse-recorded phone conversation. And if he were to ever encounter a gay person in prison, he proclaimed that he would kill that "pink-shirt wearing motherfucker."

There's an election on Tuesday! 

If you vote by mail and haven't turned your ballot in yet, hand-deliver your ballot to your County Clerk's office Monday or Tuesday to ensure that it's received in time for your vote to count. Your county may have more than one possible drop-off location for your convenience. If you haven't received your ballot yet, contact your county clerk to find out how to obtain a replacement ballot. Below, we've included some other information that may help.

Whether you're liberal, conservative, progressive, libertarian, or a completely unaffiliated free spirit, vote.

The elections in odd years involve local issues from school boards to city council to county commissioner. There may also be bond issues, initiatives, and referenda--all very local to your city or county. Although elections call to mind voting for President, Governor, and legislature, the fact is that most of what affects our daily lives happens locally. Our schools, our city streets, our zoning boards, even our trash collection are all local issues.

If you don't exercise your right to vote in these local elections, you will miss the best opportunity you will have this year to affect change for yourself and your family.

• According to the Secretary of State, there is an election in every Colorado county except Archuleta, Hinsdale, and Phillips.
• Most Colorado counties have an all-mail election this year. If you have not received a ballot or information on where to vote, contact your county clerk right away.
• Your ballot must be received by your county clerk no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd for your vote to be counted. Postmarks don't count.
• If you already voted by mail, you can make sure your ballot was received on the Secretary of State's secure voter lookup website:
  https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuVoterHome.do
• If your county has a polling place election, your polling place may not be in the same location as last year. Contact your County Clerk if you are not sure where you should vote.
• If you need to contact your county clerk for any of the above reasons, you can find your county clerk's contact information here:
  http://www.elections.colorado.gov/Default.aspx?PageMenuID=1397

At a press conference this morning, ProgressNow Colorado described how Norton's first financial disclosures include corrupt DC lobbyists organized by her sister and brother-in-law, both of whom are DC lobbyists.  They revealed a confidential invitation spearheaded by Norton's relatives and the lobbyist money that followed.

The group also joined over 400 of its members in calling on former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton to sign the "Family Transparency Pledge" rejecting trips, gifts, campaign donations and benefits from relatives who are lobbyists.

"A puppet of corporate lobbyists in her family, Norton is the DC lobbyist's dream candidate," noted Michael Huttner, Founder of ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization.  "It's only been a month and already Norton has a record of surrounding herself with corrupt DC lobbyists."

Since the morning Norton announced her campaign, over 400 Coloradans have joined the call for Norton to sign the pledge.  She continues to refuse to sign it.

"We call on Jane Norton to stop placing DC special interests in Washington and sign the 'Family Transparency Pledge' today," stated Huttner.  "We believe that Norton needs to reject trips or economic benefits through her relatives who are lobbyists."

Norton has failed to sign the "Family Transparency Pledge":

I, Jane Norton, pledge to the People of Colorado, that I am committed to fighting the undue influence of special interests in Washington, DC.

Accordingly, I pledge that I will reject any trips, gifts, campaign donations or economic benefits that are provided to me through my relatives who are lobbyists by the companies that hire them to influence public policy.

Download a printable .PDF copy of the Pledge here:

http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/-/Family%20Transparency%20Pledge.pdf

Norton's relatives who are lobbyists include:

Judy Black (Norton's sister) is a DC lobbyist whose clients include those from the for-profit health care and medical device companies, oil companies, chemical companies and the banking industry. (Washington Post, June 10, 2004; U.S. Secretary of the Senate Lobbying Disclosure Database, 9/10/2009)

Charlie Black (Norton's brother in law) head of BKSH & Associates is a DC lobbyist and made a lucrative career of representing foreign oil companies, tobacco companies, drug companies, auto companies and defense contractors. (Washington Post, 12/31/2007; Business Week, 7/19/2004) and evenZaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.(People's Weekly World, 3/1/2008)  Black is so deeply entwined with tobacco companies he is known in Washington as "Mr. Tobacco."

The well-connected Black used BKSH & Associates to cash in on the homeland security consulting bonanza after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was a consultant to Ahmad Chalabi, the CIA-connected Iraqi whose lies about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction promoted Bush's preemptive war on Iraq. BKSH also coached Eric Prince, CEO of Blackwater USA, before he testified on his mercenary company's massacre of scores of innocent Iraqis. (PWW)

A sample of Lobbyists in Norton's Disclosures (amount date of donation):

Alex Castellanos $2400 on 9/29, a CNN talking head recently exposed for being a media buyer for America's Health Insurance Plan's (AHIP) during the health care debate, he was an adviser to Bush/Cheney 2004, and known for being the "father of the modern attack ad," was the creator of the race-baiting Jesse Helms "Hands" ad [Politico, 10/15/09; www.natmedia.com; Greg Sargent, The Plum Line, 10/15/08]

Kristen Chadwick $500 on 9/22:  She lobbies for the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company (EADS). Her work for EADS came under scrutiny recently after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) had written letters to the Defense Department asking it to reconsider a contracting requirement seen as disadvantageous to EADS. Shortly thereafter, the Defense Department made the requested change, and EADS eventually won the $35 billion contract to manufacture the next generation of in-flight refueling tanker planes.(New York Times, 3/12/2008)

Rick Davis $2000 on 9/30, John McCain's on-again-off-again 2008 campaign chief, was one of the Washington uber-lobbyists behind McCain's political operation from Davis Manafort, who lobbied for Verizon and foreign governments, including some unregistered liaison work between Sen. McCain and a Russian oligarch [NY Times, 5/20/08; Washington Post, 1/25/08] Davis came under fire for his conflicts of interest as McCain's 2000 campaign manager, since his clients SBC Communications Inc. and Comsat Corp. had mergers pending before Chairman McCain's Senate Commerce Committee.[Politico, 7/11/07]

Frank Donatelli $1000 on 9/29, a former deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee and recently elected chair of GOPAC, now a lobbyist and director of federal public affairs McGuireWoods Consulting, where his past clients have included Anthem and Verizon [www.opensecrets.org;www.mwcllc.com].  McGuireWoods was part of the legal defense team for indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and was fined $4,500 by the FEC in 2005 on an unrelated matter for failing to file a quarterly report for its PAC in 2004 [Richmond Times Dispatch, 11/24/05, accessed via Nexis 10/26/09]

Benjamin L. Ginsberg $500 on 9/29, GOP election lawyer who led the Bush-Gore recount, and currently a lobbyist at mega-lobbying shop Patton-Boggs LLP [www.opensecrets.org; www.pattonboggs.com].  Ginsberg resigned from the 2004 Bush campaign after it was discovered that he had consulted with both the campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, but maintained, after the Kerry campaign filed an FEC complaint, that his dual roles were legal. [Roll Call, 8/30/04]

Susan B. Hirschmann $1000 on 9/30, a former chief of staff to Tom DeLay, who went from Congress through the revolving door to become a lobbyist at Williams & Jensen, where her clients include AstraZenica, Pfizer, and Wyeth [www.opensecrets.org; www.williamsandjensen.com]  At DeLay's office, Hirschmann had worked with Jack Abramoff's office to arrange a famous trip to St. Andrews golf course in Scotland, with her husband travelling on Abramoff's credit card [Washington Post, 12/20/06].  Hirschmann was one of the top two congressional staff members to take privately financed travel between 2000-2005, totaling $85,000 over a 26-month period [Washington Post, 6/9/06; Center for Public Integrity, 6/8/06]

Bob Livingston $500 on 9/10, the one-time successor to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Appropriations Committee Chairman, who resigned from the US House during the Clinton impeachment after allegations of extramarital affairs surfaced.  Livingston became a lobbyist within a week of leaving Congress, founding the Livingston Group, which earned over $9 million in lobbying income in 2008 [Times-Picayune, 8/13/09, accessed via Nexis 10/25/09;www.opensecrets.org].  A report in 2007 claimed that a third of his firm's income came from foreign governments [NY Times, 10/17/07]  Livingston was once part of a team of investors that tried to open a restaurant with Jack Abramoff before scandal broke and the deal fell through. [Roll Call, 11/17/05]

Scott W. Reed $500 on 9/25, Bob Dole's 1996 campaign manager and now a lobbyist and founder of Chesapeake Enterprises  [www.opensecrets.org], has lobbied and consulted with numerous clients, including the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, who hired Reed along with Charlie Black [Real Estate Finance Today, 7/17/00, accessed via Nexis 10/26/09].  Other clients included American Taxpayers Alliance, a group that ran attack ads to sway the 2002 Illinois Supreme Court elections in favor of a pro-US Chamber of Commerce justice candidate. [Forbes, 7/21/03] Reed inherited the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of Michigan as a client from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff after Sen. McCain launched an investigation into Abramoff's activities. [The Hill, 5/8/07]

Ed Rogers $500 on 9/25, chairman of The BGR Group, which he founded with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, lists Citigroup, the Kurdistan Regional Government, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Raytheon among his clients.  Rogers was exposed engaging in a campaign to undermine Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, contradicting the official policy of the White House in Iraq [www.bgrdc.com; www.opensecrets.org; CNN, 8/24/07]

Norton has yet to disclose why she never registered as a lobbyist:

Norton refuses to explain why she never personally registered as a lobbyist, even though she was the head of "Government Relations" for a health insurance lobbying organization. The press yesterday to the company confirmed Norton headed "the lobbying arm" of the company. (Colorado Independent, 9/14/2009;Washington Times, 9/14/2009)

Between 1994 and 1999, Norton was the Director of Government Relations for the Medical Group Management Association, the public policy and lobbying arm of a for-profit health trade lobbying organization.  (Denver Post, December 19, 1999)  Yet an extensive search of state and federal lobbyist disclosure records has not found any lobbying disclosure records by Norton. (U.S. Secretary of the Senate Lobbyists Disclosure Database and Colorado SOS Lobbyist Database) The entire time, it appears that Norton never registered as either a federal or state lobbyist.

If Initiative 300 in Denver passes, and you forget your wallet and get pulled over, police officers will be forced to impound your car leaving you stranded.

Which is why we're asking for your help. We need you to vote No on Initiative 300 if you live in Denver County.

It's deceptive. It's scary. It's expensive. And it's unnecessary.

Police officers already have the ability to impound vehicles if they are concerned about public safety. The Denver Post, Mayor Hickenlooper, ten members of the Denver City Council, House Speaker Terrence Carroll, and a long list of Denver community organizations and individuals oppose Initiative 300. And the proponents of this nightmare are counting on low turnout in an off-year election to sneak this one past us.

• Send an e-mail to 5 friends in Denver and ask them to vote no.
• Talk to your friends, neighbors, and co-workers in person about how important it is for them to return their ballots, and ask them to vote no on Initiative 300.
• Sign up to volunteer.

As for voting, the 2009 Election will be Mail-In Ballot only. Voting couldn't be easier-- it just takes 2 stamps to return, or you can drop it off to the Denver Election Commission in person. So please Vote NO on Initiative 300 and help spread the word.

If you live in Denver, you should have received your ballot in the mail. To check on your voter registration and on the status of your ballot, click here to look it up at the Secretary of State:

http://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter

If you believe you are registered to vote and you have not received your ballot, call 311 today.

It is possible that the workers at King Soopers and Safeway may be forced to strike, or worse--they could get locked out soon. They have been negotiating hard for a new contract since this spring, but the highly profitable grocery corporations don't want to put enough money in the pension fund to cover the pensions the workers were promised.

If there is a strike, we want you to be ready to shop somewhere else to avoid crossing a picket line.

We've made this nifty map that you can use to shop responsibly. Check it out. And if there are locally-owned stores in your area that don't show on the map, use the link on the map page to submit those locations and we'll add them.

http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/ShopResponsibly

Senator Michael Bennet was one of 30 signatories on a letter to the Senate leadership demanding that the HELP Committee's optional public insurance plan be included in the final bill. The next day, Senator Bennet, Senator Udall (not ours, but his cousin from New Mexico), and others joined Senator Brown on the floor to press for the public option in person.

Yesterday I sent out an e-mail encouraging people to contact their congresspeople and encourage them to support the President's healthcare plan, including a public option. Predictably, the hate mail rolled in. Here's a best-of: [profanity warning...to say nothing of birther stupidity] [emphasis added]

Colorado grocery workers are fighting against concessions. The grocery chains are pleading hardship, claiming that the recession has hurt profitability. Yet Kroger, King Soopers' parent corporation, saw profits rise 12.7 percent in the first quarter.

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/09/daily16.html

The grocery chains have repeatedly trumpeted the recession as a reason to cut labor costs. One of the significant questions during these negotiations: Why are the grocery chains spending hundreds of millions on their stores, but setting aside next to nothing for their workers?

An Aurora King Soopers is remodeled with a storefront that, according to the store manager, "will be visible from I-225." August 2009

What do the experts say about the financial status of the grocery chains? While admitting the current quarter is challenging, Credit Suisse analyst Edward J. Kelly is "positive on supermarkets," predicting improved fundamentals next year. He believes that Kroger "is the best company in the sector, given its focus on value." Kelly rates Kroger and Safeway stocks as "Outperform," adding that Safeway "has the right strategy for the long-term and generates cash."

Professor Jacob Hacker originally defined the concept of an ideal 'public option' as part of health care reform a decade ago. He evaluates current health care proposals in his recent report Public Plan Choice in Congressional Health Plans: the Good, the Not-so-good, and the Ugly. On page 20 Hacker includes a chart comparing 4 of the current federal proposals based on 5 criteria against his definition of the ideal public plan.

Hacker writes, "The simplest public option is to let people without employer-provided health insurance to buy into Medicare, or a similar program, at cost."

Democrats started with a compromise position, failing to make the best case for health care reform as key to economic recovery -- a single public-payer model with full choice of private providers (unlike private insurances that limit provider access). Instead, Democrats have promoted a largely undefined 'public option,' and permitted the political right to define the terms of the debate using distortion and distraction.

As Hacker notes, a strong public plan at the very least must be built on Medicare's existing provider network and payment methods, and not weakened by requiring the plan to create a provider network from scratch, or to negotiate rates individually with each provider across the nation. Access to a 'public plan' should not be restricted to only the smallest firms.

The best way for President Obama and Democrats to reclaim the issue is by making their 'public option' an optional Medicare buy-in for anyone. Medicare is known and liked by most people, and not so easily distorted. Medicare has low overhead costs for built-in cost containment, and its structure is in place -- it could be up and running relatively quickly, with no need to create a whole new program at additional cost. Enlarging Medicare's risk pool by permitting younger people to buy in on a sliding scale would improve its financial stability.

Additional improvements to Medicare would encompass eliminating costly high subsidies to privatized Medicare Advantage plans, and permitting negotiation of drug prices as is done in other countries, while improving provider reimbursement. See also: 'Public Option' a Shadow of Its Original Intent - Dr. Marcia Angell Advises Optional Medicare Buy-In

STATE & LOCAL SAVINGS WITH SINGLE PAYER
Share with legislators the 6-page Summary of State and Local Savings of Single Payer in the 2007 Lewin Report as a remedy to strained local and state budgets. Some public policy people are beginning to consider these savings as states become more distressed.

NUMBERS OF UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED IN COLORADO
A Denver Post editorial recently repeated the error of attributing all unpaid medical bills to the uninsured. "If we only insure the uninsured, runs the thinking, cost-shifting in the form of rising premiums for the insured will be ended" -- completely ignoring the link between growing numbers of underinsured and the increased unpaid medical costs over the past decade.

In addition to denial or delay of care, insurance companies make money by shifting more costs to families and individuals by moving them to "catastrophic" or "consumer-driven" health plans with less coverage and high out-of-pocket costs.

A 2008 Study  by doctors at the University of Colorado School of Medicine revealed that of those with insurance for a full year, <b>36.3% were underinsured</b> -- that is, they reported the delay or omission of recommended care because of their inability to afford it; half felt that their health suffered because they could not afford recommended care.

A 2009 Study by Families USA reported that <b>32.4% of Coloradans were uninsured</b> - nearly 1 out of 3 people under age 65 had no health insurance all or part of the 2-year period 2007-2008. 

Combined, the numbers indicate that at any point in time, as many as 68.5% of Coloradans may be under- or uninsured.

RESOLUTIONS IN SUPPORT OF SINGLE PAYER
Denver Democrats Executive Committee voted 44-4 for a resolution urging our state and federal legislators to support single payer health care reform. Read about it . Other Colorado county Democrats have also expressed support of a single-payer system, including Montrose, Boulder, Costilla, Hinsdale, La Plata, Arapahoe counties, and recently Jeffco. The nation's mayors passed a Resolution in support of single payer, HR 676, at their gathering last summer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 4, 2009
CONTACT: Bobby Clark, Executive Director at 303-905-8375

DENVER--ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization, called Friday for apologies from two state Senate Republicans: Sen. Shawn Mitchell and Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, following sexist and degrading remarks toward a female Senator from Sen. Mitchell during a legislative committee hearing earlier this week.

Call for Rep. Cory Gardner to Repudiate Fringe Conspiracy Theory
Gardner makes contradictory statements to different media outlets after vaguely endorsing widely discredited smear

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 21, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Huttner at 303-931-4547

DENVER--ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization, demanded Friday that state Rep. Cory Gardner repudiate fringe right-wing smears against President Barack Obama.

At a public meeting earlier this week, Gardner made vague statements in response to a question about President Obama's "citizenship" that appeared to endorse widely-discredited claims by fringe elements that Obama is not legally eligible to serve. In later comments to reporters, Gardner's campaign manager said that Gardner "finds it very curious that this could all be ended if he just released the 'long-form birth certificate' and put it to bed." [1]

"It's one of the most ridiculous smears to come out of the right wing's reckless desire to undermine President Obama any way they can," said ProgressNow Colorado founder Michael Huttner. "The idea that Obama is somehow not a citizen of the United States has been debunked all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and is only given the time of day by fringe talk radio hosts, conspiracy theorists, 'Tea Party' mobs and morally bankrupt politicians like Cory Gardner and Tom DeLay. He should be ashamed of himself for giving these absurd lies any credibility with his audience at this meeting."

Many Colorado Republicans, including Rep. Mike Coffman, have flatly repudiated the "birther" conspiracy theory when asked by reporters.[2] Even fringe right-wing journalist Ann Coulter refuses to endorse the "birthers," recently saying "it's just a few cranks out there" who subscribe to the idea. [3] A unanimous vote in Congress in July--including Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado and Rep. Coffman--affirmed Obama's legal eligibility.[4]

"The worst part about this for Gardner is his willful manipulation of two media outlets to carry different messages," Huttner continued. "On the same day that Gardner's campaign manager told the Fort Collins Coloradoan that Gardner 'has doubts' about Obama's citizenship, Gardner tells the Denver Post 'I think Obama is a citizen!'[5] It's obvious what Gardner is doing: he wants the state's newspaper of record to print one thing while other media outlets say something very different to his base."

"For Gardner to try to escape association with this fringe conspiracy theory, while endorsing it out of the other side of his mouth it to rile up right-wing support where it suits him, is sleazy politics at its very worst," concluded Huttner.

###

[1] Fort Collins Coloradoan, Gardner: Obama 'most likely' citizen, 8/21/2009.

[2] Examiner.com, 7/29/2009.

[3] Washington Times, 8/5/2009.

[4] Final vote results for Roll Call #647, 7/27/2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll647.xml

[5] Denver Post, 8/21/2009.

Another small window of opportunity for a congressional debate and vote on the single payer bill (HR 676) will open next month. In response to Rep. Anthony Wiener's (D-NY) proposed amendment for HR 676 in the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Speaker Pelosi agreed to have a debate and a vote on the single payer bill on the House floor after Congress reconvenes in the Fall. Please urge your representatives to support the single payer proposal - more suggested talking points below. The "public option" has been diluted from its original intent - see piece below.

Fearmongering around "government-controlled" health care has been used to distract from our Wall-St. controlled health care. See The Tyranny of Wall St.-Run Health Care: No CEO Left Behind. 

Genesis of the Public Option & Its Dilution
The "public option" has been diluted – testament to the influence of the monied lobbies. It is a rule of negotiation not to start with compromise, and, instead to make the best case for reform upfront. The best case for comprehensive coverage and cost containment is a single public payer model with full free choice of private providers -- from that position, compromise would at least be a stronger "public option."

The Public Option feature of health care reform was conceived by political science professor Jacob Hacker, whose most recent iteration in 2007 is named the "Health Care for America Plan." Hacker envisioned it as a "Medicare-like" program that would sell health insurance to the non-elderly in competition with the 1,000 to 1,500 health insurance companies that sell insurance today.

Kip Sullivan, member of Minnesota Physicians for a National Health Program, recently evaluated the "public option" features of House and Senate Democratic proposals, and concluded that they are faint shadows of Hacker’s original proposal. Read the full piece about the genesis of the public option & its dilution.

The 5 original criteria that Hacker and the Lewin Group (which evaluated it) said are critical to the success of the "public option":

•• The Public Option had to be pre-populated with tens of millions of people, that is, it had to begin like Medicare did representing a large pool of people the day it commenced operations (Hacker proposed shifting all or most uninsured people as well as Medicaid and SCHIP enrollees into his public program);
•• Subsidies to individuals to buy insurance would be substantial, and only Public Option enrollees could get subsidies (people who chose to buy insurance from insurance companies could not get subsidies);
•• The Public Option and its subsidies had to be available to all nonelderly Americans (not just the uninsured and employees of small employers);
•• The Public Option had to be given authority to use Medicare’s provider reimbursement rates; and
•• The insurance industry had to be required to offer the same minimum level of benefits the Public Option had to offer.

Concluded Sullivan, of Hacker’s five criteria, only one is met by the Democrats’ proposed bills – i.e., both proposals require the insurance industry to cover the same benefits the "public option" must cover. None of the other four criteria are met.

As Robert Kuttner writes (Faint Praise): "...the likelihood is that whatever finally makes it through this session of Congress will reinforce and further bloat the current disaster of a health insurance system rather than fundamentally changing it. And if the decent elements of the plan are blocked, Obama should have the courage to pull the bill and take his case to the people....The satisfaction of a Rose Garden signing ceremony is not worth it, if the plan is more thorn than rose."

Talking Points to take to Legislators

Legislators need to hear from constituents in order to counter the $1.4 million/day spent by insurance, PHRMA & other special interests steering the health care reform debate to benefit their bottom lines.

Some things we might tell our senators/represenatives:

Eliminate For-Profit Insurances – The U.S. is the only country that continues to build its health insurance system around for-profit insurances. Most other industrialized nations prohibit for-profit insurance for primary health care; private insurance is reserved for supplemental coverage (e.g., private hospital room with TV, cosmetic surgeries, etc.). Underwriting should be eliminated, and true universal coverage provided.

Extend Medicare to All – As Dr. Marcia Angel says, the simplest way to expand health coverage to all (even in stages) is to expand Medicare coverage to all. It can be expanded by decade - lower the qualifying age to 50, then 40, etc. The infrastructure for Medicare billing, etc. is in place; it only needs to be improved, e.g., to permit negotiation of bulk drug and medical equipment costs; and the more costly privatized Medicare plans eliminated.

Support the amendment offered by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), which would effectively replace the entire existing health plan with the text of H.R. 676, Rep. John Conyers' single-payer legislation. Speaker Pelosi has agreed to permit debate and a vote on Weiner's Single Payer Amendment sometime after the House reconvenes in September.

A True Public Option – must include the 5 main criteria listed by Hacker above. The "Public Option" won’t save much money, but it may provide the competition to keep private insurances "more honest."

CBO Report of Single Payer Savings – The Congressional Budget Office should report the cost savings of the single-payer proposals (HR676 & SB703) side-by-side with the cost analysis of every other proposal. Over 20 federal and state studies since 1990 show considerable cost savings with the single-payer model. If the Blue Dog Democrats are serious about cost containment, they should demand the full CBO Report – see Blue Dogs Should Demand CBO Report of Single Payer Savings

Means-testing for subsidies adds a high "non-benefit" cost. It is less costly to simply cover everyone (like Medicare) instead of making folks jump through hoops to prove eligibility (for subsidies, etc). Read the comments of Merton C. Bernstein, leading health insurance expert and law professor emeritus at Washington University, who notes that private health insurance non-benefit costs range from about 12% to as much as 30% of outlays – compared to Medicare overhead of 3%.

Kucinich Amendment in Support of State Single Payer – Urge our senators and representatives to assure that the Kucinich Amendment is part of any health bill that passes, to help states pass single payer reform without federal ERISA challenges. At least 10 states have written single payer proposals thus far.