Stopping "Madoff Medicine": Demand The Blue Dog Democrats Kill The Government Option and Contain the Costs of Obamacare

A very interesting post from www.hughhewitt.com!

Stopping "Madoff Medicine": Demand The Blue Dog Democrats Kill The Government Option and Contain the Costs of Obamacare


This is a weekend of great significance on the domestic side of American politics as well as reality about the fiscal and operational impacts of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid proposal to radically restructure American medicine hits home. Yesterday the Washington Post's liberal blogger Ezra Klein declared the Obama plan in deep trouble. The New York Times and Post today tell you why: It is ruinously, outrageously expensive, producing the sort of gigantic costs that would almost certainly lead to deep rationing, and very quickly. The Times story references a Senate Finance Committee proposal for an "an automatic mechanism would be triggered to achieve those spending reductions" required by ballooning deficits --which is a long winded way of saying "mandatory rationing of medicine."This scheme for a vast expansion of government and enormous run of the money printing press is proposed against the backdrop of out-of-control Medicare spending. The new "government option" would crush private insurance very quickly and leave the federal government with only one option to pay for the giant obligations it gathered up to itself --limit or cancel those obligations via federal rules that tightly control what sort of treatment can be given to patients.They ought to call this scheme "Madoff Medicine," given that what the Democrats are pushing is a giant fraud that cannot possibly deliver on the promises being made. The danger is that there are slim majorities in both houses that will take a rhetorical win --a political poster really-- as worth the enormous cost of the unraveling of American medicine. Our current system is expensive and often unwieldy, but it works, and those with insurance greatly value it and the freedom of choice it provides. The Obama plan proposes to destroy all of that in exchange for the (hyped) promise of universal coverage. The president continues to say that if you like your plan you will be able to keep it --a deeply dishonest characterization of his proposals which will lead to the dumping by employers of their employees into the government plan. It is a giveaway that the president cannot level with the public about what he is proposing. Watch to see if ABC calls him on that next week.To stop this crazy and ruinous set of proposals requires moderate Democrats to stand up to their own party bosses and the new president and refuse to be pushed into an obviously disastrous vote for a destructive fantasy. The Blue Dog Democrats in the House need to hear from you, especially if you are in thehealth care field, and especially if you are a doctor. Here's the contact list with phone and e-mail information. Start with representatives in your own state, and then spread out. Some elected leaders won't take e-mail from out-of-state, so ignore them and move on but do try and leave voice mails --polite and specific voice mails that identify yourself, what you do, and your opposition to the "government option" or "public option" and to the cost of the proposals. Promise to work against anyone who votes for the government option and to contribute to their opponent.I will publish a list of senators later today for whom the same effort is also crucial. The cracks that have developed in the facade of "bipartisan reform" are deepening now that the realities of the push for Canada-style medicine at extraordinary cost are being laid on the table. People in Iran are fighting and in some cases dying for the right to hold their government accountable and to be heard by elected representatives. Use the power that we have and that they wish they did have this weekend.UPDATE: Here is the list of Blue Dog Democrats. Call them right now.
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (18.70% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-4843
Local Phone: Dumas (870) 382-1023, Fayetteville (479) 251-1224, Little Rock (501) 375-2993, Jonesboro (870) 910-6896, Texarkana (870) 774-3106
Link to E-mail
Declared Opponent: State Sen. Kim Hendren
Address: 1501 Hwy 72 SE, Gravette, AR 72736
Sen. Mark Pryor (18.33% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2353
Local Phone: Little Rock (501) 324-6336
Link to E-mail
Connecticut
Sen. Joe Lieberman (15.96% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-4041
Local Phone: (860) 549-8463
Link to E-mail
Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson (37.28% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5274
Local Phone: Orlando (407) 872-7161, Miami-Dade (305) 536-5999, Tampa (813) 225-7040, West Palm Beach (561) 514-0189, Tallahassee (850) 942-8415, Jacksonville (904) 346-4500, Broward (954) 693-4851, Fort Meyers (239) 334-7760
Link to E-mail
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh (20.70% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5623
Local Phone: Evansville (812) 465-6500, Fort Wayne (260) 426-3151, Hammond (219) 852-2763, Indianapolis (317) 554-0750, Jeffersonville (812) 218-2317, Southbend (574) 236-8302
Link to E-mail
Declared Opponent: Don Bates Jr.
Link to Website
Louisiana
Sen. Mary Landrieu (23.20% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5824
Local Phone: Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395, Lake Charles (337) 436-6650, New Orleans (504) 589-2427, Shreveport (318) 676-3085
Link to E-mail
Montana
Sen. Jon Tester (16.00% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2644
Local Phone: Billings (406) 252-0550, Bozeman (406) 586-4450, Butte (406) 723-3277, Glendive (406) 365-2391, Great Falls (406) 452-9585, Helena (406) 449-5401, Kalispell (406) 257-3360, Missoula (406) 728-3003
Link to E-mail
Nebraska
Sen. Ben Nelson (47.26% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-6551
Local Phone: Omaha (402) 391-3411, Lincoln (402) 441-4600, Scottsbluff (308) 631-7614, Kearney (308) 293-5818, South Sioux City (402) 209-3595
Link to E-mail
Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid (18.96% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-3542
Local Phone: Carson City 775-882-7343, Las Vegas (702) 388-5020, Reno (775) 686-5750
Link to E-mail
Declared Opponent: Robin L. Titus
E-Mail: dr.robin@robintitus.com
Link to Website
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad (19.57% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2043
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 258-4648, Fargo (701) 232-8030, Grand Forks (701) 775-9601, Minot (701) 852-0703
Link to E-mail
Sen. Byron Dorgan (16.57% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2551
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 250-4618, Fargo (701) 239-5389, Minot (701) 852-0703, Grand Forks (701) 746-8972
Link to E-mail
Declared Opponent: Duane Sand
Phone: (701) 751-2530
E-mail: contact@duanesand.com
Link to Website
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson (18.36% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5842
Local Phone: Aberdeen (605) 226-3440, Sioux Falls (605) 332-8896, Rapid City (605) 341-3990
Link to E-mail
West Virginia
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (28.26% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-3954
Local Phone: Charlestown (304) 342-5855, Eastern Panhandle (304) 264-4626
Link to E-mail