The Independent Weekly’s view on the news
Obama’s health care proposal, released in advance of Thursday’s big TV show summit with the Republicans, omits the public option (which, in case you’ve forgotten, and the President hopes you have, was included in the House-passed bill). An 11-page summary of the Obamacare plan is here.
Talking about health care is apparently bad for your health. After receiving a death threat, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat representing the 13th Congressional District , has opted not to host any public meetings on the issue this month, according to a report by Talking Points Memo.
The district includes parts of central and eastern Wake County and Raleigh.
TPM quoted Miller’s communications director LuAnn Canipe as saying Miller will hold one-on-one meetings with interested constituents. The article quotes Canipe as saying Miller had no plans for a town hall before and won’t be holding any now, due to this event and the examples he’s already seen from the around the country: “Our point is, we’re not gonna be bullied into having a town hall so it can then be interrupted by the fake grassroots folks.”
“Live longer; pay less.”
That was the mantra offered by 2004 vice-presidential nominee Pat LaMarche during the Green Party’s single-payer health care forum, held on Friday at N.C. Central University in Durham.
The former talk-radio host, and Maine gubernatorial candidate, got the crowd of roughly 100 to chant along for single-payer systems throughout the world that provide better health care, at cheaper costs, than the United States. The World Health Organization found the United States spends more per capita on health care than any country in the world, but ranks 37th in quality of care. Universal single-payer systems ranking higher include Canada and Australia, while most developed countries provide some element of single-payer insurance.
To assuage opponents of so-called “socialized medicine, LaMarche said that patients could always “opt-out,” like choosing FedEx over the U.S. Postal Service.
“You can still do all the fancy rich-people stuff,” she said. Continue reading »
Photo by Jaymes Powell
Jaymes Powell reports for the Indy about a clash in Raleigh between pro-Obama and anti-Obama activists.
Dozens of protesters, arguing everything from President Obama’s health care plan to even race, verbally clashed outside of the United States Federal Courthouse in Downtown Raleigh Thursday afternoon and were separated by city police.
The liberal group MoveOn.org organized the rally and had about 30 demonstrators cheering on universal health care. A group of about 40 conservatives, some saying they were organized by the Wake County Republican Party, counter-protested, carrying signs, chanting and receiving a large number of approving car honks.
At one point, the two groups began yelling at each other while massed directly in front of the courthouse and Raleigh police separated the two groups.
“The watch commander said there were opposing viewpoints,” police spokesman Jim Sughrue said, adding that there were no arrest and that police breaking-up the arguing groups, “helped insure the disagreement didn’t escalate. And both groups still had an opportunity to get their point across.”
The conservative group then began to sing “America The Beautiful.”
The liberal group, now on the West side of the building and separated by about eight officers, began singing the same song as agitation on both sides continued to mount.
Larry Larrison, 66 of Clayton, shouted at one woman in the liberal group.“Why don’t you get a job and pay for health care,” Larrison, a Vietnam veteran screamed.
Minutes later, as some of the liberal protesters left, walking East through the group of conservatives, universal health care proponent Cheryl D. Moon of Knightdale bumped the sign of conservative protester Larry Herwig, 61 of Washington, N.C., with her fist.
After being alerted by the conservative protesters, police briefly detained Moon, but Herwig declined to take further action, he said.
“I didn’t want to get down to their level,” said Herwig, another Vietnam vet. “With what I have to deal with at the [Veterans Administration] to get treatment is terrible. That’s what government health care is going to be.”
Shahzeel Sarfraz, the 20 year-old UNC student and organizer of the event, approached Herwig and apologized for his supporter’s behavior, saying “There’s no place for that.”
Herwig, who initially refused to shake Sarfraz’s outreached hand, and others said that Congress should take its time on health care legislation. “Don’t try and rush it through with nobody reading it,” Herwig said, after speaking with and shaking Sarfarz’s hand. “There’s too much at stake.”
Sarfraz countered that everyone needs health care, but was hesitant to defend all of the President’s plan, admitting he didn’t know all of it and that there was still work to be done.
Sarfraz pointed out that there was waste in private health care, now. A case Herwig partially agreed with.
But after hearing a story about a laid-off Wall Street investment banker with AIDS, who went to Duke University, and now has no savings or health provider, Herwig agreed with Sarfraz that everyone should be entitled to care, but a different system would be needed.
Both sides also agreed that there was little room for compromise. It was left or right.
… here’s your chance.
March 31, at NC A & T University in Greensboro. It’s a White House Regional Forum on Health Reform.
Like “American Idol,” but for policy geeks.
And if you’ve got the best idea, it’s possible you could a prize.
See, the Obama Administration wants to hear how you would handle do it — apparently they’ve misplaced their copy of John Edwards’ health-care plan since he fell from grace. (Along with the glowing reviews.)
So they’re going around the country listening to all sides in the health-care debate, sort of the way the Clintons did it back in ‘93. But not so much, because that was all buttoned-up, and this time it’ll be right there on the intertubes.
Gov. Bev Perdue is fronting the Greensboro event. Some details from her press office below, including how to sign up. Continue reading »
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