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February 16, 2010 10:38 PM UTC

Sen. Bennet named a Healthcare Hero by PCCC

  • 31 Comments
  • by: TheDeminator

(Some “netroots” love that Bennet can surely use – promoted by Colorado Pols)

I just got this email from www.boldprogressives.org

Sen. Mike Bennet did Colorado proud today.

He defied the stale DC conventional wisdom that tells Democrats to be weak — and instead called on Majority Leader Harry Reid to pass the public health insurance option through “reconciliation,” which only needs a simple majority in the Senate.

When elected representatives take bold action, they deserve our praise. Can you write Mike Bennet a short thank-you note for his bold leadership? We’ll personally deliver it to him.

Click here to write a thank-you note.

Bennet’s courage on this issue cannot be over-emphasized.

Despite polls showing huge majorities of Americans and Coloradans wanting a public option, the DC pundits are telling Democrats in Congress to cave to the corporate interests.

Mike Bennet was truly a leader. Several other senators have already co-signed Bennet’s letter to Reid — and PCCC members across the country will now be calling their senators, asking them to follow Bennet’s lead and sign as well.

Can you write Bennet a short thank-you note for his leadership? Click here.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

— Adam Green, Aaron Swartz, Michael Snook, Natasha Patel, Andrew Perez, and the PCCC team

POLS UPDATE: After all the criticism we’ve had for Rep. Jared Polis, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that this letter from Bennet prescribes close to what Polis called for in his own letter a couple of weeks ago. While the record on health care reform differs pretty markedly between Bennet (helpful to passage at every step) and Polis (several key moments of obstruction and messaging disaster), and the success of their suggested approach is still very much in question, you can’t praise one without acknowledging the other. That said, Bennet needs this to shore up progressive credentials much more with the Democratic base than Polis, perception trumping reality as it so often does.

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31 thoughts on “Sen. Bennet named a Healthcare Hero by PCCC”

  1. The Honorable Harry Reid    

    United States Senate Majority Leader          

    Washington, DC 20510

    Dear Leader Reid:

    We respectfully ask that you bring for a vote before the full Senate a public health insurance option under budget reconciliation rules.  

    There are four fundamental reasons why we support this approach – its potential for billions of dollars in cost savings; the growing need to increase competition and lower costs for the consumer; the history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation; and the continued public support for a public option.

    A Public Option Is an Important Tool for Restoring Fiscal Discipline.  

    As Democrats, we pledged that the Senate health care reform package would address skyrocketing health care costs and relieve overburdened American families and small businesses from annual double-digit health care cost increases.  And that it would do so without adding a dime to the national debt.

    The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determined that the Senate health reform bill is actually better than deficit neutral.  It would reduce the deficit by over $130 billion in the first ten years and up to $1 trillion in the first 20 years.  

    These cost savings are an important start.  But a strong public option can be the centerpiece of an even better package of cost saving measures.  CBO estimated that various public option proposals in the House save at least $25 billion. Even $1 billion in savings would qualify it for consideration under reconciliation.  

    Put simply, including a strong public option is one of the best, most fiscally responsible ways to reform our health insurance system.

    A Public Option Would Provide Americans with a Low-Cost Alternative and Improve Market Competitiveness.

    A strong public option would create better competition in our health insurance markets.  Many Americans have no or little real choice of health insurance provider.  Far too often, it’s “take it or leave it” for families and small businesses.  This lack of competition drives up costs and leaves private health insurance companies with little incentive to provide quality customer service.  

    A recent Health Care for America Now report on private insurance companies found that the largest five for-profit health insurance providers made $12 billion in profits last year, yet they actually dropped 2.7 million people from coverage.  Private insurance – by gouging the public even during a severe economic recession – has shown it cannot function in the public’s interest without a public alternative.  Americans have nowhere to turn.  That is not healthy market competition, and it is not good for the public.

    If families or individuals like their current coverage through a private insurance company, then they can keep that coverage.  And in some markets where consumers have many alternatives, a public option may be less necessary.  But many local markets have broken down, with only one or two insurance providers available to consumers.  Each and every health insurance market should have real choices for consumers.  

    There is a history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation.

    There is substantial Senate precedent for using reconciliation to enact important health care policies.  The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), which actually contains the term ‘reconciliation’ in its title, were all enacted under reconciliation.

    The American Enterprise Institute’s Norman Ornstein and Brookings’ Thomas Mann and Molly Reynolds jointly wrote, “Are Democrats making an egregious power grab by sidestepping the filibuster? Hardly.”  They continued that the precedent for using reconciliation to enact major policy changes is “much more extensive . . . than Senate Republicans are willing to admit these days.”

    There is strong public support for a public option, across party lines.

    The overwhelming majority of Americans want a public option.  The latest New York Times poll on this issue, in December, shows that despite the attacks of recent months Americans support the public option 59% to 29%. Support includes 80% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, and even 33% of Republicans.

    Much of the public identifies a public option as the key component of health care reform – and as the best thing we can do to stand up for regular people against big insurance companies.  In fact, overall support for health care reform declined steadily as the public option was removed from reform legislation.

    Although we strongly support the important reforms made by the Senate-passed health reform package, including a strong public option would improve both its substance and the public’s perception of it.  The Senate has an obligation to reform our unworkable health insurance market – both to reduce costs and to give consumers more choices.  A strong public option is the best way to deliver on both of these goals, and we urge its consideration under reconciliation rules.

    # # #

    Michael Amodeo

    Press Secretary

    U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (CO)

    (o) 303.455.5999

    (c) 303.249.5286

    1. This means I can’t talk as much smack about OpenLeft now, doesn’t it? 🙂

      I’m actually so happy to see Adam Green doing the right thing here I could hug him.

      1. All kidding aside, I’m thrilled about this. He’ll take a load of shit from Republicans for it and all I have to say is, so fucking what. The GOP should have come up with a better plan than “no” if they wanted to be a part of the process for the last year.  

    1. You might be surprised how many Unaffiliateds would love to see reconciliation and moreover, love to see the Democratic Party grow a pair and start acting more like Republicans–you know, like shoving things down your opponents’ throats.  

      1. to use the words “a pari” and and  “shoving things down your opponents’ throats” in the same post?  🙂

        I was lurking earlier today and, not for the first time, I was reminded you are my kind of Dem. When you run, I sincerely hope I’ll be on your side.

            1. and even better, it will give me a way to spend all of my money on a member of my own party instead of my Republican opponent.

              Gosh, I haven’t run for anything yet and I’m already so grateful to you.

              1. that indicate you will be showing up somewhere, and when you don’t I will gleefully bash you for not showing up.

                I will also organize astro turf protests for any appearance you  plan with anyone in a higher office.

                I have learned a lot the past few months.

                However, I would never, ever hire Pat Caddell

                1. That is, if MADCO doesn’t snatch him up. I mean, he says he won’t take him but once he finds out he’s available, I bet he’ll have a change of heart.

    2. is better if they show they can actually do something with it, like passing the nation’s most pressing long-term economic priority, health care reform.  The alternative is to sit around and whine that they have “only” 59 votes and are thus wholly impotent.  The filibuster, a long-time rampart of racism that for decades blocked civil rights legislation, mocks the constitution and deserves to be on the ash bin of history.  Go for it, Bennet et al.  

      1. Not necessarily on health care, but on some other solid issue that the GOP “threatens” to filibuster.  It’s hard to pin the “party of no” on the GOP when all they did was hint that they’d filibuster.

        Go ahead, make our day.  Make ’em pull out the cots. How did that work out for Gingrich when he shut down the government?

        2. To filibuster you ONCE had to actually stand on the senate floor, BUT they changed the senate rules so now you don’t have to do that. Just as the Dems don’t have the votes to change senate rules to elim the filibuster, they don’t have the votes to change the filibuster rules to require a real “stand-up” filibuster.

  4. Thank goodness Colorado has a senator who’s fiercely interested in protecting our interests at the potential cost of his political career. This is the kind of leadership the Democrats need, and I hope his message reaches willing ears.  

  5. The Passaic County Community College hasn’t earned the right to call anyone a hero, in my book. Not untill they explain what really happened with that “over-enrolled” PreCalulus 101 course.

    2. Here is the order of the calendar in case anyone still doesn’t remember:

      January

      February

      March

      April

      May

      June – Senator Bennet endorsed public option.

      July

      August

      September – Andrew Romanoff jumped in race.

      October

      November

      December

      I know it is confusing.

        1. Somebody was going to say it eventually.  I just figured I’d beat JO and Sharon Hanson to their own conspiracy theories.

          Peacemonger: spend some time reading the posts here and getting familiar with the personalities.  It might save you from looking like a complete fool sometime.

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