Democratic Party of Collin County

Chris Cillizza got it wrong this morning in a post about the Democratic Party needing an attack dog to win a health care debate that it is already winning.  Cillizza - as evidence of the Democrats need for an attack dog - cites Michael Steele and Sarah Palin's frequent attacks on Democratic efforts to pass health insurance reform - two of the least credible and most often debunked messengers the GOP has on health care.  Palin's ludicrous invocation of death panels has been debunked over and over again and has put other GOP luminaries, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, on the defensive.  For his part, Michael Steele's effort to scare seniors with lies about the plan cutting Medicare benefits has been called scare-mongering, dishonest and scare tactics. And, Michael Steele's gaffe prone television appearances and rocky tenure at the RNC would hardly seem like something worth holding up as a worthy example.

Cillizza's post is also wrong on the facts.  While many in Washington remain glued to cable television news' scrum 24 hours a day - most Americans do not.  Cillizza's cloistered thinking is evidenced by his analysis that Republicans won this summer’s message war while poll after poll (see below) shows that when August was in the books we were exactly where we started with the same amount of people for or against health insurance reform, with the President and the GOP's standing on their handling of the issue the same as it has been (with the President enjoying a commanding lead) and with the GOP's Party ID back down to a dismal 21 percent - and now with the President's own approval rating either remaining the same or inching back up.  The polls simply show that this analysis is wrong.  If you sat in a newsroom all day in August and watched the selective airing of people shouting at town hall meetings - shouting about things like rationing and death panels that weren't true to begin with - then you might think the other side won the message war.  But the polls - and the evidence from hundreds upon hundreds of town hall meetings that cable news did not air - show that there were thoughtful and positive discussions of health insurance reform going on all over the country.

Also - if the Republicans had won the message war this summer - Congress would have surely dropped the idea of reform - just as the Republican Congress dropped Bush's idea of privatizing Social Security in 2005 when the Democrats actually did win the message war.

Finally, Cillizza misses the lessons of the 2008 election or the legislative battles of 2009 (SCHIP, Fair Pay, Economic Recovery, Budget) - all won by the Democrats.  Republicans were relentless attack dogs against the recovery package, the budget, Fair Pay for Women and SCHIP - but in every case the Democrats won.  They were relentless in their attacks on health insurance reform in the deliberations of four Congressional committees - all of which passed reform bills out of their respective panels.  Finally, if Cillizza's conclusion that attack dog politics is needed to win the day - Sarah Palin would be Vice President today.

We've said we'd call out people when they get it wrong - and in this case –we believe Cillizza clearly gets it wrong.

What the Polls Show:

“Public support for health reform ended its summer slide, reversed course and moved modestly upwards in September … Fifty-seven percent of Americans now believe that tackling health care reform is more important than ever – up from 53 percent in August. The proportion of Americans who think their families would be better off if health reform passes is up six percentage points (42% versus 36% in August), and the percentage who think that the country would be better off is up eight points (to 53% from 45% in August).” [Kaiser Tracking Poll, 9/29/09] 

According to NBC/WSJ, Obama's approval on health care is 45%-46% compared to 41%-47% in August and 41%-46% in July. [NBC/WSJ, 9/22/09] 

According to NBC/WSJ, Republicans in Congress' disapproval on health care went up to 65% in September from 62% in August. [NBC/WSJ, 9/22/09] 

According to NBC/WSJ, people who think Obama's health care plan is a good idea vs bad idea is 39%-41% versus 36%-42% in July and August. [NBC/WSJ, 9/22/09] 

According to the WP/ABC Poll, only 21% of those polled identify themselves as Republicans, which is equal to the lowest number they've had since 2008. [WP/ABC Poll, 9/13/09]

According to NYT/CBS, Obama approval is 56%-33% compared to 56%-35% in August. [CBS/NYT, 9/25/09]

Good morning.

The Chamber of Commerce has been very vocal in its opposition to energy and climate legislation. They’ve even gone so far as to suggest that climate change isn’t a real threat – despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. The Chamber has also called for a 21st Century “Scopes” trial to call the science of global warming into question (as the real 1926 Scopes trial called into question the science behind Darwinian evolution).

Well, that position has proved untenable. Two giant utility companies – PG&E and Exelon – are calling it quits over the Chamber’s position.

From PG&E’s statement:

PG& E Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Darbee wrote that company employees “find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored.”

From Exelon’s statement:

Exelon has staked out an industry-leading position on the issue of climate change and, in the spirit of Daniel Burnham, we have launched our own “not so little plan” to eliminate the equivalent of our entire carbon footprint by the year 2020. I do not know if it will stir men’s souls, but I hope it will stir policymakers and others in our industry to action.

PNM Resources, another energy company, also recently severed ties to the Chamber, and Nike released a public statement denouncing the Chamber's position on climate change, and its on-going attempts to strip EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

An editorial in the New York Times yesterday took Republicans to task for their attempts to scare senior citizens and the American public about what health insurance reform would mean for Medicare. Check out this blog post and share it with seniors in your life. An excerpt of theNew York Times piece is below:

Medicare Scare-Mongering

It has been frustrating to watch Republican leaders posture as the vigilant protectors of Medicare against health care reforms designed to make the system better and more equitable. This is the same party that in the past tried to pare back Medicare and has repeatedly denounced the kind of single-payer system that is at the heart of Medicare and its popularity.

For all of the cynicism and hypocrisy, it seems to be working. The Republicans have scared many older Americans into believing that their medical treatment will suffer under pending reform bills. The general public believes that, too. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll of 1,042 adults found that only 15 percent believe changes under consideration would make the Medicare program better, while 30 percent think they would make it worse.

That does not mean that Medicare will be untouched under the Democrats’ plans. The Obama administration and Congressional leaders are hoping to save hundreds of billions of dollars by slowing the growth of spending in the vast and inefficient Medicare system that serves 45 million older and disabled Americans. The savings would be used to help offset the costs of covering tens of millions of uninsured people.

But far from harming elderly Americans, the various reform bills now pending should actually make Medicare better for most beneficiaries — by enhancing their drug coverage, reducing the premiums they pay for drugs and medical care, eliminating co-payments for preventive services and helping keep Medicare solvent, among other benefits...

...We have long championed Medicare. And we believe elderly Americans, and all Americans, should closely examine the proposed health care reforms.

But the Republicans have done far too good a job at obscuring and twisting the facts and spreading unwarranted fear. It is time to call them to account. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress have to make the case forcefully that health care reform will overwhelmingly benefit Americans — including the millions of older Americans who participate in Medicare.

In this week's address the President discusses progress made during the recent G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh.

Good morning.

Elected in September of 2009, Chairman Gonzales was nominated to the position by Lt. Governor and Former State Party Chair Diane Denish to fill the position vacated by Brian Colon. Gonzales ran unopposed and was elected by the members of the State Central Committee by acclamation. Gonzales' term will expire in April of 2011.

Gonzales served as a Santa Fe County Commissioner from 1994 to 2002. During his term, he also was elected president of the National Association of Counties (NACo). In its 66 year history, he was the youngest elected president and also the first Hispanic president of the organization. He has also served as chief representative for NACo testifying before Congress, the White House and the Administration, serving as an expert witness to the U.S. Senate and the White House on Homeland Security.

Currently, Gonzales is leading the effort to bring a state-of-the-art film studio to Santa Fe. Santa Fe Studios was conceived as a world-class and environmentally sustainable facility which will encompass up to 500,00 square feet of studio stages, is expected to employ 500 New Mexicans and generate an annual payroll impact of $71 million to the local economy.

Gonzales earned his B.A. in Accounting from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1989. He currently serves as a Vice-Chair of the New Mexico State Board of Regents.

A lifelong resident of Santa Fe County, Gonzales' commitment and dedication to public service is a family tradition. His father, George Gonzales, also served as a Santa Fe County Commissioner and later was elected Mayor of the City of Santa Fe in the 1970s. Gonzales and his wife, Consuelo, have two daughters, Cameron and Cadence Gonzales.

For more information see the New Mexico Democratic Party's website.

Hello Saturday.

National
The Department of Veterans Affairs' is receiving $1.4 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced that a large part of the VA's plan to disburse these funds is awarding VA hospital maintenance projects to Veteran-owned small businesses. He said "these small businesses are helping VA serve our Veterans and help our economy, providing the best value at competitive cost."

New Hampshire
New Hampshire has seen 700 full time jobs created through funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. New Hampshire's Department of Transportation is creating these jobs for transportation projects across the state.

Virginia
Funds from the Recovery Act are going towards hybrid bus purchases in Arlington, Virginia. The grants are one of 43 projects across the country funding green projects. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood commented "Arlington Transit is showing how investing in green transportation not only helps the planet and strengthens our economy, but also creates jobs."

Happy Friday!

Good morning.

Last week, President Obama held a rally for health insurance reform at the University of Maryland in College Park. About 15,000 people were in the crowd – including thousands of students. Here’s an excerpt from his remarks:

“…Health care is about more than the details of a policy. It’s about what kind of country you want to be. Young people, it's about what kind of country you want to be. We are the only nation on Earth that leaves millions of people without health insurance. We spend more than any country on Earth, and we're not any healthier for it. So this is about what kind of country you want your children to grow up in.

“A lot of you here today and a lot of young people across the country gave your time and your effort to this campaign because you believed that America can still do great things. You believed that in this country, we don't fear the future; we shape the future. We don't feed on division and anger; we feed on hope and possibility. That's what America is about. That's what we're called to affirm right now…”

The President talked about his plan for reform and specifically addressed how it will help young adults.

A few key facts:

-- Americans between the ages of 19 and 29 have the highest uninsured rate of any age group. Nearly one-third (30 percent) of 19 to 29 year olds are uninsured, compared to 17 percent of older adults. (Many young adults who have insurance through their parents’ plans lose it when they turn 19.)

-- Young women are particularly affected. Because of current laws, insurance companies in 33 states are allowed to charge higher premiums the basis of gender. Consequently, they can charge a 22 year old woman 1.5 times more than a 22 year old man.

-- Many 20-somethings have jobs that don’t offer health benefits, either because they hold part-time jobs or work for small businesses, which in recent years, have been having a harder time providing their employees with coverage. Since 2006, young adults working for small businesses have lost their insurance at twice the rate of older workers.

-- Young Americans can’t afford the high costs of health care -- two-thirds of young adults who’ve gone without coverage said they went without needed health care because of cost, and a quarter of all young adults are paying off medical debt.

How Will President Obama's Plan Help Young Americans?

-- Young adults will be allowed to stay on their parents’ health care plan through the age of 26.

-- It would create a health insurance exchange which will ensure that young adults (who aren’t covered by their parents’ plans) always have access to affordable, quality coverage, whether they change jobs, move, or hold part-time or temporary jobs.

-- It will be against the law for insurance companies to deny coverage based on a preexisting condition or charge you more because of your gender.

-- It will limit the amount an insurance company can charge for out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays and deductibles and it will require insurance companies to cover – without charge – preventive care, so things like doctor’s checkups are free.

Yesterday, President Obama addressed the UN Climate Change Summit in New York where he called on world leaders to pursue policies that allow economies to grow without endangering our planet. He recognized that "mankind has been slow to respond or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat," but called it a new day -- noting that we have "done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history."

This morning, in his first address to the UN General Assembly, President Obama talked about the climate threat again – calling the “preservation of our planet” one of the “four pillars that are fundamental to the future we want for our children.” The President said the United States was committed to new era of global engagement and called on world leaders to share responsibility for managing some the world’s largest challenges: climate, nuclear proliferation, violent extremism and economic recovery.

Here’s an excerpt from his remarks about climate change:

Third, we must recognize that in the 21st century, there will be no peace unless we make take responsibility for the preservation of our planet.

The danger posed by climate change cannot be denied, and our responsibility to meet it must not be deferred. If we continue down our current course, every member of this Assembly will see irreversible changes within their borders. Our efforts to end conflicts will be eclipsed by wars over refugees and resources. Development will be devastated by drought and famine. Land that human beings have lived on for millennia will disappear. Future generations will look back and wonder why we refused to act – why we failed to pass on intact the environment that was our inheritance.

That is why the days when America dragged its feet on this issue are over. We will move forward with investments to transform our energy economy, while providing incentives to make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. We will press ahead with deep cuts in emissions to reach the goals that we set for 2020, and eventually 2050. We will continue to promote renewable energy and efficiency – and share new technologies – with countries around the world. And we will seize every opportunity for progress to address this threat in a cooperative effort with the whole world.

Those wealthy nations that did so much to damage the environment in the 20th century must accept our obligation to lead. But responsibility does not end there. While we must acknowledge the need for differentiated responses, any effort to curb carbon emissions must include the fast-growing carbon emitters who can do more to reduce their air pollution without inhibiting growth. And any effort that fails to help the poorest nations both adapt to the problems that climate change has already wrought – and travel a path of clean development – will not work.

It is hard to change something as fundamental as how we use energy. It’s even harder to do so in the midst of a global recession. Certainly, it will be tempting to sit back and wait for others to move first. But we cannot make this journey unless we all move forward together. As we head into Copenhagen, let us resolve to focus on what each of us can do for the sake of our common future.

Good morning.