House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) knows he's safe from a serious challenge in the 2014 midterms, though he doesn't represent some blood-red Mississippi or Utah congressional district. MI-04, in fact, went for then-Senator Obama in 2008, 50-49%. But instead of targeting Camp, his old pal Steve Israel, head of the DCCC, gave him a free reelection pass. The grassroots Democrat who ran against him last year, Debra Freidell Wirth, couldn't get the time of day from the DCCC, let alone any kind of financial support. Camp beat her 196,835 to 104,601 and won every one of the district's 15 counties, including the 2 big ones, Saginaw and Shiawassee, counties Obama won in 2008 and 2012. Obama beat Romney in Saginaw 56-44% and bested McCain 58-41%. Israel won't be giving Camp any trouble next year either, despite Camp's role as one of Boehner's chief henchmen. On Wednesday, as the Republicans were voting to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act again, Fox News' Chad Pergram reported that Camp said "the only thing we can do is delay Obamacare until we can repeal it."Steve Israel's tenure at the DCCC absolutely guarantees, as everyone in Washington, except perhaps Nancy Pelosi, knows, that the Republicans will be in charge of the House again after 2014. There is at least a 50-50 chance they will also win back the Senate. You think they'll stop trying to repeal Obamacare then?Wednesday Steve Israel and Steny Hoyer both voted with the Democrats against Tim Griffith's H.R. 2667 (to delay the mandate for Big Business for another year) and Todd Young's H.R. 2668 to delay until 2015 the requirement that individuals maintain minimal essential health care coverage. But they-- not to mention the predators at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-- actively encouraged vulnerable Democrats, particularly vulnerable freshmen, to cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans. 35 Democrats voted for H.R. 2667 and 22 Democrats voted for H.R. 2668. These were the culprits-- all conservatives-- who voted for both:
• Ron Barber (New Dem-AZ)• John Barrow (New Dem/Blue Dog-GA)• Julia Brownley (CA)• Cheri Bustos (IL)• Bill Enyart (IL)• Elizabeth Esty (New Dem-CT)• Pete Gallego (New Dem/Blue Dog-TX)• Joe Garcia (New Dem-FL)• Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)• Dan Maffei (New Dem-NY)• Sean Maloney (New Dem-NY)• Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)• Mike McIntyre (New Dem/Blue Dog-NC)• Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL)• Bill Owens (New Dem-NY)• Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)• Gary Peters (New Dem-MI)• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)• Nick Rahall (WV)• Raul Ruiz (CA)• Brad Schneider (New Dem-IL)• Kyrsten Sinema (New Dem-AZ)
White House spokesman Jay Carney, who said the president would veto both bills should either ever make it to his desk, claimed Wednesday's initiative was just more of the Republicans' effort to undermine the healthcare law before patients can receive its help. “There are few things more cynical than the House Republicans, who have made it their mission in life to repeal the Affordable Care Act and deny the American people the benefits that they would receive... “[Republicans] will be voting, through their measure to delay implementation of the individual mandate, to keep those rates at $1,000 for the individual in New York rather than $308."Back to Dave Camp for a moment. His wealthy donors would love to kill Obamacare-- not to mention Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Camp himself doesn't know people who are kept out of the virtual poorhouse because of these critical parts of the safety net. But those people are in his district. And already, in Camp's Michigan district-- in the suburbs west of Saginaw and in smaller towns like Mt. Pleasant, Frankenmuth, Cadillac, Dewitt, Durand, Midland and Reed City-- his constituents are feeling the positive impact of the ACA. Because of it:
• 7,500 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents’ plan.• More than 8,000 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $10 million, an average discount of $550 per person in 2011, $780 in 2012, and $740 thus far in 2013.• 143,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible.• 196,000 individuals in the district-- including 38,000 children and 81,000 women-- now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible.• 154,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 15,900 consumers in the district received approximately $2.3 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011-- an average rebate of $138 per family in 2012 and $214 per family in 2011.• Up to 37,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers.• 216,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014.Up to 81,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 27,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.
Will they remember who wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act in November, 2014? It won't matter then because Steve Israel is aggressively preventing serious candidate recruitment now. The DCCC immediately sent out a letter begging for money: "Yesterday, under the watchful eyes of the Koch brothers and their fortune, Republicans voted to repeal Obamacare for the 38th and 39th time... All eyes will be on our numbers in these 48 hours following Obama's speech. If we hit 10,000 donations by the weekend, Boehner, Cantor and the Kochs will know their attempt to play games with health care reform has backfired-- big time." What they neglected to mention, of course, is that the bulk of the money contributed will go to reelect conservative and cowardly Democrats who voted with the Republicans the DCCC is warning about. Is that hypercritical? Of the Democrats who voted for one or both of these bills, 21 Members were on Steve Israel's immediate Front Line List of 26 endangered incumbents when he announced the program in May.
• Rep. Ron Barber, Arizona’s 2nd District• Rep. John Barrow, Georgia’s 12th District• Rep. Ami Bera, California’s 7th District• Rep. Julia Brownley, California’s 26th District• Rep. Cheri Bustos, Illinois’ 17th District• Rep. Suzan DelBene, Washington’s 1st District• Rep. Bill Enyart, Illinois’ 12th District• Rep. Elizabeth Esty, Connecticut’s 5th District• Rep. Pete Gallego, Texas’ 23rd District• Rep. Joe Garcia, Florida’s 26th District• Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, Arizona’s 1st District• Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, New York’s 18th District• Rep. Dan Maffei, New York’s 24th District• Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah’s 4th District• Rep. Mike McIntyre, North Carolina’s 7th District• Rep. Patrick Murphy, Florida’s 18th District• Rep. Bill Owens, New York’s 21st District• Rep. Scott Peters, California’s 52nd District• Rep. Raul Ruiz, California’s 36th District• Rep. Brad Schneider, Illinois’ 10th District• Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona’s 9th District
The only Frontliners with the inclination and/or the guts to stick with the Affordable Care Act were Tim Bishop (NY), Lois Capps (CA), Ann Kuster (NH), Carol Shea-Porter (NH) and John Tierney (MA). No progressives are on that list above, of course. And Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released a joint statement that reflects mainstream Democratic thought on the conservatives'-- on both sides of the aisle-- attempts to make it harder for Americans to get health care.
“The Affordable Care Act is a huge step forward for millions of Americans who need to see a doctor without breaking the bank. Today, after three years of not offering alternatives, Republicans are still committed to making it harder for working families to get health care at a reasonable price.“The Affordable Care Act means a mother in Tucson can keep her son on her insurance policy until he turns 26. It means a family in Minneapolis can help a sick child without worrying that insurance costs will put them behind on their mortgage. It means seniors around the country can afford the medication they need and a trip to see their grandkids. Republicans owe it to the country to explain why these advances should be repealed.“It wasn’t so long ago that pre-existing conditions were used to cost you your health coverage. The Affordable Care Act changed that. The American people need the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.“Voting to repeal the law for the thirty-eighth time is an outrageous assault on the well-being of America’s families. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law more than three years ago. It’s time to work together to move forward and make sure every American can get the care he or she needs at a fair price.”
UPDATEThe DCCC is running this Facebook ad, asking people who the worst Republican is, John Boehner or Paul Ryan? The DCCC has worked diligently to protect both men and have consistently undermined grassroots Democrats who have opposed them. These people have no shame-- none whatsoever... but they do want your e-mail address so they can spam you with deceitful requests for money.
