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We are pleased to announce the Thurston County Democrats are offering a scholarship to four Thurston County high school seniors this year. In subsequent years, we will also offer scholarships to any Thurston County Democrat who is seeking a change in career or who needs retraining. We plan for this to be an annual event and are naming it in honor of a beloved and long time Thurston County Democrat: the Evalyn Poff Scholarship.
The following (and attached) resolution was introduced to the Thurston County Democrats Central Committee at our February 22nd meeting. It is being posted on our web site for review and discussion. Resolution on Government-sponsored Healthcare WHEREAS more than sixty years of attempts to improve healthcare in the United States have been marked by only piecemeal improvements; WHEREAS one of the chief reasons that this piecemeal approach has yielded only minimal results has been obstruction on behalf of the for-profit insurance industry, which does nothing to provide or improve health care; WHEREAS the most successful improvements have been in such programs as Medicare, Medicaid, and TriCare, all government-sponsored programs; WHEREAS American healthcare is higher priced and demonstrably less effective that the medical care in nations that have universal coverage; WHEREAS all of these factors lead to stagnation of the entire economy as well as significant undue pain for the uninsured and the underinsured; and WHEREAS the Washington State Democratic Central Committee on June 14, 2008, adopted a platform including, on pp. 8 and 9 of the total 15 pages, all these conditions as needing improvement or replacement; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Democrats of the State of Washington, continue to support both of our Senators and those Congressional Representatives who have thus far worked to create a health care reform bill that would provide a strong government-sponsored health care plan to overcome many of the flaws in our national health care system; and THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we pledge to support and work for the re-election of those who support meaningful health care reform and new candidates who will actively support solutions to these problems, and that we will work to defeat any who will not. Submitted by the 2nd Legislative District Democrats to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee for consideration at its [date to be provided when submitted] meeting in [place to be submitted]. (Date submitted 3/1/2010) This resolution was considered and passed at the March 1, 2010 meeting of the Second Legislative District Democrats.
(Signed) Jackie Joe Reid, Chair
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Friday night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow announced: "Breaking news. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now signaling that he is ready to join the newly resurgent health reform fight. He says he would support a plan to pass a public option for health insurance without Republican support." Reid's announcement was prompted by a letter from 19 senators calling for the public option through reconciliation. Keith Olbermann added, "The people who started this letter campaign showed some courage." The senator who led the charge -- Michael Bennet of Colorado -- is now being slammed by Republicans and conservative papers in his state. The Denver Post accused Bennet of trying to "jam [the public option] down our throats" while a Republican opponent accused him of showing "outright contempt" for voters. But a recent poll shows that Colorado voters want the public option 59% to 36%!! Let's encourage Bennet to keep fighting. Can you chip in $3 to his campaign? Click here. (At this link, you can also support Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand -- an original signer of Bennet's letter who is in a competitive primary against corporate Democrat Harold Ford.) The public option fight is far from over -- we still need to push many other senators to commit to voting with us. But this week's momentum would not have been possible without Bennet, Gillibrand, and other senators sticking their necks out. Thanks for being a bold progressive. -- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Aaron Swartz, Michael Snook, Brian Bills, and the PCCC team
Please say thanks to senators who made this momentum possible. |
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Obama Should Seize Moment to Push for Medicare for All, Doctors' Group SaysDr. Quentin Young comments on Massachusetts election, next steps for health reform- January 22 - A spokesman for a national physicians' group says it would be a mistake for President Obama to conclude from Tuesday's vote in Massachusetts that he needs to "tack more toward the right," as some pundits have advised, or to aim for a scaled-back set of piecemeal reforms. Instead, the spokesman says, the president and Congress should immediately move to expand the popular Medicare program to cover everyone. "President Obama and Congress should seize this moment to change course and re-inspire the U.S. public with a plan that is simple, clear, workable, fiscally responsible, comprehensive and truly universal -- namely, single-payer Medicare for All," said Dr. Quentin Young, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program. Young dismissed suggestions by some that the House should adopt the Senate bill as it presently reads, send it to the president's desk, and have Congress improve upon it later. "The Senate bill is rotten," he said. "It's a huge financial handout to the for-profit insurers and big drug companies. If passed, it will still leave at least 20 million uninsured and millions more unable to afford the care they need. "Yesterday's Supreme Court decision removing bans on corporate contributions in candidate elections will only make this fatally flawed bill even more difficult to improve upon," he said. "It's too laden with concession after concession to the private health industry to serve as a starting point." "Instead, we need to start anew and build on a system that we know works well, is cost-efficient and that could quickly be extended to cover everybody," Young said. "That's the Medicare program, which was implemented within one year of its enactment in 1965 and now covers about 45 million people, mainly seniors and the totally disabled." "Extending Medicare to cover the entire population would result in $400 billion savings annually by eliminating the administrative waste -- the unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy -- inflicted on the U.S. economy by the private health insurers," he said. "That would be enough to ensure high-quality coverage for everybody." Young said it would be a mistake to interpret the election of Republican Scott Brown to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat as a rejection by voters of fundamental health reform. Many independents and Democrats voted for Brown or stayed home because of mounting economic insecurity and their belief that the health reform process led by the Democrats had been corrupted by the big insurance and drug companies, he said. Union voters were especially angry with the proposed excise tax on workers' health plans. "It was more of a protest vote," he said. Young pointed to a 2008 ballot initiative in 10 legislative districts in Massachusetts, including one that overlaps with Brown's state senatorial district, that asked voters if they support "legislation creating a cost-effective, single-payer health insurance system that is available to all residents, and oppose laws penalizing those who fail to obtain health insurance," i.e. an individual mandate. "Seventy-three percent of Massachusetts voters in these districts voted for a single-payer program and against the individual mandate, a hallmark of their own state's plan," Young said. "The Massachusetts plan is now in financial trouble. It's fair to assume that those who voted this way in 2008, like many others in exit polls this week, believe the bills in Congress don't go far enough toward real reform." "Nationwide," he said, "polls show about two-thirds of the U.S. population would favor a Medicare-for-All approach, and a solid majority of physicians now support efforts to establish national health insurance." Young also pointed to the robust movement in several states, including California and Vermont, where physicians, among others, are pressing for single payer at the state level. Nearly 1,000 health professional students and their allies rallied on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 11, in support of S.B. 810, a single-payer bill that was reintroduced Thursday in the Legislature, he said. Similar bills were approved twice by California lawmakers in recent years, only to be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In Vermont, some 300 citizens bearing thousands of petition signatures flooded the chambers of the State Capitol in Montpelier on Jan. 12, calling for enactment of a similar proposal there. Many participants said the national bills were completely inadequate to address the state's urgent health care needs, Young said. A bold policy shift to single payer on the national level is more plausible than many people think, given the public's support for such an approach, he said, and given the Medicare program's "44-year track record of proven success." Whatever deficiencies the Medicare program presently has could be easily remedied in a streamlined, better-funded single-payer system, he said. "In fact, single-payer Medicare for All would yield enormous efficiencies and savings through measures like bulk buying and negotiated fees, benefiting everyone and making the program sustainable for future generations. It would also be a much-needed boon to our economy." "The president and Congress, if they truly stand up against the insurance and drug companies and press for single-payer Medicare for All, will find a public and a medical community ready and willing to support them," he said. ### Physicians for a National Health Program Links: |
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Contact: Stewart Henderson, 360-339-3069 Democrat Stew Henderson Announces Broad Support from Across the 22nd District 16 locally elected officials endorse fast-starting House candidate OLYMPIA—Stewart Henderson, a Democrat running to replace retiring Representative Brendan Williams in the State House of Representatives, announced today an array of local government and community leader endorsements. Since entering the race in late 2009, Henderson has been building momentum and support for his grass roots campaign, earning support from a broad coalition of leaders from Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, the Olympia School Board, Democratic Party leaders and County officials. “Brendan Williams' departure leaves huge shoes to fill, and Stewart Henderson is the person who can do it,” said Thurston County Commissioner Karen Valenzuela. “He has what it takes to negotiate solutions to the big issues facing us all in these difficult times.” With confidence in Henderson’s leadership abilities, Olympia City Councilmember Karen Rogers said, “Stew has the vision, sincerity, temperament and strategic intelligence it takes to be a responsive public servant and a successful legislator.”
Henderson, a longtime Democratic Party activist, has also earned the support of local party leaders. “Stewart's strongest skill is resolution of conflict by helping groups find a solution that they had previously been unable to find,” said Debby Pattin, Democratic Party Committeewoman for Thurston County and a local public school teacher. “This ability will be of enormous benefit in the House, where recent budget crises more than ever before pit various stake-holders against one another.” The full list of endorsements announced today include: · Karen Valenzuela, Thurston County Commissioner · Doug Mah, Olympia Mayor · Karen Rogers, Olympia City Council · Joe Hyer, Mayor pro tem, Olympia City Council · Cynthia Pratt, Lacey City Council · Andy Ryder, Lacey City Council · Mary Dean, Lacey City Council · Ron Lawson, Lacey City Council · Joan Cathey, Tumwater City Council · Betsy Murphy, Tumwater City Council · Ed Stanley, Tumwater City Council · Eileen Thomson, Olympia School Board · Mark Campeau, Olympia School Board · Allen Miller, Olympia School Board · Chris Stearns, Public Utility Commissioner · Jay Manning, Chief of Staff to Gov. Chris Gregoire and former Director of Ecology · Karen Messmer, former Olympia City Council Member · John Cusick, immediate past Chair, Thurston County Democratic Party · Debby Pattin, WA State Democratic Party Committeewoman for Thurston County · Roger Erskine, WA State Democratic Party Committeeman for Thurston County A complete list can be found at www.stewfor22.com. As State Representative, Henderson will focus on creating jobs by improving the climate for small business, advocating for fair revenue solutions that fund schools and critical state programs, streamlining government, and preserving the environment. Henderson is an independent business owner who helps business, government and non-profit organizations with conflict resolution and getting better results. He and his wife of almost 22 years, Kathy Cox, live in unincorporated Thurston County. They met when they served together in the Peace Corps in the West African nation of Mauritania from 1981 to 1983. Their two sons went through the Olympia public schools, graduated from Olympia High School and currently attend college. |
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