DownWithTyranny!: How Good Are Texans At Getting God To Intercede On Their Behalf?

We have sleazy corporate shills who probably belong in prison for taking bribes like Lamar Alexander-- who's into Insurance Industry pockets to the tune of $501,650 and in hock to the Medical-Industrial Complex for another $2,070,958-- warning about a minor revolution and the end of the Democratic Party (an idea he has in common with one of the more corrupt of the Blue Dogs, Minnesota crook Colin Peterson) if health care reform is passed. Imagine that! Republicans and their front groups just spent the entire summer trying to scare the public with Insurance Industry lies about death panels and government takeovers and illegal aliens and now you have Alexander telling the press there should be no health care reform because people are scared. This is an exact replay of what happened with progressives passed Social Security, minimum wage and Medicare. The Republicans obstructed, spread lies and fear and smear and predicted the end of civilization.

Yesterday's L.A. Times pointed out that the states most likely to win under healthcare overhaul are home to its biggest foes. We've been pointing that out almost daily, looking at opponents like Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Wally Herger (R-CA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), David Dreier (R-CA), Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA), and Parker Griffith (Blue Dog-AL), are marveling at how many of their own constituents they're more than willing to screw over on the alter of preserving the status quo for their generous campaign donors.

Yesterday, though, I became aware of a new dimension in conservative lunacy as one of the cable news channels spotlighted preparations three states are making to combat this winter's expected swine flu epidemic. New York and California are going all out to set up programs to immunize school children and contain the expected severity of the problem. Texas has a two fold strategy: relying on the private sector and encouraging people to pray. I wonder if Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another opponent of government action, plans to exorcize the H1N1 virus.

Looking through the statistics compiled by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it looks like Massachusetts' and Hawaii's congressional districts have the fewest number of uninsured people in the U.S., around 25-30,000 uninsured each. Yet all the members of Congress from both states are fighting hard for insurance reform that will cover millions more people across the country. At the same time, Texas is a veritable health insurance basketcase. Take a look at the 32 Texas congressional districts, with their members of Congress and the gargantuan number of uninsured people. All the Republicans oppose the reform legislation. Three, Barton, Hall and Burgess (bolded) have already voted against it in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

TX-01- Louie Gohmert (R)- 189,000
TX-02- Ted Poe (R)- 181,000
TX-03- Sam Johnson (R)- 140,000
TX-04- Ralph Hall (R)- 168,000
TX-05- Jeb Hensarling (R)- 188,000
TX-06- Joe Barton (R)- 167,000
TX-07- John Culberson (R)- 121,000
TX-08- Kevin Brady (R)- 200,000
TX-09- Al Green (D)- 180,000
TX-10- Mike McCaul (R)- 142,000
TX-11- Michael Conaway (R)- 154,000
TX-12- Kay Granger (R)- 179,000
TX-13- Mac Thornberry (R)- 145,000
TX-14- Ron Paul (R)- 173,000
TX-15- Rubén Hinojosa (D)- 343,000
TX-16- Silvestre Reyes (D)- 232,000
TX-17- Chet Edwards (D)- 161,000
TX-18- Sheila Jackson-Lee (D)- 205,000
TX-19- Randy Neugebauer (R)- 171,000
TX-20- Charles Gonzalez (D)- 168,000
TX-21- Lamar Smith (R)- 147,000
TX-22- Pete Olson (R)- 154,000
TX-23- Ciro Rodriguez (D)- 202,000
TX-24- Kenny Marchant (R)- 137,000
TX-25- Lloyd Doggett (D)- 193,000
TX-26- Michael Burgess (R)- 133,000
TX-27- Solomon Ortiz (D)- 207,000
TX-28- Henry Cuellar (D)- 267,000
TX-29- Gene Green (D)- 243,000
TX-30- Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)- 222,000
TX-31- John Carter (R)- 133,000
TX-32- Pete Sessions (R)- 160,000

Joe Barton is the ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee and he led the fight to kill the bill. He's still part of the GOP anti-health care leadership team charged with sabotaging the legislation on behalf of Insurance companies. Barton has been a major recipient of Insurance Industry largesse-- $266,149 (+ another mind-boggling $2,142,421 from the Medical-Industrial Complex!). His constituents in Arlington and the burbs south of Ft Worth and Dallas should be asking him what they're paying for all those donations. Clearly, he doesn't give a good goddamn what happens to them or their families. The bill he's been so strenuously opposing would work wonders for seniors and for small businesses in the district and of the 167,000 uninsured people in the district, 144,000 would be eligible for the same kind of high-quality, affordable health insurance that Congressman Barton gets. Until 2006 Barton was the chairman of The Energy and Commerce Committee, during which it did exactly nothing to reform health care. And I can guarantee you that under his leadership a report like the one showing what the legislation that passed from it last month will do in the 6th district would have never been released.

• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 13,000 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.

• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 7,300 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.

• Health care and financial security. There were 900 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $76 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.

• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 167,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 22% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 144,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.

• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 2,550 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 99.2% of taxpayers in the district.