"Off With Their Heads!" (Hey, They Aren't Using Them Anyway)

I'm sure by now most MOMocrats readers have seen the video of Billionaires for Wealth serenading Bill McInturff as he speaks to America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). But, if you haven't yet witnessed the spectacle, please feast your eyes:

I saw the video on Rachel Maddow. "Gleeful" might be too weak a word to describe my reaction. My husband, ever the professor, reminded me that I'd be all kinds of annoyed if someone interrupted a meeting of say, Trust for America's Health or the National Partnership for Women and Families.

I thought about that all evening. You know what? He's right. I would be FURIOUS. And if that makes me a hypocrite, so be it. I'm ready to fight for health care reform. 

The head of AHIP, Karen Ignani, is a former AFL-CIO'er. How she sleeps at night is simply beyond me. But she shouldn't be resting comfortably. When you decide to head up an organization dedicated to preventing people from obtaining affordable primary/preventative and emergency care, your conscience should be troubling you in the wee hours. 

So what do I want to do? I want the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to visit to Mary Landreiu. I want them to tell her that if she doesn't vote for cloture and every other procedural motion that they will find a primary challenger. They they'll personally assist said challenger in producing television ads that alternate images of her thanking Senator Frist and other politicians with images of people languishing in post-Katrina New Orleans and photographs of what will surely be multi-hour waits to see a doctor -- any doctor -- at the November 14 free clinic in New Orleans.

And Landrieu's just one example. Joe Lieberman? Let me say publicly that if the DSCC finds someone with a decent resume to run for that seat, I will take whatever personal time I've accrued and haul myself to the Nutmeg State to work for him/her gratis for as long as my heart can stand being away from my (insured) 18-month-old.

The House is no better. Mike Ross is leading the Blue Dogs against the public option. He wants to complain about the cost. Oh, really? Well, Mr. Ross, y'know what? I want my tax dollars back. I want every single cent that I pay to support Medicaid and Medicare programs that treat the myriad of diseases resulting from Arkansas' love affair with tobacco and fast food. I'd like every single penny back so I can make a contribution to whomever mounts a credible campaign to defeat your obstructionist behind. Mr. Ross, you represent a state that ranks 48th nationally in health care indicators! You should be embarrassed to support anything but the public option!

(See, I live in MD, a relatively healthy that state that receives about $1.30 for every dollar we pay in federal taxes. But, some of that is because the federal government is paying to run installations in MD -- Ft. Meade, Ft. Detrick, the National Security Agency, Andrews Air Force Base, the FDA, NIH, etc. Arkansas, which receives about $1.40 for every dollar it pays, and has one Air Force Base and one Army post, cannot say the same.)

And Mr. Stupak. You're going to hold up health reform over abortion. I believe that abortion is an issue over which people of good conscience can disagree. But the bill won't pay for abortions! Any funding for abortion services would be solely paid for out of private payments (the money a person or company contributes to premiums; no government funds). You're worried that helping people buy health insurance will free up dollars in their meager budget thereby allowing them to afford a previously unaffordable procedure.

By that logic, we ought to take away people's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka Food Stamps) benefits or right to drive on federal highways or Section 8 voucher or the U.S. military. After all, those things allow them to spend less money buying food, paying tolls, paying rent, or paying a private militia. 'Cause it seems obvious to me that women are obviously just biding their time waiting for health care reform to free up some money in their budget so they can drive to one of the 12% of counties with an abortion provider, probably undergo some biased counseling and probably have to endure a waiting period </sarcasm>.

Of course, Mr. Stupak is displaying a special kind of stupidity. After all, increasing access to contraception -- the very thing a comprehensive health care reform bill would do -- would lower the number of abortions in this country. So, to Mr. Stupak: Congratulations on cutting off your nose to spite your face.