Organizing for America Rally in Anchorage
About 200 supporters of health care reform showed up at Romig Middle School Thursday night to send a message to Alaska’s Senators. Alaskans want real reform, now.
Soon to be gubernatorial candidate Ethan Berkowitz was there, in addition to Rep. Sharon Cissna, Senator Johnny Ellis, Shawna Thoma from Mark Begich’s Anchorage office, and others I’m sure I missed.
~~Ethan Berkowitz~~
Johnathan Teeters and Sarah Mouricade of Organizing for America ran the show, talked about what has been done so far, showed a couple videos, and took a phone call from Senator Mark Begich who is currently on his way to Washington D.C. with his wife and son.
All of us yelled out “Thank You for supporting health care reform!’ and “Please Support a Public Option!”
After we heard from the Senator, the crowd dispersed and visited the various tables that were around the periphery of the room.
There were tables to volunteer, and places to sign up to do phone banking. There were tables to ask questions, and even two giant cards to sign, one for each Senator.
There were places to write your own health care story to send to the Senators, or record it on video.
As I made my way around the room, I had a chance to chat with a very notable Anchorage Democrat. She asked me what I thought Senator Begich would do. I told her that I can’t imagine someone calling health care a “basic fundamental right” and then not voting for a public option. She looked at me earnestly and said, “If he doesn’t vote for a public option, I’m not voting for him next time.” I said, “I don’t think you’re the only one.”
Everyone has a line in the sand, and this is it for many people I know. It’s too important.
It was great to see so many people turn out on a beautiful sunny evening to sit in a school gym to talk about health care. They came to make their voices heard, literally, over the phone to Mark Begich. Our Senators report for duty on Tuesday. Let’s make sure they have messages waiting when they get back to D.C.
Folks, you need to read the so called opinion piece in today’s ADN written by a conservative investment advisor advising us all that we need to be afraid of change, and it ain’t so broken anyway. Put your comments on the page, or at least hit the “recommend” button on those who challenge his opinion.
Here is an interesting video to watch. “Teabaggers Ambush, Listen Politely to Al Franken”
http://gawker.com/5352677/teabaggers-ambush-listen-politely-to-al-franken
Tikabelle,
Actually, Berkowitz isn’t doing very well at all. Since 2006 he’s either dropped out-of, or flat-out lost an election on three separate occasions: he’s now 0 for 2 running for statewide office.
He is good at winning Democratic primaries, but equally good at losing general elections. The reason for this is that he comes across (rightly or wrongly) as a effete, know-it-all city boy, which make people who don’t know him want to punch him instead of vote for him.
If Berkowitz really wanted a Democrat in the Governor’s mansion, he wouldn’t be running in 2010.
This is a great guest commentary in today’s Denver Post that dispels many myths about our health care; good facts to use when arguing with those bone-heads who feel no reform is needed.
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_13265319
About dental insurance. I kept my dental insurance after I retired. It was not a good idea. I think the dentists charged extra because they knew I had insurance. A couple of years ago I was told that my teeth were beyond repair. I had the choice of dentures or a full mouth restoration.
I decided to go for the restoration. It cost me $50,000. I took out a mortgage on my house, so I will have payments for the rest of my life on this, but I have teeth. My insurance paid $1000. This is the cap for which I pay $35 per month. I decided to stop the insurance but the window for cut off is two years.
Fortunately I have not had a medical problem. But I feel really ripped off by the dental people.
Note to AKM:
I notice that the date of our comment posts is correct, but the time is off by about a half hour. I first noticed that yesterday, but don’t know how long it’s actually been off. Thanks.
I was there at the meeting Thursday evening, and wondered where everybody was. The room could hold 300, but was only half full, if that. It would have been great to see everybody there. We can all talk about this important issue, but we all have to be sure and get out there and take action, too. Write and call our Senators and Representatives, and then write and call them again. The big insurance companies are feeling threatened, and are sending thousands of their employees to all the town meetings and having them write their elected representatives to state their opposition to any Public Option. Let’s not let big money win, and help all us little guys out there, and keep being vocal and active until we have real health insurance reform that helps every American.
I have emailed our President twice this weekend to let him know that if he signs any health care bill that does not include an immediately-effective public option, he will not have my vote in his next election. Working bipartisanly is nice, but the Republicans are not going to co-operate. He needs to stop “playing nice” and push this bill through before the 2010 elections. Sadly, he may already have lost the opportunity to get America the health care we so badly need.
HSA may not be the best thing possible, but at least I got to keep the money and grow some interest tax free till I either used it for health purposes or cashed it out.
My current empolyer’s policy is the Las Vagas approach, I can put pre tax money aside but if I stay well and don’t get hurt the insurance company gets the premiums and the money I set aside. And the loss is not even deductible.
I too believe that health care is the most important issue in this country right now. The current system harms society, and destroys our economy on so many levels it is disorienting to try to keep up with all its permutations.
If Obama’s administration fails, as it has already, on universal coverage, and fails, as it appears it will, on single payer, then the RepoTaliban will have won the battle and the war and the next 3 and a half years will be a living hell for decent Americans. The brown shirts will rule, and big business will have no restraint.
The Dims will almost certainly get beaten to a pulp in 2010 and Sarah may indeed become POTUS, or some one much worse.
#8 Far from Fenway Fan
Applause to you for the great letter. I’ve already written to my senators and representatives and President Obama but you’ve inspired me to write to them again. I’ve also written to some of the senators and representatives that I think have been extremely disingenuous at their town hall meetings. But there are others I could also write to.
Thanks for reminding me by your well written letter that the work is not over.
Ethan is LOOKER
No support of Health Care Reform with a public option and worthy of Ted Kennedy’s name…..then no vote for Begich, Murkowski, future Governor wanna bees from this Alaskan.
America is not the shiny leader in walking our talk for a healthy population. Look at the right wing freak-out and brain wash concerning the speech on doing our best in educating our children. We don’t care for our citizens in many fields as well as we used to or should do. Sad situation but we sure have politicians who brag that we do.
ChiCat my thoughts exactly but I have always wondered why small companies can’t pool together and get better benefits like bigger companies.That would be what a public option does.I worked for a small company and every single year our rates and deductibles along with co- pays went up.When the company could no longer afford it we ended up changing insurance companies every year and still the rates were high and you kept it just in case of something major not for preventive care where you had a 5000 dollar deductible before the insurance kicked in on either medical or drugs.HSA are a farce if you can’t afford to have the money taken out plus keep up your insurance also..I know my insurance took almost one weeks paycheck, and keeping money in an HSA was a real hardship.
@8 Far from Fenway fan,
Great letter! Thanks for sharing it…it really is absurd that healthcare is tied to employment. I’d be about $4000 in dental debt right now if it weren’t for my generous benefits. I haven’t even heard dental coverage mentioned, but thank goodness I’ve got the best dental insurance available. Why do I get this but countless other people don’t? Because I work for one of the largest employers in the state, thus they have that kind of leverage with insurance companies by having such a big group to get discounted rates. Yet most people are employed by smaller businesses that just can’t provide that and still be profitable.
I emailed the following to President Obama this morning and am working on emails to our 2 senators. I urge you all to do the same!
President Obama: As a widowed mom of four, my parenting mantra is “Save yourself for the Big Stuff”. When my boys grew their hair long, it was a non-issue for me as long as they kept it clean. After a while, they grew tired of it and cut it off. This approach has served me well over the years; when I raise a ruckus over something, they know I mean it.
I submit to you that health care qualifies as “Big Stuff”, something worth raising a ruckus over. While it is reasonable – indeed, often advantageous – to compromise or give in on some issues, this is one of those “I heard your side of the issue, but this is how it’s gonna be” times. This is your moment, Mr. President.
I have two children who are recent college graduates; each is employed. My daughter is working two retail jobs – sometimes putting in 60 hours a week total – to make ends meet. Neither store will give her enough hours for her to qualify for medical benefits. It’s cheaper for them this way and they know she needs the job, regardless. They’ve “got her”. My son is a seasonal geologist in the Alaska Arctic. He makes good money when he has work; the company provides no benefits. There is something radically wrong with a system that ties health care, a fundamental need, to an employer’s whim. The father of these two children – my late husband – was a physician; he would be aghast that they have no coverage. I’m simply terrified.
Fortunately, neither of the young adults I just described has a family for whom they have to worry about medical coverage. But what about those who do? What aren’t we hearing from them? Because they are too busy working round the clock to feed their families, pay the bills and provide some kind of life for those who depend on them. They are one paycheck short of a disaster. I know; I grew up in a family like that.
I urge you to press for a public option. It’s the right thing to do even if it’s not the Right’s thing to do. What will happen if you cave on this? Will the Right be appeased and work towards a viable solution? No, Sir, you will continue to meet obstruction with everything you propose, in this area and all others. Contrariness (all too mild a term for what we are witnessing inthis country) will be the hallmark of the GOP response for all the years you hold office. You have the votes, Mr. President. Take a cue from Nike: Just Do It!
The only thing that bothers me is that Obama sign that says “health insurance reform”. No. We need health CARE reform. Reforming insurance would only be a part of that.
sorry have not been news wothy not bgeen
It has been real noticeable that rally’s that are not violent have not bgeen news worthy and are ignored.wonder how much Murdock has to do with that? He has his hands in almost everything.
A link to show how even free clinics are not able to handle the crowds.
http://sarahpalintruthsquad.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/californias-real-death-panels-insurers-deny-21-of-claims/ article on insurance companies and their denial of claims that cost lives
IMO a great read about health care in California and it spreads out to all states.
It’s nice to see the rally take place in Anchorage. I think they’re being held all over the country – NOT that they’re getting much press ink!
I see that it was held at a school. Was there much consternation from area Righties that the school was being used?
We must all stand together and demand a single-payer public option.
Why are Dems still asking for the Repuglicant’s permission?
Just checking in before more outside work.
Wow, AKM, that was well organized! with lots of good ideas.
I was a page in the AK legislature during Berkowitz’s freshman term as a Representative. It’s so nice to see him doing well in politics!