Health Care Bill Passes, 220-215; Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn Win Big One For Obama (Kratovil Votes No)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Whip James Clyburn, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

We saw democracy in action tonight. Democracy is not a sure thing. How small is the margin between success and failure.  Between victory and defeat. Progress and regression. How many votes to change history? Whose effort turns the battle? Whose vote moves civilization forward?

Tonight the vote was 220-215 to pass the health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. For a list of how each member of the House voted, (and how much money each member received from the health industry) see The Washington Post.

President Barack Obama began to deliver on the change he promised. The president rallied his party at a Democratic caucus meeting Saturday morning. Democrats responded by voting 219 for health care, 39 against. One lonely Republican Rep. Anh Cao of Louisiana, the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress, voted in favor of health care. Every other Republican found some reason to vote against health care.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina were the Democratic leaders who rallied the votes to pass health care.

Maryland is well-represented in the House leadership. Emerging from the caucus with President Obama Saturday morning, Steny Hoyer of Southern Maryland and Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County were among a handful of leaders (fewer than a dozen) reporting to the American people on national television. And the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi of California, is a Maryland native from a prominent Baltimore political family.

And then there’s Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil, one of the 39 Democrats who voted on the wrong side of history. But Kratovil is one of the elite few congressmen who play basketball with President Obama, so Kratovil may yet make something of himself in Washington.

Five votes made the difference. A swing of three votes would have brought an opposite outcome. In 50 years, Americans will look back and wonder how ANYONE could have voted against health care.

– Bernie Hayden

Message to Rep. Frank Kratovil Regarding Health Care

Here is a message I sent to Rep. Frank Kratovil today through his Web site, http://kratovil.house.gov/index.html.

Rep. Kratovil

Thank you for releasing a statement explaining your position on the health care bill. The reasons you give for opposing the bill ring hollow to me: i.e. the bill doesn’t reduce health costs enough, and the bill might not do enough for small business.

It seems to me that the costs and the effect on small business are details that can be worked out. I think the central issue is: Every American, rich or poor, black or white, employed or unemployed, should have access to health care. Americans should have better than the 39th-best health care in the world.

Costs and small business! Rep. Kratovil, are you primarily representing accountants, bookkeepers, and small-business owners? Who is representing ordinary Marylanders who need health care?

I’m a Democrat, and I’ll vote for you in 2010 regardless of how you vote this weekend. But I would be happier if my representative were voting for better health care for people.

–Bernard John Hayden

http://marylandonmymind.wordpress.com

Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil to Vote ‘No’ on Health Care

Rep. Frank Kratovil, Democratic congressman representing the Maryland Eastern Shore (and portions of Anne Arundel, Harford and Baltimore Counties on the Western Shore), has released the following statement on the health care bill pending in the House of Representatives this weekend.

“We need health care reform that reduces long-term health care spending and expands coverage, but we must find a fiscally sustainable approach to accomplish these goals. After months of thoroughly reviewing legislative proposals and speaking with constituents and stakeholders, I am not satisfied that this bill before us is a sustainable solution. While I applaud the efforts to improve this bill, I still am concerned that this bill does not do enough to bend the long-term cost curve and that it lacks adequate provisions to reduce the deficit and protect small businesses. While I will continue to work with my colleagues to pursue a better bill as this process continues, I do not support HR 3962 and will vote against it when it comes to the floor this weekend.”

Rep. Kratovil’s official Web site is http://kratovil.house.gov/index.html.

The health care vote is expected to be close, with 218 votes needed to pass. All Republicans in the House of Representatives will reportedly vote against health care. With Democrats holding a majority, 258 House members, Democrats can afford to lose a small number of votes from Democrats in close districts, such as Maryland District 1, and still pass the health care bill.

Where Is The Peace Movement?

For days, I guess for weeks, President Barack Obama has been studying the question: How many more thousands of American soldiers to send to war in Afghanistan? Will the President decide how many thousands next week, or will he struggle with the decision until the week after? The question is not whether to have a war in Afghanistan, but how many more thousands of American soldiers.

In the background, I keep reminding myself that American soldiers continue to fight a war in Iraq. Thousands of American soldiers. I forget how many thousands in Iraq. I’ve lost track of how many years American soldiers have been fighting in Iraq.

It’s Friday night, and I just watched a documentary, “The Good Soldier,” on Bill Moyers, on PBS. The old soldiers, veterans from World War II, and the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War, talk at length about their experiences. (The documentary didn’t have a veteran representing the Korean War. So many wars.)  The veterans in the film do a good job, in less than an hour, of sharing with us the pain and horror, the killing and dying, that they participated in and witnessed in war.

And so now the generals ask for thousands more American soldiers for Afghanistan. The president deliberates carefully. How many thousands for the war? It’s only one of many questions  competing for time on the news. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue almost in the background, as Americans debate Wall Street greed, economic recession, health care reform, increasing public debt, global warming, a cap-and-trade system for industrial polluters. So many problems, so many important decisions.

After watching “The Good Soldier” tonight, I’m asking myself, Where is the Peace Movement? It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times since before we first invaded Iraq. Where is the Peace Movement? And where are the Peace Candidates?

You know, in all the years America has been fighting the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan, I personally have never been to a war protest. Not a single war protest. I haven’t voted for a Peace Candidate. (Have there been any Peace Candidates?)

I have met the person who failed to work for Peace, and it is me. The Peace Movement is invisible, and it’s my fault. Who else could I point a finger at?

How many more thousands of soldiers for Afghanistan? How many more years in Iraq? How many dead? How many wounded?  WHERE IS THE PEACE MOVEMENT?

“The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind.”

– Bernie Hayden

George McGovern on Afghanistan and Health Care

Health Care Public Option Vote Set For Saturday

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Saturday on a health-care bill, including the provision for a “public option” to offer health insurance in the marketplace in competition with private insurance companies.

This is said to be a hard vote for members of Congress representing close districts, including Maryland’s Eastern Shore congressman, Rep. Frank Kratovil, a first-term Democrat.

Health Insurance — Winners and Losers

The public option is a good thing or a bad thing depending on your personal stake in the outcome.

The public option is a bad thing if you’re the CEO of a big health insurance company.

The public option is a good thing if you’re an ordinary person who doesn’t have health insurance because you can’t afford it, your employer doesn’t offer it, or you can’t get insurance due to a pre-existing condition.

People who presently have good health insurance are in the middle.  They are often uncertain about the public option. What’s in it for me? Am I more likely to end up the CEO of an insurance company?  Or more likely to stay the same?  Or might I somehow become uninsured? Am I more likely to become a CEO, or more likely to become unemployed?

For people without health care, one thing is clear: HEALTH CARE is better than NO HEALTH CARE.

Change and Anxiety

There is much discussion about the details and consequences of implementing a health-insurance public option. By focusing on details, one can know one tree well, but be lost in the forest. Details can be worked out. The future is always unpredictable. Change always involves uncertainty. Choose the status quo or choose change. Look back or look forward. Choose fear or choose action.

Here is what I would suggest to Frank Kratovil, and to all members of Congress.  Read the bill, understand it as well as you can. But more importantly, read “Profiles in Courage,” by John F. Kennedy. Then block out the noise and the static, trust your conscience, and vote.

– John Hayden

Maryland Election 2010: Frank Kratovil vs. Andy Harris

Yesterday’s election results in Virginia and New Jersey have focused my mind on the 2010 Maryland District 1 congressional race on the Eastern Shore (and parts of Harford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel counties on the Wester Shore).

Freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil, a Democrat, will have a rematch with the Republican he defeated two years ago, State Sen. Andy Harris.

The Kratovil-Harris race will be front and center in Maryland politics for the coming year.

Much more to come as the weeks go by.

Schaefer Statue Unveiled on Governor’s Birthday

Gov. William Donald Schaefer turned 88 yesterday. In addition to being governor of Maryland, Mr. Schaefer  was also Baltimore mayor, City Council president, Maryland comptroller. It’s not that the man couldn’t hold a job. It’s more like no one job was big enough to hold the man. The occasion was marked with the unveiling of a statue at the Inner Harbor (that’s in Baltimore, hon).  Happy Birthday Gov. Schaefer!

Chesapeake Bay — Is Maryland A ‘Political Dead Zone’?

Here’s an environmental book with a feisty message: “Fight for the Bay: Why a Dark Green Environmental Awakening is Needed to Save the Chesapeake Bay,” by Howard R. Ernst, political science professor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Ernst also wrote “Chesapeake Bay Blues.”

Here’s a high-profile endorsement:

“Professor Ernst’s new concept — the political dead zone — will change the way people think about environmental politics. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned with environmental protection.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., author of “Crimes Against Nature”

I haven’t read Fight for the Bay yet, so I can’t personally endorse it, but I trust Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Here’s a summary of the book from a press release by the publisher, Roman & Littlefield: (key words highlighted in bold by me)

“Author Howard Ernst reveals a Chesapeake Bay that has become functionally dead. He argues that the Chesapeake Bay succumbed to a “light green” environmental movement that has too often adopted a philosophy of compromise over confrontation. In turn, this “light green” movement has fueled a “political dead zone” where political leaders posture but fail to make the hard decisions needed to achieve real improvement in the Bay’s health.

While blunt in his evaluation of past and present failures to restore the Bay, Ernst believes that there is still time to turn the restoration effort around and sets out new “dark green” strategies to do so. In the concluding chapter, five long-time bay activists provide first-person accounts of their battles and hopes for the future.”

Yikes! The words “political dead zone” might capture the essence of contemporary American politics: “Political leaders posture but fail to make the hard decisions.”  That would describe the U.S. Senate’s contribution so far to  the health-care reform effort.

 

What about Maryland? Gov. Martin O’Malley is one of the few leading U.S. politicians who is not about posturing. (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is another.)  O’Malley talks big, but he  follows up his talk with responsible action.

I can’t wait to read Fight for the Bay and learn about the difference between “light green” and “dark green” environmental strategies. Are the strategies applicable to other political issues? And is there any return from the “political dead zone?”

– John Hayden

Rick Dempsey and Deanna Bogart Release Christmas CD

RICK DEMPSEY (top photo) and DEANNA BOGART (above) have teamed up to create "Home Run Holiday."

Rick Dempsey and the Deanna Bogart Band have teamed up to make a new Christmas CD, “Home Run Holiday.”

Deanna Bogart is known for her musical flair on saxophone and piano.

Rick Dempsey is the former Baltimore Orioles catcher and 1983 World Series MVP,  and Deanna Bogart is a multi-talented saxophone and piano player. Her band has performed at Maryland dances and concerts for years. I don’t know if Mr. Dempsey shares Ms. Bogart’s musical talent, but the catcher and the band leader are both flamboyant Maryland personalities.

Home Run Holiday features three Dempsey-Bogart duets, new arrangements, and Christmas classics. The CD was released on Halloween and is available from VistaRecords for $20.  and $9 shipping. You can hear music from the CD at the VistaRecords site.  (Correction: The price is $20 and shipping is included in the U.S. and Canada. The $9 shipping fee is for overseas orders only. Maryland On My Mind regrets the error.)

A CD release party, featuring Rick Dempsey’s world premier performance with the Deanna Bogart Band, is scheduled for Nov. 15 at Serafino’s Italian Restaurant in Ellicott City. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at VistaRecords.

Deanna Bogart’s music is a fusion of boogie-woogie, contemporary blues, country music, and jazz, according to the Deanna Bogart Band Web site. Maybe Bogart and Dempsey will create a new Maryland musical genre. “Baseball Blues” could become a regional phenomenon. If you can dance to the beat, we’ll call it “Home Run Swing.”

I’m not making any of this up. Maryland On My Mind is committed to bringing you important Maryland cultural news that you just can’t find in the MSM or on other Maryland blogs.  Stay tuned for our next post, which will have news on a new book by a Maryland author about the Chesapeake Bay.    – John Hayden

America Has The Best Health Care In The World! Right?

We have pretty good health care in American.  Right?  We do, don’t we?