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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

Corruption, Greed, Incompetence — And Here Comes Election 2010

Remember “Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll?”  How about “Fear And Loathing?”  A few choice words  have power to evoke an ethos or a zeitgeist! Forget about complete sentences. I’m talking poetry, headlines, book titles, songs.
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded” is the best recent entry in the field. (Thank you Tom Friedman).
“Corruption, Greed, and Incompetence” will be [...]

Olympia Snow — Republican Presidential Candidate?

Sen. Olympia Snow is suddenly looking like a potentially superior candidate for president, a candidate who just might be able to lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness. If you never heard of the senator from Maine, you have by now.
Sen. Snow, 62, has the experience and gravitas. She has served in Congress since [...]

Maryland Election 2010: Martin O’Malley or WHO?

The calendar says October 2009, but the 2010 election is taking shape quickly in Maryland. The general election in November is 13 months away; the primaries in September, 11 months away.
The two big, unanswered questions in Maryland politics are: 1) Does Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, win a second term in 2010?  2) Does Rep. Frank [...]

Health Care ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots’

There are two fundamental goals for health care reform in America. The problem is, many of us accept one goal but reject the other.  Therein lies the conflict that is roiling town-hall meetings across America this week. This is democracy in action.
The two goals for health care reform:

Universal Health Care. That is, make health care [...]

Health Care Then And Now: Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Barack Obama

The film clip on TV news of President Harry Truman (“The buck stops here”) making the case for health care for Americans was poignant. NBC aired the Truman clip following President Barack Obama’s news conference on the same subject, health care.
If I remember history correctly, President Teddy Roosevelt (“Speak softly and carry a big stick”) was [...]