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Omaha Steve Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 06:26 AM
Original message
Terry (R-Ne) offers health plan idea
Source: Omaha World Herald

By Joseph Morton WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON — Having trouble finding health insurance?

Just sign up for one of the plans available to federal employees and members of Congress.

That would be possible under a proposal Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., plans to unveil today at Bellevue University.

“We all are in agreement that the current system has faults, the way the insurance companies have run it, and we need to fix those,” Terry said.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20090725/NEWS01/707259936



Terry is running scared. He has never broke from his party. I got this from his next opponent (State Senator Tom White) the other day.


We’ve had a great response to the email I sent you earlier this week asking for you to help us start strong as I move toward a race for Congress. I’m emailing today with a significant update.

The news just came from D.C. that national Republicans have added Lee Terry to their “Patriot” program – the Republican equivalent of the Endangered Species List. They know Nebraskans aren't happy with the status quo, and that it will take significant resources to defend it.

Show Republican leaders that they’re right to think Lee Terry is among their most vulnerable incumbents by giving at least $10 online right now:

www.TomWhite2010.com/contribute

Now that they consider this seat in danger, we need to be ready for increased attention from Republican leaders in Congress. The D.C. newspaper Roll Call reports that Terry and the other most vulnerable incumbents will compete for 10 spots on the next scheduled “Patriot Day” — a one-day fundraising blitz that brought in almost $100,000 in contributions for each of the 10 original program members when it debuted in June.

Washington Republicans will be bringing serious muscle into our district to defend the status quo. It will take a strong grassroots network to fight back.

Can you help us build it by giving at least $10 online right now?

www.TomWhite2010.com/contribute

Thank you for all you do,

Tom

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ejpoeta Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 07:21 AM
Response to Original message
1. isn't that the idea obama ran for president on??? though i haven't heard it mentioned lately,
i do remember obama talking about us getting the same plan members of congress get. let's hope more republicans get the conversion and decide it's in their interest to get healthcare reformed.
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WePurrsevere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 07:38 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Something similar has been a running quip from myself and many others but...
I don't recall Obama ever saying similar but he may have. I've long felt that Federal employees and congress should get the same coverage as the citizens. If one thinks about it, how often have we heard of an employer getting worse health benefits then their employees? I think Fed employees (from the top on down) all to often forget that it's the American people that they truly work for.
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ejpoeta Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 07:50 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. i agree. they shouldn't get better than their constituents have. but they get to
vote on it. imagine if you went into your job and had a vote for a raise or health benefits and such. it makes me sick. i understand that if we got to vote on if they got raises, none of them ever would get anything.... but they shouldn't hold the purse strings on their own raises and benefits.
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Abacus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 12:10 PM
Response to Reply #1
9. He did, and Kerry before him.
That was one of Kerry's most oft repeated promises during his '04 campaign.
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Jeff In Milwaukee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 07:22 AM
Response to Original message
2. I love it...
When Republicans get nervous about re-election, they start campaigning like Democrats.

Why not just vote for the real thing?
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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 02:39 PM
Response to Reply #2
12. How many Democrats in Washington are the "real thing?"
Kennedy, Kerry, Feingold and Kucinich leap to mind.

We should make a list of those in the Senate and those in the House who really act and vote like Democrats, rather than like Republicrats or, worse, Republicans.
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Jeff In Milwaukee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-26-09 08:59 AM
Response to Reply #12
18. There are currently approx. 80 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
We can start with these people. Interesting that Feingold, Kerry, and Kennedy aren't members.

Co-Chairs
Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)

Vice Chairs
Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)
Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)
Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Hon. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)
Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)

Senate Members
Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)
Hon. Tom Udall (NM)

House Members
Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)
Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)
Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)
Hon. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)
Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)
Hon. André Carson (IN-07)
Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)
Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)
Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)
Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)
Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)
Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)
Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)
Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Hon. John Hall (NY-19)
Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)
Hon. Alcee Hastings (FL-23)
Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)
Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)
Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)
Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)
Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)
Hon. Eric Massa (NY-29)
Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)
Hon. George Miller (CA-07)
Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Hon. Jim Moran (VA-08)
Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)
Hon. John Olver (MA-01)
Hon. Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)
Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Hon. Jared Polis (CO-02)
Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)
Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)
Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-47)
Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)
Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)
Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)
Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)
Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)
Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)
Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)
Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)
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ScottLand Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 08:40 AM
Response to Original message
5. I think it's a good idea.
Let's get everybody the same coverage the federal employees get. We'll have the government oversee it and I'm sure Obama has a plan as to how we can pay for it. And we'll promise not to call it socialism.
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 09:33 AM
Response to Original message
6. Now that is cool ~ let's shine some light on them
for a change.

Let's get some spread sheets that outline how much they get and what their co pay is for a horrible illness.

Let's really talk about HEALTH CARE for them and go from there.

R
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krkaufman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 12:43 PM
Response to Reply #6
11. (removed)
Edited on Sat Jul-25-09 12:45 PM by krkaufman
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LiberalAndProud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 10:12 AM
Response to Original message
7. Good!
And I never thought I'd have a good thought for Lee Terry. Still, stranger things have happened.

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jwirr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 10:29 AM
Response to Original message
8. Is Tome White a Democrat?
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Omaha Steve Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 12:31 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. Yes he is
Edited on Sat Jul-25-09 12:54 PM by Omaha Steve

He is an outstanding candidate. He is a civil rights lawyer btw.

http://tomwhite2010.com/




http://newnebraska.net/diary/1860/tom-white-inches-closer-to-challenging-lee-terry

Tom White Inches Closer To Challenging Lee Terry

by: Kyle Michaelis
Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 12:33:50 PM CDT

I've never had a whole lot of interest in the rumors and speculation side of blogging. But, it's looking like we've just officially moved beyond that stage as Democrats search for the strongest possible challenger to endangered 2nd District Republican Congressman Lee Terry.

As Democrats have hoped and as Terry has undoubtedly feared, it looks like Omaha State Senator Tom White is on the verge of announcing his 2010 bid for Congress.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports:

State Sen. Tom White strode Saturday night to the brink of a 2010 bid for Republican Rep. Lee Terry's House seat. White focused on Terry with the intensity of a laser beam during a speech to 350 Democrats, portraying the six-term congressman as a tool of the GOP House leadership.

Terry has "morphed from George Bush's rubberstamp into a proud, card-carrying member of the Party of No," White told the traditional Morrison-Exon Dinner audience....

In a pre-dinner interview, White said he plans to decide next month whether he'll enter metropolitan Omaha's 2nd District House race.

"I'm close to making a decision," he said. "It's fair to say I'm seriously considering entering the race."


Just in case there's any skepticism remaining about White's intentions and his commitment to entering the 2010 race, the following report from Congressional Quarterly appears to answer those questions quite definitively:

Six-term Nebraska Republican Lee Terry appears certain to be targeted by Democratic strategists in his 2010 House race, given his close escape in his 2008 general election rematch with Democrat Jim Esch in the state's 2nd District....

And while two-time challenger Esch, a lawyer and businessman, is unlikely to make a third try for the seat, the sudden burst of partisan competition in the 2nd District appears likely to produce a serious challenge to Terry by Democratic state Sen. Tom White, a member of Nebraska's unique unicameral legislature since 2006....

His supporters describe him as having a lot in common with a House constituency that has many blue-collar Roman Catholics with historic ties to the Democratic Party - but whose social conservatism had turned them into Republican voters in most major contests.

The 52-year-old White is "a pro-life Irish Catholic with a fiscally conservative voting record," according to his spokesman, Ian Russell. Jim Rogers, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the state party is urging White to run and touts his "record of public service and activism within the community."


White may be "pro-life" and "fiscally conservative", but in three years in the Legislaure he's also been one of the strongest voices demanding corporate accountability, fighting for government transparency, and defending the interests and values of Nebraska's middle class.

Putting that record and those values on the 2010 ballot should give voters a clear choice between more of the same from Lee Terry or finally having some real representation in Washington D.C.

CQ still predicts that Terry has the "early edge" heading into an increasingly likely race agaist White. As a six-term incumbent with almost a year-and-a-half until the 2010 general election, that isn't a very ringing endorsement of Terry's chances.

Make no mistake about it, right now, Lee Terry is on the defensive. The people have lost faith in his ability to lead. And, his party has lost faith in his ability to win. Terry spent months last year begging for national support while his standing with voters was in a virtual free-fall (1, 2). The National Republican Congressional Committee's late infusion of half-a-million dollars attacking Esch was enough to save Terry in 2008, but that's no guarantee he can count on another political bail-out in 2010.

In the last two elections, Jim Esch essentially ran stealth campaigns that exceeded any reasonable expectations for a candidate with so short a resume. Esch's strong performance despite the experience question proved just how hungry 2nd District voters were for a fresh voice and some actual leadership.

Should he run in 2010, Tom White offers all that and more. Except, this isn't going to be an under-the-radar match-up. This is shaping up to be the race to watch in Nebraska politics. In fact, don't be surprised if it even ends up becoming one of the biggest Congressional battlegrounds in the entire country.
Kyle Michaelis :: Tom White Inches Closer To Challenging Lee Terry
Tags: NE-02, Lee Terry, Tom White, 2010, (All Tags)
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Tom White Inches Closer To Challenging Lee Terry | 5 comments
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Tom White, (0.00 / 0)
after researching his record, has show impeccable leadership in Lincoln, and has been a individual voice on the issues. His leadership is in stark contrast to that of our current Congressman who's only public statements are either reaffirming his loyalty to the party of "NO" or pandering to the interest groups and hardliners, who, without their support, could cost Terry over half his campaign war-chest.

I'm not going to post a link, but I've read in multiple places on conservative blogs, suggestions that Terry retire.

Terry is losing his voter support. With the DCCC coming to town after our significant and historic victories in the district between giving Obama an electoral vote, and winning a majority in City Hall, as long as a Tom White Congressional Campaign can emphasize his leadership and hard work in Lincoln, mobilize supporters and volunteers, and draw a contrast between his success as an elected representative and Terry's failures, he has the best shot at winning CD2 in a decade or more.

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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 02:45 PM
Response to Reply #10
14. A pro life Catholic, fiscally conservative Democrat..
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jwirr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 06:19 PM
Response to Reply #14
17. I lived in Nebraska for 4 years and worked for McGovern there - this
is the only kind of Democrat we will ever get elected there. We may not like it but this state is very conservative and they are also very pro-life.
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sutz12 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 02:44 PM
Response to Original message
13. But "giving everybody what Congress has" doesn't fix the real problem
That is still coverage tied to employment. We need a strong public option. Single payer would be best, of course, but the powers that be won't let it happen. Just saying, "You can buy what we have" won't provide coverage for the 50 million or so that aren't covered, especially the 20 million or so un- and under-employed.
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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #13
15. I don't think anything but single payer can really work--except for the insurance companies.
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Ocracoker16 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-25-09 03:33 PM
Response to Original message
16. he needs to support a public option
The federal employees health benefits program is a government sponsored competitive market for private insurers. We don't want to continue to let insurance companies get between doctors and patients.

I take it that most people at DU don't read the entire article from the OP. I have observed that most people don't click and read. If you had read the whole thing, you would learn that he is against a government run public option. Why? Here is a hint- think about what Republicans always say about public option. Terry has read the talking points on this.

He doesn't approve of a government run public option, because he claims that this would be unfair to private insurance companies. He contends that the government would be the 800 pound gorilla. It would be very unfair to the private insurance companies.
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24601 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-26-09 03:58 PM
Response to Original message
19. The President/VP and their families are separate - their care is
provided by the military's White House medical support unit. Congress on the other hand is covered by the same Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) that most civil servants have.

Based on your geographic area, there are a menu of plans from bare bones, HMOs and expensive beyond our means. The one we have, BCBS Standard for a family, is $13,445 for 2009. About 32% comes from me while my employer, the Federal Government, pays 68%. The more expensive plans have less of a employer (government) contribution. Dental and vision are optional add-ons without a government-paid portion.

(Most Postal employees, under a lower salary system, are under a different system which is more-heavily subsidized)

The article does not say who would be responsible for the employer's portion. If 300M Americans means 75M families (and I don't know the real number), covering every family with BCBS Standard would be approx $1.08 Trillion annually.

"In 2007, the U.S. spent $2.26 trillion on health care...." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States
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