ProgressOhio

"It’s astonishing that Republicans today are lined up overwhelmingly against a health care package that is more modest and moderate than one that Richard Nixon proposed in the early ’70s."   (Nicholas Kristof column, Access, Access, Access, New York Times, March 18.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/opinion/18kristof.html?src=tp

Surely, in the health care debate, we've always known what Jesus would do.

Now, according to Kristof, we'd know what Nixon would do as well.

The question remaining this weekend is what our own local congressman, Zack Space (18th), and other holdout Democratic House members will do when the final bill comes up for a vote

It's a lot harder to figure out politicians than basketball players, and that's why I don't fill out brackets going into March Madness and I usually don't predict how any particular politician will vote.  In either case, too many ways the ball can bounce.

But I'm betting (for real, through my minimal campaign contributions) that although Space is holding out, hoping that Speaker Pelosi won't need his vote, in the end he'll do the right thing and vote "YES." if needed.

Why would he take such a political risk in his Republican-leaning district?:

• He voted earlier for the more liberal House version of the health care bill and it's not like his Republican opponents and critics are going to forgive and forget, even if he votes NO on the final measure.  Can you imagine all seven 18th District Republican hopefuls quitting the race and throwing bouquets instead of bricks at the Democratic incumbent?  Do you really think a NO vote would lift the bullseye the GOP has put on Space's back?
• Although a Democrat in a nominally Republican district, Space has amassed a large campaign war chest and won't face a well-known opponent, regardless who emerges from the messy Republican primary.
• Space has done a good job over the past four years being attentive to the concerns of voters in his 16-county district, and has followed through with the energy and intelligence to do something about these concerns.  He's been responsive to farmers and agricultural interests and has looked out for the interests of small business and community development.  Progressives will support him because he's shown courage in supporting health care and cap-and-trade energy legislation. Yellow-dog Republicans (those who would vote for a yellow dog before ever voting for a Democrat) won't be in his column come November regardless of how he votes now, but by establishing creds as an independent thinker, Space should do okay with independents.
• Space has been adopted as a favorite son by Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic House leadership, as well as by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.  Why would he jeopardize all that leverage in Washington?
• What up-and-coming Democrat wants to be on the wrong side of history when health care is so central to not only the Obama presidency but the future of the party?
• And now he can argue that he's only doing what (Jesus) (Nixon) would have done.

That's my view, anyway.  Just don't ask me where the Buckeyes will wind up in the Big Dance.  Let's hope that in this regard, President Obama (who gave Ohio State an early exit) doesn't know what he's talking about. 

The deterioration of our politics is shown in today's coverage in the Newark Advocate of a town hall debate in Mt. Vernon joined by Congressman Zack Space's seven potential Republican challengers in this year's 18th district race.

Seven is usually a lucky number but with this bunch, the GOP appears stuck with a rather weak field at a time when Space, a two-term Democrat, has to overcome not only the conservative leanings of his sprawling, mostly rural district but also the bitter partisanship which has spilled out of the health care debate in Washington.

Space was reportedly invited to participate but wisely didn't, since he would have been cast as the pinata.  Naturally, all the GOP hopefuls argued that he (and his fellow Democrats) had to go.  But, as the Advocate reported it, their talking points were exceedingly shallow given the complexity of the issues before Congress right now.  http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20100307/NEWS01/3070337

Clutching for the Far Right, tea-party vote, all seven chimed in on a chorus of lament about big government and high taxes leading the nation to ruin.

• Newark businessman Beau Bromberg's solution was a cut in congressional pay.
• Mt. Vernon farmer and former State Ag Director Fred Dailey would cut social welfare programs.
• Thornville teacher/preacher Dave Daubenmire wants God-fearing folks to reject government aid.
• State Sen. Robert Gibbs, Lakeville, apologized for votes he made to build light rail and increase sales taxes.
• Former State Rep. Ron Hood, Ashville, declared himself "battle tested" and therefore electable.
• Dover pastor Hombre Liggett delared himself not battle tested and therefore electable.
• Ex-Zanesville Judge Jeanette Moll grabbed the flag as pro-gun, pro-life and pro-Constitution.

That's it, the face of the Republican Party in the 18th District: pro-gun, pro-life, pro-God and Constitution and opposed to any expansion (or even maintenance) of civil society through community taxation and/or government programs.

Compare these talking points to those raised by 18th District candidates in the spring of 2006, the last time there was this large a field of candidates in the district.

In April of that year, This Week - Licking County - asked each of the six candidates in the 18th for their views on the Iranian situation, health care reform and the future of Social Security.  With one exception, their answers showed serious thought by serious people.  Looking just at the health care responses:

• Space, a Dover attorney running for the first time, said reform should allow the government to negotiate with the industry to bring down Medicare costs and permit Americans to buy cheaper drugs in Canada. (Alas, neither provision is in the pending reform bill.)
• Rep. Bob Ney, the then-Republican incumbent, said legislation he introduced would extend tax credits to offset rising insurance premiums and "establish a safety net for the uninsured."  (Ney was forced to resign later that year -- and subsequently jailed - for corruption in the Abramoff scandal)
• Zanesville Republican James Harris, a financial analyst, backed tax-free private health accounts and well as importation of cheaper drugs from Canada.
• State School Board Member Jennifer Stewart, a Zanesville Democrat, would have reduced health costs by more use of generic drugs and local health care clinics as well as through government incentives to reduce patient co-pays.
• Chillicothe Mayor Joe Sulzer, a Democrat, wanted the government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices and permit re-importation of cheaper drugs from Canada and Europe.
• Columbus property manager Ralph Applegate, a Democrat, was a tea-bagger before his time, but he at least admitted to being stumped by the problem: "I do not have an answer to that serious health-care question," he told the newspaper.  "Would you advise me, please?"

Four years later, Space is wrestling with how to vote on the Obama health care plan, Ney is out on parole and the other 2006 candidates in the district have evidently lost their ardor for serving in Congress (and who could blame them?).

Back in 2006, we were all overjoyed to be rid of Ney, whose junkets with and favors for the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff rained shame on the GOP.  But considering the shallowness of the current Republican talking points, I have to admit a bit of Ney nostalgia is setting in.

Every once in a while this typing exercise has application in the wider world, as it did last night as the U.S. House voted 220-215 to approve the long-delayed health care bill.

We should be especially proud in Licking County that Congressman Zack Space, D-Dover, provided one of the crucial votes making this historic action possible.  This could not have been an easy vote for Space, who represents the normally Republican-leaning 18th District and who faces a tough re-election campaign next year against energized Republicans out to recapture the seat.

And, in fact, this was the second time this year Space has taken one for the team, the first being his vote to support the Obama administration's energy and environment bill.  See:

http://www.licopac.org/licking_county_issue_pac/2009/06/zack-shows-backbone.html

On the health bill, Space has withheld a firm endorsement for months because of concerns he had about the legislation's impact on small business and rural hospitals in his 16-county, largely rural district.

On Nov. 2, he stated on his web site that these would be the factors governing his vote:

"(1) Protecting Ohio’s consumers – With tens of thousands of Ohio consumers without access to quality, affordable health insurance and with insurance premiums rising by 129% since 2000, Congressman Space believes that allowing the status quo to continue is bad for Ohioans, bad for the economy, and bad for our country.

(2) Protecting Ohio’s small business – Our small businesses have seen their premiums increase an average of 18% more than those in larger firms, and any legislation must work to keep these costs down.  Any health reform bill must not saddle Ohio’s small businesses with costly mandates and must provide crucial assistance to our small businesses owners.

(3) Protecting Ohio’s rural health care providers – In any health reform, Space believes that rural hospitals and health care providers must not lose money on patients covered by a new health insurance plan."

See: http://space.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=20&parentid=8&sectiontree=8,20&itemid=834

Space also opposed any provision in the bill extending taxpayer-funded health care benefits to illegal aliens.  See: http://space.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=20&parentid=8&sectiontree=8,20&itemid=835 

Among the bill's many provisions are these, according to the Washington Post:

• It would provide coverage for nearly all Americans and prohibit insurers from denying coverage on the basis of preexisting conditions or limiting lifetime benefits or dropping customers when they became ill.
• It would immediately introduce discounts on prescription drugs for the elderly and reduce (and eventually eliminate) the infamous "donut hole" in drug coverage.
• Uninsured people who can't get coverage could join temporary high-risk insurance pools, and "bridge" coverage would be extended to unemployed workers.

 With the bill now out of the House, attention returns to Senate action in coming months.  Comprehensive health care may yet stumble in the Congress, but this is the closest we've come to achieving it in the last half century.  So we need to thank Space and other House Democrats for making it happen and work to keep them in office next year.  Right now, for example, progressives should be writing letters in support of his position for the Advocate and other Licking County newspapers because we know he's going to get blasted from the Right.

As for the Republicans, they voted NO (with one exception) in the House.  The dissenters, of course, included Licking County's other congressman, Rep. Pat Tiberi, (R-12).  Let's remember that, and work to liberate Tiberi from his own government-run (i.e., Socialist) health coverage benefit after the next election.

Cats supposedly are entitled to nine lives but nobody ever mentions retirement as an option for geriatric Toms.

No matter.  Take this as public notice that I, Gray Hunter, am retiring.....from politics, from blogging, from the whole messy and time-consuming world of digital chatter.  Whether you realize it or not, the Gray Hunter you depend on for political insights is actually an old feral cat.  An old feral cat who now intends to spend the rest of his days sleeping and eating by day, prowling by night, and enforcing barn-yard discipline on the younger felines at Folk Lore Farm (the females who disrespect old Gray by trying to eat out of his supper dish).

I only got into this game at the insistence of my "neighbor", the human who lives in the big house next to my barn.  David Lore, a retired journalist, wanted to try his hand at blogging but was reluctant to enter the fray under his own name.  So a bargain was struck.  We'd collaborate at LICOPAC (www.licopac.org ) by employing my moniker - as well as my snarky, don't-give-a-damn attitude - providing he'd do all the writing and typing and keep my food dish full.

It worked swell for several years.  Lore would sit out on his stoop at feeding time reading the newspaper while I would chomp down my high-protein pellets.  Being wild, I always kept my distance from him but still approached close enough to read the headlines (which is all a blogger needs to know anyway).  No words were spoken, although Lore always thought it funny to greet me by calling out, "Hey, Gray Hunter - cat got your tongue?" 

Still, there was communication.  He could tell by my scowl what I thought of the news of the day.

But lately I've become disenchanted with politics (at least that of the human variety).

And my blogging partner, being a former newspaper reporter, no longer finds it ethical to hide his identity (however loosely) while slicing and dicing political opponents by name.  So as with Evans and Novak, Huntley and Brinkley, this news team is now breaking up with each partner going his separate way.

So after today, if you have a complaint or an opinion about this site, tell it to Lore.  He'll be writing under his own name and no doubt be exhibiting a sunnier disposition.

The fact is that, being a barn cat, I could care less what you think or what you do as long as you just leave me alone.  I guess that makes me a political Independent, which sounds right for a cat.

As the Washington wag once said, if you want somebody in this town to listen to you, get a dog.

Congressman Zack Space, negotiating a tightrope on the health reform bill, said yesterday he hopes to support final passage this fall but isn't ready to commit yet.

Speaking to supporters at a fund raiser in Heath, the second-term Democrat called the committee version he voted for last week a "good starting point."   But, he added, "I'm reserving judgment on support for the final bill."

Space, who eastern Ohio district includes part of Licking County, finds himself at the center of a storm as a member of the so-called "Blue dog" caucus in the House which held out -- successfully -- last week for changes to the version of the bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  This version now must be compromised with different language approved by two other House committees before a final House bill can be sent to the Senate.

Space said the Blue Dogs were trying to improve the bill, not stop it or kill it.

"I wanted to be part of a process that gets health care right, even if we don't get it right away," he said.  "It's too important to rush through."

The health system as it stands today is broken, he said, and needs to be fixed.  Space said he supported most of what was in the Obama-backed legislation put together in the House, including the creation of a Medicare-like "public option" to give consumers a choice between private and public insurance plans.

He withheld support, however, until administration and House Democratic leaders agreed last week to amend sections dealing with reimbursement rates for hospitals treating patients covered by the public option plan.  As originally drafted, hospitals would be reimbursed under the same formula now used with Medicaid patients.  Space and several other Blue dogs representing rural districts objected, holding out until they won a change in the committee version leaving hospital reimbursement rates up to future negotiation.

The problem, said Space, is that rural hospitals under Medicaid now get less in terms of reimbursement than do hospitals in urban settings.  "We can't afford to lose our hospitals," he said.  "That was a line in the sand I wasn't prepared to cross."

And it remains a deal-breaker in how he'll eventually vote on the bill, he said.

The "Blue dogs," described by Space as "fiscally responsible Democrats," are being both heavily courted and criticized as the White House and the congressional leadership seek to round up enough Democratic votes for passage -- without expectation of much Republican support.

Space was called to the White House for meetings on the legislation.  And President Obama tracked him down in Ohio yesterday, telephoning to thank him for his backing on the committee vote, Space said.

The congressman is running for re-election next year in a normally Republican-leaning district.  He, therefore, can expect an earful from both sides in the health-care debate during the August recess.

But while some congressmen were being savagely heckled  over the weekend by critics during local health-care forums, Space found a sympathetic audience at the fund raiser sponsored by the Licking County Democratic Club.  "It's good to be home," he said.

In helping craft yesterday's so-called "Blue dog" compromise on health care reform, 18th District Ohio congressman Zack Space, D-Dover, won at least a temporary victory in his efforts to make the measure more acceptable to conservative Democrats in the House.

On July 22, in a news release, Space outlined three major changes he hoped to see in the House version of the reform bill before it cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which he sits.  See:

http://space.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=20&parentid=8&sectiontree=8,20&itemid=737

According to CNN and other media reports, Space made progress in achieving all three of his priorities.  The Ohio legislator, serving his second term, was one of four conservative Democrats in the Blue dog caucus credited with working out the compromise with White House officials and House Democratic leaders.  Specifically:

• Space said on July 22 he wanted "bold cost containment" to reduce the $1 trillion price tag on the earlier Obama-Pelosi plan.  According to CNN and the AP, the committee agreed to changes reducing total cost by about $100 billion.
• Space said on July 22 he wanted "changes in the payment rate to protect our hospitals from bankruptcy."  He objected to a public option insurance plan which would negotiate hospital reimbursement rates on a formula at or near existing Medicare rates.  The revised committee bill eliminates this requirement, leaving rates up to separate negotiations, said CNN.
• Space said on July 22 he wanted "higher exemption rates for small businesses." Previously, the plan would have required all businesses to provide health insurance to their employees or pay employees a stipend to buy their own insurance, exempting only those businesses with annual payrolls of $250,000 or less.  According to CNN, the revised committee version broadens this exemption to all businesses with annual payrolls of $500,000 or less.

A committee vote is expected Thursday.

According to news reports, however, the "Blue dog" compromise already has critics on both the Left and the Right.  And Energy and Commerce is only one of three House committees involved in the drafting - not to mention the Senate - and we're a long way from any final version which may emerge after legislators return in September from their August recess.

One Southern Republican has predicted that health care reform will prove to be Barack Obama's "Waterloo," a reference to Napoleon's decisive defeat by the British in 1815.

In fact, in any battle, the emperor usually escapes to fight another day. But in this fight, will a Democratic lieutenant such as 18th District congressman Zack Space survive the cross-fire?

Space, a second-term Democrat, meets with supporters on Monday (8/3) evening at the Steelworkers hall in Heath, 2100 James Parkway (off I-79).  Up until now, most such gatherings have been celebratory, given our local relief of having Space replace GOP felon Bob Ney, a legislator jailed for his involvement in the corrupt lobbying practices of Jack Abramoff. 

But this Monday's forum could have a quite different tone.

In brief, Space in Washington has cast his political fortunes with the so-called "Blue Dog" faction in the House, a pack of moderate Democrats who are pulling against the party leash, growling and snapping at what they consider the fiscal excesses of the health care proposals backed by Obama and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

This has, to put it mildly, upset many progressives who supported Space with their money and their time during two election campaigns but now want to see a strong health care reform bill enacted.  This may set up a spirited "dog fight" on Monday if Space's critics decide to show up and try and bring their wayward pooch to heel.

LICOPAC has always been a strong supporter of Rep. Space, but here are some of the questions we'd encourage his Licking County backers to ask:

• In the abstract (and less abstract, for the future) does he agree with Obama that a single-payer system such as Medicare would be the best way to achieve universal coverage and cost reform?  (Obama, of course, isn't pushing for single-payer on the basis that it would be too disruptive now given that most Americans are already covered by private insurers through workplace plans).
• If single-payer is not possible now, does Space support adding a new "public option" somewhat like Medicare to the mix of private insurance plans now available.  This public option is strongly supported by progressive Democrats as a way to avoid a corporate monopoly and to act as a brake on premiums and restrictions imposed by private insurers.
• Does he, instead, prefer Senate proposals to offer this "public" option by establishing quasi-public health insurance co-ops?  If so, does Space favor a nationwide co-op or something less powerful, like an Ohio or multi-county co-op?  The size (and funding) of such co-ops matter if this type of public option is to have sufficient clout to negotiate rates and influence the private market.
• Does Space agree with other "Blue Dogs" that the current house plan is excessive in subsidizing health insurance costs for low-and-moderate income families with incomes up to $88,200?  Does he feel that middle-income families can afford to buy insurance without such subsidies, even though even with subsidies, middle-income families would have to pony up as much as 12 percent of family income to be covered as required?
• Even with promised cost savings, the administration says it needs to find $300 billion to $400 billion in new revenues to pay for the $1 trillion reform package.  Which of these funding proposals does he oppose, which could he support?
• The "Blue Dogs" have been critical of the price tag on the Obama-Pelosi package, as well as the cost impact on small businesses.  But at the same time, Space and others "Blue Dogs" have pressed for increased federal reimbursement to hospitals and medical providers in rural areas.  Isn't this a contradiction? 
• Reports are that special interests in the debate (ie, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, doctors, hospitals etc.) are pouring millions of dollars in campaign contributions into the accounts of "Blue Dog" Democrats in hopes of enacting a business-friendly plan.  Would Space, who has long declared he will accept no contributions from lobbyists, disclose whether he has received significant contributions from opponents of single-payer and "public option" plans? 
• Finally, does Space agree with Obama that the worst alternative would be to keep the system as it is?  Would he support a less-ambitious bill which only moves the country part-way towards extending coverage and/or reducing runaway medical costs?

What questions would you ask? 

Lost in the avalanche of grief and gossip over the death of pop idol Michael Jackson was House passage yesterday (219-212) of the omnibus energy and environmental bill by a narrow 7-vote margin.

And Licking County progressives should note - and take pride in the fact - that our congressman, Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, voted YES on this important piece of legislation, despite opposition from farm, coal and energy lobbies so influential in his 18th District.

The Dispatch, which has fretted gleefully for months over Space's dilemma, noted in today's story on the vote that "the measure has provoked intense opposition from many Ohio officials."

Those of us who have supported Space in the past but worried about his blue-dog timidity in the face of the agriculture and gun lobbies should take heart with this show of backbone.

And kudos to the media panelists last night on WOSU-Radio's Columbus on the Record who noted Congressman Space's courage in voting for the bill.

Now, it should be recognized that the measure is not everything environmentalists wanted.  But it does set goals for reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide  and establishes a cap-and-trade incentive system for pollution reductions, a similar approach to that which helped curb acid rain emissions back in the 1980s.

Yes, it will likely increase electric rates, especially in Ohio, since most of the state's generation depends on coal.  Off-sets, however, are a new program to help low-income ratepayers absorb the rate increases and new government subsidies for wind and solar which could create new jobs and industries here.

If you credit Space with making the hard - but right - choice on this bill, you might $how your appreciation at www.zackspace.org

If newspapers want to survive, they need to provide information quickly and efficiently that readers are not likely to obtain easily from other media.

Today's Dispatch, for example, has a "good news" piece by syndicated columnist Tom Teepen about final Congressional action on the Omnibus Public Lands Management Bill of 2009 (H.R. 146).  He writes:

"Forget the bum economy for a minute. You just got richer. We all did. A lot richer.

 

After years of dawdling and fussing, both abetted by an indifferent-to-antagonistic Bush administration, the House and Senate finally have passed an omnibus wilderness bill that will protect more than 2 million acres from despoliation. President Barack Obama was pleased to sign it.

The bill brings the highest level of federal protection to sites in nine states, from California to Virginia. Key sections of several national parks and monuments receive heightened security. A number of historic sites benefit.

National forests will be preserved against development encroachments. The nation's system of designated "wild and scenic" rivers will be extended by a thousand miles -- a 50 percent increase.

Our national parks, forests, historic sites and monuments are the nation's endowment, our trust fund for the country's future. They amount to a patrimony of incalculable worth."

See the complete column at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/04/01/teep01.ART_ART_04-01-09_A9_G6DDMGB.html?sid=101

But why, after reading Teepen's piece, should I have to spend another 15 minutes on the Internet tracking down the official name of the legislation, the bill number and how our Ohio representatives voted on the measure?

(FYI, all Ohio Republican representatives (including Pat Tiberi, Delaware) voted NO while all Ohio Democratic representatives (including Zack Space, Dover) voted YES.)

Instead, the timely reporting of how our representatives and senators in Washington vote is pretty hit-and-miss.  Even when the Dispatch's own Washington reporters write about legislative action, they often don't say how central Ohio congressmen voted, or only do so days later.

With congressional voting tallies now available virtually instantaneously through a number of Internet sites, why can't the newspaper help out its readers by automatically telling us not only about legislative action but about how our area congressmen voted?  Needless to say, most readers are not going to spend time doing their own research. 

The failure to track legislators' votes is even more problematic at the Ohio Statehouse.  But it's more understandable, since Statehouse voting is more difficult to track on a timely basis.

"On December 13th and 14th, supporters are coming together in every part of the country to reflect on what we've accomplished and plan the future of this movement. Your ideas and feedback will be collected and used to guide this movement in the months and years ahead," it said.

For two days now, heavy tanker trucks have been rumbling up and down my rural road, hauling pig manure from a nearby feed lot to juice up farm fields to the west.  The ground shakes, the air smells, we can't wait for the transfer to be complete. This must be what it's like on Pennsylvania Avenue as the Bush administration gets set to vacate back to Texas.

Now that's the change we need!

Other random thoughts two days after the election:

• A lot has been said about how Barack Obama's election should revive the nation's reputation in the eyes of the world.  But let's also realize that Ohio stands a little taller since Tuesday night.  Ohio, the state which provided the industry, the leadership and the manpower to make America great, has been blamed now for eight years for helping put George Bush over the top in 2000 and then sealing the deal for another four years in 2004. But on Tuesday night, it only became apparent that Obama was on the victory road when Ohio turned blue shortly after 9 p.m.  Ok, NO MORE OHIO JOKES.
• As we noted yesterday, however, Licking County hasn't yet gotten the word that a new day is dawning.  According to preliminary totals at the LC Board of Elections, Barack with 41 percent ran slightly better than John Kerry, who got 37.8 percent in 2004.  On the other hand, Democratic Congressman Zack Space in his winning re-election effort lost ground in Licking County, gaining 54.7 percent of the vote here as compared to 60.3 percent in 2006.  Meanwhile, the vote here for Licking County's other congressman, Republican Pat Tiberi, remained virtually unchanged, 66.6 percent in 2008 as compared to 66.1 percent in 2006.

• This is not to fault the work of Obama organizers in Licking County.  I really appreciated how hard they were working on Halloween Eve when the only trick-or-treater that showed up at our rural McKean Township door was an Obama volunteer collecting names!  We NEVER get trick-or-treaters out here in the country, and we certainly have never seen Democratic canvassers before, especially those for a presidential campaign.

• If you enjoyed the recent book about blue-collar politics, Deer Hunting with Jesus, you'll want to enjoy this follow-up in the Washington Post about how the denizens of Winchester, Va., approached this week's election.  See it at : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/01/AR2008110101841.html?referrer=emailarticle