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Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Harry Reid
Sun Coverage
Sun Blogs
Sun Archives
- Republicans want to make Reid’s town hall the issue (8-21-2009)
- Wall Street Journal: Reid will be judged on health care (8-19-2009)
- Reid releases details of 'tele-town hall' meeting on health care (8-18-2009)
- No real town hall, no problem; local radio talker hosts her own (8-16-2009)
- Wave of ads on health care in Nevada target Reid (8-9-2009)
- Reid vows to proceed with bipartisan health care reform (8-4-2009)
Berkley confrontation
John Ensign
Rep. Dean Heller
There apparently will be no Republican elected officials featured as “missing” on milk carton news releases in Nevada this summer.
Even though none of Nevada’s elected officials in Washington is holding a town-hall meeting on health care, only one — the top Democrat — is featured on the milk carton photos.
Nevada’s five lawmakers have chosen to sidestep the raucous meetings that have turned public officials across the country into YouTube sensations.
Frightened, angry voters have been converging on town-hall meetings and hurling pointed questions about health care reform to dismayed lawmakers. The uncomfortable exchanges are captured on videos and quickly posted online.
One Democratic pol compares it to the local summer stage productions of “Hamlet” — a formulaic undertaking that is being repeated over and over across the country.
Conservative groups in Washington have taken credit for the crowds, which have succeeded in altering public opinion: New polling shows a growing number, 50 percent, now oppose the health care proposal before Congress.
Nevada’s elected officials have mostly opted for telephone town-hall meetings.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do one on Friday and is inviting Nevadans to sign up. Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley has been passing out cards with the number for her tele-town hall Wednesday. Democratic Rep. Dina Titus will host a Congress on the Corner event.
Republican Sen. John Ensign will be holding several telephone town halls, too, but has declined to release further information. Republican Rep. Dean Heller told a Reno TV station that he doesn’t need to hold a town-hall meeting on health care because he is against the bill.
Five elected officials. No town-hall meetings.
But only Reid gets his picture plastered on the side of a milk carton on a news release by Republican Party officials in Nevada demanding an in-person meeting. Only Berkley gets surrounded by a crowd trying to crash her appearance at a local event to demand a meeting. (Her office notes that after emerging from the crowd, Berkley went on to talk for two hours about health care and other topics, answering dozens of questions at a very civil forum.)
The question that arises: Why is no one asking Nevada’s two Republican elected officials for town-hall meetings? Why aren’t Ensign or Heller on milk cartons stamped “missing”?
Conservative blogger Chuck Muth suggests Ensign gets a break after having recently disclosed his affair with a staffer, whose husband was one of the senator’s best friends and top aides. Ensign’s parents paid the couple and their family a $96,000 gift that an ethics group wants investigated as a possible felony campaign violation.
“We know why Ensign’s hiding,” Muth said.
Ensign declined to take further questions about the affair from reporters last week after telling the Associated Press that he doesn’t need to resign, as he once called on Bill Clinton to do after the former president’s affair, because his situation is different.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Phoebe Sweet said Republicans’ refusal to go after their own and demand town-hall meetings from Ensign and Heller is “classic Republican hypocrisy.”
“It shouldn’t come as a surprise — they don’t want to answer tough questions,” Sweet said.
State Republican Party official Robert Uithoven said Nevada’s elected officials should use their recess from Washington to meet with Nevadans.
“It’s part of the job — Republicans, Democrats, Independents — to have town-hall meetings,” said Uithoven, who sent out the release last week with Reid’s photo on the milk carton.
But Reid should be especially available, he said, because as majority leader “he, more than anyone, determines what lands on President Obama’s desk.”
“He ought to be able to answer to it — not on ‘Meet the Press’ — but to his constituents,” Uithoven said.
So any milk carton photos of Ensign or Heller coming any time soon?
“No milk cartons,” he said.
Put Ensign's picture on the side of a box of condoms.
or on the side of a $96,000 stack of cash...
How come Ensign does not have to explain his relationship to the c street cult house that has some strange love of the tactics of POL POT, Mao, and HITLER? Obama had to explain Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, etc.
Read the article and you'd think why oh why is poor Harry Reid being singled out. Perhaps the author chooses to ignore that the lapdog of Obama and whipping boy of Pelosi is chief senate pusher. Reid has vowed to jam health care through whether you like it or not.
As senator elected by the people for the people, where and why is Harry Reid hiding.
More people hitting the un-employment lines, losing their health insurance. . . Why don't we start labeling the 'health insurance' companies by their true name: 'death panels'
when they deny the procedures to save your life, you really are given a 'death sentence'.
Obama needs to get into gear and sell to the American people a 'public option' for what it is, an option for those who are getting 'screwed over' by these 'no health' only 'for profit' insurance companies.
want to see health insurance reform made simple? google it: 'health insurance reform on a napkin'
Can the unemployed, the homeless and illegal aliens call in to the Reid tele-town-hall?
Senator Reid is a decent man in my opinion but I also think he's not being assertive and tough enough leading the Senate.
Senator Reid is making a fatal error by humoring these right wing lunatics. They're just playing him and stalling while they foment hysteria to scare some Americans senseless with their 'death panels' and 'pull the plug on grandma' baldfaced lies, all of it to safeguard the multi-million dollar bonuses and salaries of the health insurance industry CEOs.
I like Senator Reid but what we really need is a Senate leader more like Senator Barney Frank who won't indulge insane Nazi 'questions' from the LaRouche fringes and the birther nutbags.
Unfortunately the town halls on health care have been nothing more than staging sites for everything BUT health care. In Arizona, downtown Phoenix, protesters brought loaded assault weapons so that they could take the focus away from health care and onto their 2nd amendment rights. That is akin to 12 men walking down the Las Vegas strip with automatic weapons.
Were they there to make a point about the ever escalating cost for treatment of gunshot victims in Nevada's trauma centers? Hardly. Does it serve the public interest when the discussion is not on health care but instead on staged incidents such as the gun toters? They admitted that the whole thing was a mock up, that it was staged, canned, and even the interviews were rehearsed. Again, what in blazes does this have to do with health care?
If you can answer questions about the pending legislation via phone, especially in 110+ degree heat, I see no problems. You are not denying access, and it allows the focus to go back to health care. The elderly especially deserve the opportunity to have their questions answered, and participating by phone will make it much easier and safer for the vast majority. If the only concern is that there will be no cameras, then you have to wonder if the true concern is that another staged episode will be absent from the 5 o'clock news.
The problem is no one will recognize their Senator on the milk cartons. Sen Reid has been missing in Nevada for years. His unholy alliance with Pelosi and the radical left wing of the party has pushed him too far from the voters.
The man holds the keys to stopping this health care takeover as leader of the Senate. Of course he will be looked to for answers. The problem is harry Reid can't answer his constituents while taking orders from San Fransisco and Chicago.
We cannot let the nay-sayers gain control of the issue to get it squashed!
It is up to us to continue to push if we want to get Health Care Reform with a Strong Public Option passed - we need to keep up the pressure on these officials that we elected...you know, the ones who are supposed to represent US?
Our taxes pay a majority of the cost of healthcare for our Congress people.
While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.
Sign this petition to have paid health care removed from our representatives in Congress until such time as they reform health care - to include a strong public option - for 'we the people' who they are supposed to represent. Then spread the word to anyone and everyone you know!
http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/p...
Just send out a "Mistress Alert" and Ensign will show up to save the day.
Everyone seems to be willing to state their positions but not delve into why they hold those positions.
No one is asking why.
WHY Stocks for the Insurance Industry soared at the idea the White House might be willing to substitute co-ops?
WHY Romney and Republicans are promoting Massachusetts model as the viable bipartisan option? Kay Klazar of the Globe's article "Bay State health insurance premiums highest in country" shows how insane that idea is.
The Insurance Industry does not want prices to go down, it wants additional revenue from mandatory coverage. The republicans want the money from the Insurance Industry to win back congress and the presidency. They know this reform, without a public option, is fiscally insane yet they are willing to do this for political gain.
FACTS:
We are paying Billions for insurance industry advertising, exorbitant salaries, and billions more for the insurance industry to lobby against us to increase their profits and remove competition. Without a non-profit public option, the Insurance Industry will not lower costs, in fact it would increase the % of GDP that is already unsustainable..
Co-ops do not affect Insurance Industry pricing (GAO study done March 2000). Co-ops that become actual competition (e.g. blue cross/blue shield) are bought up and run by the Insurance Industry to keep prices steady. They remain non-profit but do not affect % of GDP or price to the consumer.
Nothing prevents the Insurance Industry from buying up, buying out, or even starting co-ops to prevent real competition (this way they can claim co-ops work and not trigger a public option). This will increase taxes to an unsustainable level, subsidize Insurance Industry profits, it will bankrupt our country and the democrats will be blamed.
The top 10 rated countries have universal coverage, require non-profit health care whether it's public or private sector, and have sustainable % of GDP. (Singapore, rated 6th requires the public health care to compete with private sector)
Because we have a for-profit Insurance Industry we pay approx. $4-6000 more per person than any other industrialized country, yet we don't have universal coverage and we are rated 37th as a nation for our Health Care (just above Costa Rica).
The Republicans and Blue Dogs are deceiving the public. Co-ops are absolutely not viable competitors to bring down costs. This is being done at the expense of our citizens health, financial stability and our nations solvency.
Of course, a telephone town hall meeting. This is insulting to the public, why hide behind a phone, face the public by answering the tough questions,,,,,Come on Harry Reid, show the people what you are made of,,,,What is the matter? no political backbone,,,,Plato and Aristotle would call today's elected officials bootlickers....
JS....
What difference does it make if he is answering questions in person or over the phone? Do you honestly think the answer changes from one setting to the other? The fascination with these town halls is pathetic. Where have all you people been when town halls on various topics were held in the past?
Only now that fringe groups calling for videos showing shouting matches designed to embarrass our elected officials are people interested in showing up. That's about getting their 15 minutes of fame, not engaging in a productive conversation about an important issue.
Instead of wasting everybody's time by focusing on the format of a town hall, do some research and ask questions about the issue!
I agree with "Tommyboy" let's try to act like adults shall we people? GEESHE!
KUDOS to Shelley Berkley for being a classy lady(and the Clark County Democratic Black Caucus) for being courageous and standing up to these rude, mean, nasty bullies - WE LOVE YOU SHELLEY!
Now, if there was just some way to seperate the radical rats and spoiled brats from the rest of us as civilized adults? Hey, why not go to a Tele-Town Hall format? Yeah, that makes good sense!
Finally, someone in the press calls out the Republicans for their hypocrisy on these town hall meetings. If they really cared about having this level of discourse over health insurance reform, you would think they would pressure all of their members to hold them, but (of course) it's just another Republican stunt to push a purely political agenda instead of focusing on ensuring our country meets the challenge of reform head-on.
Plus, this is a supremely weak attempt to take another swipe at Senator Reid. Who thought this was a good idea? It's pathetic.
In case Republicans haven't been reading the news, Senator Reid has been all over the state recently promoting renewable energy and ensuring Nevada is well positioned to become the nation's renewable energy producer. What has Ensign and Heller been up to? I haven't seen anything about what they are doing for Nevada.
Speaking of Ensign, he gets a pass for not doing his job because he recently admitted to having an affair? What kind of twisted logic is that? You attack Reid even though he will host a tele-townhall , which will reach 50,000 people, but Ensign is off the hook because he cheated on his wife? Unbelievable!
Republicans are against this monumental disaster as they should be. Democrats are the reason the people are angry and scared of our government officials. Harry Reid is one of the biggest reasons for everyone's mistrust. He and the rest of the Democrats are ignoring the people and doing whatever the hell they want to do instead of listening to their constituents. They will be held accountable for thumbing their noses at the people of Nevada. Now they hide but no problem, their time is coming!