Bad Congressman!

Apparently Congressman Steve Latourette had a town hall meeting today (I must've missed the memo). Below is a video from a progressive blogger who cornered him after the event. Frankly, the video just makes me wish these guys were better-prepared to face legislators--preparing a question doesn't do much good if you're not in a position to challenge a false answer. Anyway, have a look (I especially like the lady who shows up toward the end of the video):



I feel compelled to make a few brief comments:

0:57 It's nice to see an admission that prominent radio/TV conservatives are entertainers but as a stand-alone statement this is a cop out. They're still influencing opinions and spreading lies and one would (naively) think that as a public official it's Latourette's job to dispel the myths.

1:23 Conflating the public option with the reform plan as a whole is disingenuous. The CBO estimates about 12 million people will be in the public option in a decade. The vast majority of people will have employer-based or private insurance purchased through a Health Insurance Exchange. So the health care system post-reform will be "government-run" due to the presence of a public option in the same way that it's "government-run" right now due to the existence of Medicare.

1:30 Latourette points out that Medicare is expensive. I assume we're supposed to take this to imply that the public option will similarly be expensive. What he doesn't mention is that H.R. 3200 specifically sets up a self-financing public option: the public option's benefits plans and administrative costs are to be financed entirely through premiums paid by enrollees. It isn't authorized to tap into general revenue as Medicare is. But won't the public option be absurdly expensive like Medicare? Medicare is aimed primarily at people aged 65+. It would be tough to pick a more expensive demographic to provide with universal health care (if something like 70-80% of health care expenses are incurred toward the end of one's life then is it surprising that a program designed to treat the elderly is expensive?). The comparison isn't apt and I would hope that a U.S. Congressman who will soon be in a position to vote on this bill understands that.

3:42 "All over my district, BarackObama.com sent out emails encouraging people to come." Yes, both sides are organizing. I myself received one of the emails he mentioned; here's the beginning of it:

stanek --

All throughout August, our members of Congress are back in town. Insurance companies and partisan attack groups are stirring up fear with false rumors about the President's plan, and it's extremely important that folks like you speak up now.

So we've cooked up an easy, powerful way for you to make a big impression: Office Visits for Health Reform.

All this week, OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff, tell your personal story, or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you.

We'll provide everything you need: the address, phone number, and open hours for the office, information about how the health care crisis affects your state for you to drop off (with the option of adding your personal story), and a step-by-step guide for your visit. [. . .]

Contrast that with the memos of lobbyist-funded conservative groups documented by ThinkProgress. One such memo offers "best practices" for conservative activists to use against any Congressperson who "supported the Socialist agenda of the Democratic Leadership in Washington," including:

– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”

– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”

I'm not seeing the equivalence.

5:03 Latourette repeats a claim he made earlier in the video: the most ardent supporters of this bill see it as a vehicle for single-payer. He admits he has no idea what percentage of Democrats are in on this devious conspiracy but he names Barney Frank and Dennis Kucinich as examples. Kucinich, as I mentioned a few posts ago, has publicly said he's undecided on H.R. 3200 (he's busy pushing H.R. 676--you know, the actual single-payer bill). Frank did say recently--when confronted by a single-payer advocate with a video camera--that a he thinks "if we get a good public option it could lead to single-payer." However, this is hardly an admission that the system set up under H.R. 3200 will naturally evolve into a single-payer system (CBO analysis would indicate that this isn't even remotely true). I imagine he meant it in a public relations sense--right now single-payer isn't popular enough among legislators or the general public. A well-run public option might soften the ground for single-payer if people decide they're not really so averse to the idea. Regardless, Latourette was not being very truthful, was he?

So, yeah. I'd like to see a little more real-time fact-checking but I realize that's easier said than done.

P.S. Here's a piece of the discussion mcmahon and I had after I showed him this video:

me: i'm going to write a quick speakeasy post about this
mcmahon: oh jesus christ stanek, what is this, blogger day at the beach?

Guess so.