VIDEO- Former Grassley voter : "Democrats and Republicans back home want the public insurance option."

By GottaLaff

This spokesman in this video is a former Grassley voter:

Two progressive groups launched a hard new television ad on Monday, using the testimony of a longtime Iowa Republican voter to attack Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for his opposition to a public option health care option.

Sponsored by Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and Democracy for America (DFA), the spot charts new ground in the health care reform debate.

Video- Fox News propaganda vs. what really happened: Ted Kennedy and Medicare’s prescription drug benefit

Via Jed.

VIDEO: "Tea Party Express" gets free publicity from Fox, CNN

By GottaLaff



The only report on the so-called Tea Party Express that I've seen was one rather pathetic one on CNN (I don't watch Cluster Fox).

As the reporter struggled (I am not exaggerating) to make the gathering sound newsworthy, the scene behind him was pretty embarrassing. The crowd looked sparse and unenthusiastic until the cameras were turned directly on specific individuals, at least IMHO.

But that didn't stop our dedicated Corporate Media:

The first was a [CNN] fluff piece about what a cool bus the people on the tour get to ride in. Awesome, dood.

Then Tony Harris did an interview with Mark Williams, the chief spokesman for Our Country Deserves Better PAC, the organization behind the "Tea Party Express." [...]

Most of all, Williams was able to flatly deceive the CNN audience about their purpose and intent. [...]

Harris, though, pretended throughout the segment that they were purely a nonpartisan outfit only angry about overtaxation. [...]

The "Our Country Deserves Better" PAC, in fact, was founded in August 2008 -- before the election -- specifically to oppose Barack Obama and his policies. (They called it "drawing contrasts between Senator Barack Obama and John McCain".) In October 2008, for instance, Williams was out on the stump campaigning against Obama as a "socialist" on a previous bus tour called the "Stop Obama Express". They've also runs ads comparing Obama to Hitler.

But that's not all, kids! Lookee here! ClusterFox is actively promoting it:

Clicking through to Fox Nation's "All Aboard" article, one finds nothing but promotions for the Express, including the final sentence: To find out how to participate in the Tea Party Express events across the country, CLICK HERE.

(click on image to enlarge)

And we wonder why the Democrats are struggling to get their message out? How can they when the airwaves are monopolized by anti-TeddyCare lies and propaganda?

Of course, it wouldn't hurt if our side got their act together, either. This approach is a good start.

Clinton and Gore reunite in Tennessee: The country has “a moral duty to pass health care reform."

By GottaLaff



As it should be:

Two old friends, fresh from a day of mourning in rainy Boston, came south Saturday night to pledge to a roomful of roaring Tennessee Democrats that Ted Kennedy’s dream indeed will never die.

Al Gore and Bill Clinton — ghosts of Democratic victories past who are increasingly showing up to buck up the faithful as President Obama goes through his first real trials in office — were the star guests at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s annual Jackson Day dinner.[...]

Clinton and Gore also offered a skillfully threaded approach that might allow Team Obama to channel the emotion and determination many party activists feel at Kennedy’s loss without spilling over into the kind of raw partisan sentiment that Republicans have warned will trigger a major pushback as an inappropriate attempt to make political hay out of Kennedy’s death.

And then they said what so many badly need to hear:

[Clinton's] message, on a day when Kennedy was remembered as being devoted the least of American society, was that Democrats need to fight. On that, the now silver-haired man from Hope was resoundingly clear.

“You need to back these congressmen and let them know you’re not going to let them be steamrollered by a bunch of people who have been frightened,” Clinton said, in reference to the town hall tumult of the last few weeks. “Don’t let anybody tell you that President Obama wants to ration health care. We are rationing health care in America.”

“I’m not a very good politician any more; I just say what I think,” Clinton said. “But I have been waiting for this for 40 years ... to recreate the American dream.”

Gore, in a much shorter set of remarks, was loose-limbed and noticeably thinner than in recent years — and he seemed to elicit the night’s most emotional moment.

Playing off the focus of the Kennedy funeral on the Gospel of Matthew’s parable of Jesus taking care of “the least of us,” Gore thundered that the country has “a moral duty to pass health care reform. This year.”

Times infinity.

TeddyCare. Make the dream come true.

TeddyCare Watch-- Healthcare reform's biggest fans: young adults

By GottaLaff

We need to get this demographic off their collective asses. Time to get pro-active, TeddyCarers:

Adults 18 to 29 are the group most supportive of President Obama's plan to overhaul healthcare, according to a recent poll by SurveyUSA. They are also the age group that most supports creating a government-run health insurance option.

Young people account for 30% of the uninsured population, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy research foundation. They are least likely to be offered health insurance through employment benefits -- just 53% of working young adults are eligible for employer-based coverage. And since their incomes tend to be low, buying coverage on their own is usually too expensive.

So what's stopping them? One guess:

But the age group that heavily favored Obama in the election last fall has been silent and, some say, put off as it watches the healthcare debate.

Members of Congress and activist groups are urging young people to tune in. Last week, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) held a joint news conference with people who represent youth organizations, including Rock the Vote, a grass-roots group that has mobilized millions of young voters.

"The hyper-partisan spectacles of the town hall meetings, which got so much media attention, are just not an attractive venue for young people," said Thomas Bates, a Rock the Vote spokesman.

Problem: Hostility and negativity are effective. Solution: Outnumber them, out-vocalize them, and outsmart them.

Up to 1,000 rally in NYC for health care bill

"TeddyCare". I like it. But of course, the wingers are already claiming we abused children and politicized Teddy's funeral today. Oh lord, they are just that stupid.

NEW YORK— About a thousand people rallied in Manhattan on Saturday in support of federal health care reform legislation.

The event near Times Square began shortly after the funeral for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, and took-on the feel of a tribute to the liberal leader.

One person carried a sign that said, "TeddyCare for all."

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney told the crowd the bill will lower health care costs for almost everyone. The New York Democrat also invoked Kennedy, saying the senator understood the need for change.