Matt responded to some comments made by Dennis Rehberg about health care reform, likely in this September 9 Mike Dennison article...
Congressman Rehberg:
I read with interest your comments in yesterday's Lee Newspapers regarding the President's proposal for health care reform. Over the past three years, Forward Montana's members and volunteers have engaged thousands of Montanans in one-on-one conversations regarding health care. While we've heard opinions from across the political spectrum, much of the feedback we have received matches up with the concerns you raised: will we focus on preventative care, what can be done about malpractice costs, and can we increase the size of insurance pools to lower rates?
In part because of these needs, we are extremely optimistic about the President's proposed reforms. As I'm sure you heard, his speech touched on each of these points.
Regarding preventative medicine, President Obama said last night:
[I]nsurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, because there's no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives.
In the greater details provided regarding the plan on the White House website, more details are given:
Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money. The President's plan ensures that all Americans have access to free preventive services under their health insurance plans. Too many Americans forgo needed preventive care, in part because of the cost of check-ups and screenings that can identify health problems early when they can be most effectively treated. For example, 24 percent of women age 40 and over have not received a mammogram in the past two years, and 38 percent of adults age 50 and over have never had a colon cancer screening.
Regarding medical malpractice costs, the President wants to act immediately. His plan states:
Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine. The President's plan instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on awarding medical malpractice demonstration grants to states funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as soon as possible.
Finally, you raised the important issue of increasing the size of insurance pools to lower costs. As an employer that currently purchases insurance on the small group market and as an individual previously insured through the individual market, I assure you that this concern hits close to home for me. The President's plan creates a new health insurance exchange specifically designed to tackle this problem. As he explained last night:
We'll do this by creating a new insurance exchange -- a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage.
I hope you find this information helpful as you consider whether to support this legislation that is, as the President explained last night, going to be fully paid for, rather than debt financed like past years' tax cuts and program expansions. This responsible plan will help today's Americans without taking out a second mortgage on the future.
Please contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
Well, my friends, the bus is moving democracy. You get on a bus with a bunch of strangers, and you share a communal experience while going someplace. Every social and economic strata rides a bus together. It's one of the few remaining public places where that happens -- a refuge of sorts from the usual refuges we enclose ourselves in.
Okay, so maybe that's a bit flowery for a bus.
Or is it?
Anyhow, that's the basic premise of the Oregon Bus Project. People power. Face-to-face interaction with voters. Making politics fun. Making policts meaningful. A strategy - a destination - a plan. And they use busses.
And I rode from Twin Falls, Idaho, to Denver, Colorado on their bus.
Sorry for the absence of posts. To be honest, everything's been a logistical nightmare, and right now is the first time I've been able to get an Internet connection.
I'm in the Big Tent; today was jhwygirl's day to sit with the delegation, but she's been given the runaround on her accreditation. She's been looking for credentials all day to no avail.
I'll keep you posted, and hopefully we'll be seated in time for Schweitzer's speech tomorrow night...
I'll have a post in a little while about the Oregon Bus project and the rest of the trip to Denver, as well as some posts on other topics later...
It took twenty-six hours to get from Denver. That's right. Twenty six. Basically we zig-zagged across the West, visiting some of the region's finest cultural landmarks, crawling, crawling to Denver.
Seeing all the hyperbole and misstatements recently made to trash Matt and Forward Montana has frankly p*ssed me off. I'm not going to speak about Forward Montana, its charter, membership, or funding sources, because that's all Matt's gig. I will say this: I trust Matt, I believe he's committed to certain ideas that Forward Montana is working towards - and that includes getting young people and communities excited about politics and participating in our political system - I know he's not using us - the dozens or hundreds of local members - or his organization for any George Soros schemes. As far as I can tell, Forward Montana is exactly what it claims it is.
I hosted a Forward Montana even in my house on Sunday, part of the "beer, brat, and ballots" push to get neighborhoods conversing. I went out this past week and knocked on my neighbors' doors and invited them to my house to meet Ward 6's council candidates, to have some sausage or veggie burger, salad, to drink beer, and to talk politics. It was not a partisan event. As host I tried to lead the conversation, I never offered my personal opinion on any issue or candidate, and made sure both Ed Childers and Lewie Schneller had their full say. (Not an easy task if you know how gregarious Lewie is.) Turnout wasn't great, but the conversation was.
That's Forward Montana.
No one was brainwashed. No one was talked into voting for any Forward Montana candidate - but who the "Forward Montana candidates" are, you'd have to guess. Neither Matt or Forward Montana has endorsed any city council candidate. Look it up.
I'm a progressive, and I joined Forward Montana because it's a progressive group working towards progressive goals. And one of those goals - maybe the most important for me - is to get people involved in the political process. Without public interest and scrutiny I believe our representatives - whether at the local, state, or federal level - would scr*w us in a heartbeat. If we don't care, why should they? It's our government, it's our responsibility, and only we can make sure it's working in our interests on our behalf. That's progressivism. And there are Republicans who share these sentiments, and Democrats who don't like what Forward Montana is doing.
And that's what Forward Montana works for, too. If you don't like people participating in our democracy, fine. But how about debating the substantive issues instead of slinging mud, accusing legitimate organizations of being astroturf fronts built for some insidious purpose, without having a shred of evidence to support your allegations? And why repeat these rumors if all you have to go on is some anonymous comments and an unfounded blog post? Did you email Matt and ask him your questions? Have you met any Forward Montana members? Have you attended an event? Do you know what a 501c4 organization is?
Enough already. Of course it's Matt's obligation, not mine, to correct the misunderstandings and explain the legal status of his group, its mission, history, and membership. Let this post serve only as a testament to Matt's work, a character reference for a colleague and a friend.
In today's Missoula Independent appears a full feature of our very own Matt Singer written up by John Adams. It's a very fair piece and accurately, IMHO, represents Matt's "style," organizational skills, and ideology. Forward Montana 's been doing excellent work lately, and it and Matt deserve the attention.
That said, this cracked me up:
Singer has a burly, often disheveled appearance. His closely cropped beard, deep-set eyes, oval glasses, shaggy receding hair, and slack shouldered posture disguise his low-key charisma and bright political mind. He speaks in a flat, almost inflectionless voice that at times seems barely above a whisper. At first it's hard to imagine an average Joe like Singer inspiring legions of young activists.
Heh heh.
And now, let's play, "guess who it!" I'll post a quote from the piece. Your job is to guess who said it. Here's the quote:
"We're both young guys interested in politics and interested in Montana," [mystery guest #2] says of the impetus behind their meeting over beers earlier this year. "I obviously want young people to get involved in politics and paying attention and volunteering and voting. It's better for democracy and better for Montana."
If you'd have guessed Erik Iverson, the chairman of the Montana Republican party, you're a sharper knife than me! Or you're Erik Iverson. Let's hope that this feeling trickles on down to Missoula conservatives who accuse Forward Montana of all sorts of liberal outrages?
Not sure if any readers will be at Yearly Kos, but it appears my portfolio has expanded a bit, so there'll be even more opportunities to hear me rant and rave (loudly, because when you're screaming, no one understands you're ill-informed) about stuff that confuses me:
Thursday, Aug. 2 - 9:30am-11:00am -- The Agony and Ecstacy of Successful State-Local Blogging Building successful state-wide networks in the online and offline worlds is a key component to your success. Find out how to tap the rich resources of progressive groups and like-minded bloggers to help build your influence. Then, once your blog hits the big time, how do you deal with trolls, flame wars, crazy uncle bloggers and the seedy side of your newfound virtual fame. Other Panelists: Justin Cole, Media Matters; Bobby Clark, ProgressNow; Julielyn Gibbons, Michigan Democratic Party.
Thursday, Aug. 2 - 3:30pm-4:30pm -- Rocky Mountain Blog Caucus I'll be one of several co-chairs of the caucus, just helping introduce various bloggers from the Rocky Mountain region and get a discussion going around areas of mutual interest in the Rocky Mountain states. Think guns, land, and water.
Friday, Aug. 3 - 1:00pm-2:15pm -- Building the Progressive Youth Movement Smashing myths and building bridges - building a progressive youth movement. The panel will put to rest the many myths that still perpetuate among the media, candidates, and the electorate, about this increasingly engaged, and highly progressive demographic. Panelists will also discuss their own work in building the infrastructure for a sustainable progressive youth movement, as well as the challenges that we face as we look towards 2008 and beyond. Other Panelists: Adam Conner, Roosevelt Institute & Young People For; Alexis McGill, Citizen Change (aka 'Vote or Die'); Shaunna Thomas, Young People For; Mike Connery, FutureMajority.com; and Ivan Frishberg, Young Voter PAC.
Friday, Aug. 3 - 4:00pm-5:00pm -- All Politics is Still Local: Local Blogging 3 In 2006, local blogs hit the political scene with a big splash, playing a crucial role in many campaigns across the nation. Join bloggers from Montana, Massachusetts and Texas to take a look back at what worked (and what didn't)--and to discuss what the future holds in store for this growing niche. Laura Clawson of Daily Kos and Blue Hampshire will moderate. Other Panelists: David Kravitz, Blue Mass. Group and Karl-Thomas Musselman, Burnt Orange Report & ActBlue.
A heads up for interested parties. I'll be in Chicago for this year's yearlyKos Convention. While I'm out there, I'll be spreading misinformation and bad advice posing as wisdom on a couple panels. Shortly thereafter, I'll be doing the same in Missoula on a panel with DemocracyInAction.org and some other locals.
Here are the details:
YearlyKos: Building the Progressive Youth Movement -- Friday, August 3 -- 1:00pm-2:15pm. This should be a solid panel. I'll be in over my head sharing the stage with folks like Mike Connery of Future Majority and Jane Fleming Kleeb of Young Voter PAC. So I'll probably be learning more than teaching, but I might at least crack a funny joke or two. We'll see.
YearlyKos: Local Blogging #3 -- Friday, August 3 -- 4:00pm-5:15pm. Of all the local blogging presentations at this year's yKos, this is definitely one of them. The writeup is a bit misleading as I believe the lineup has shuffled up quite a bit. But I'm hearing that Karl-Thomas, originally a Texas blogger who now is part of the kick-ass team at ActBlue is part of my panel, so it should have some interesting discussion going on.
NewWest.net Presents: Raising Money and Awareness on the Internet -- Thursday, August 9 -- 3:30pm-6:00pm. I'll be chatting alongside the executive director of DemocracyInAction.org, one of the nation's online activist tool providers, and a couple locals, including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's online guy, Dave Budge, and Jonathan Weber, founder of New West. My take on this panel? It sounds like we'll be trying to discuss a lot of best practices for online organizing. I think Dave and I will try to keep the snarky liberal v. libertarian comments to a minimum. This one's got a $5 ticket attached to it, but you can probably recoup that in the beer, wine, and light snacks provided afterwards.
Howdy everyone. Why has it been radio silent so often lately? Why did V mysteriously refer to my old job and my new job?
Why are pirates!ninjas!cowboys! and robots! taking over the Loft in Missoula tonight?
Well, I only had a small hand in the party planning, but long story short, as of yesterday, I no longer work at Progressive States. I'm now on staff at Forward Montana.
If you want to lend a hand, head over to our website and sign up for our emails or donate. Our website is getting reworked. We've got interns coming on. We're working on events all over Western Montana and we're planning to ramp up seriously in the next few years to become a statewide operation and grassroots machine to make it easier for people to get involved and have a say in their government.
I'm quite excited about the whole thing and being part of another start-up (especially one I was with from day one) has me anxious and enthusiastic.
Hopefully, I'll be back to writing more soon. In the meantime, please, write some diaries, spread the good word, and let us know what the baddies are doing.
