Friday, November 6, 2009

The "Health Insurance Company Protection Act"

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

The House Republicans just released their version of health reform. It's a disaster -- so outrageous that Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dubbed it the "Health Insurance Company Protection Act" -- but Republicans are arguing it's the key to real reform.

So we're pushing back hard, with the top 5 reasons that the GOP bill fails America. Take a look at the list -- then pass it along to all your friends who need to know the facts.
  • The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says it would barely make a dent in most of our premiums, and could lead to higher premiums for older Americans.
  • The New York Times reports that it doesn't stop insurers from refusing to cover you because of a pre-existing condition.
  • The CBO's research shows that the GOP plan would likely cut the deficit by just $68 billion over the next ten years -- far less than the Democratic bill, which cuts the deficit by $104 billion over the same period.
  • The CBO also estimates that under the Republican bill the number of uninsured Americans would actually increase to 52 million by 2019.
  • And Politico writes that the Republican's so-called plan doesn't keep insurers from dropping you when you're sick -- it just makes them let you know that you're being dropped.
The Democratic bill in the House is what America actually needs. It stops insurance companies from refusing coverage because of a pre-existing condition. It prevents them from denying you care when you get sick. It will help lower premiums for our families and businesses, and will cover 33 million more people than the Republican bill.

Capitol Hill newspapers are reporting that the House may vote on a Democratic bill tomorrow. So it's especially crucial that we get the word out immediately. Please pass this along to everyone you know.

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Sarah Palin's Facebook lies

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

A lot of folks use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family. For Sarah Palin, it's a great way to spread lies about health insurance reform.

A few months back, Palin took to Facebook to declare that health reform would create "death panels," and drive private insurers out of business -- and nonpartisan fact-check sites and the independent Congressional Budget Office debunked those lies.

But that hasn't stopped Sarah Palin. She's back with a new Facebook note claiming that reform will raise costs on families and drive up deficits. Unfortunately for her, even the conservative "Tax Foundation" says those claims are false.

So we're calling out Sarah Palin, and taking to Facebook to debunk her lies on the very same pages she's using to spread them.

Call 'em out: Sarah Palin. Watch the video, make a call, spread the word on Facebook.

Call out Sarah Palin

We've put together a short Facebook note cataloging just some of Sarah Palin's many distortions and the facts that prove her wrong. But we need your help to "share" the note and make sure she doesn't get away with her outrageous lies.

If Sarah Palin wants to spread lies on Facebook, we'll call her out in the very same place. And when thousands of folks share our note and expose her lies, it will be clear that those who lie about reform will be held accountable -- no matter where they spread their misinformation.

The more we push back with the truth, the more Sarah Palin and others like her will have to think twice before they promote lies, and the less they'll be able to derail progress.

Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you can still help us call out Sarah Palin. Visit Call 'em Out: Sarah Palin to watch our video detailing her lies and to call Palin's political organization and say, "stop lying."

Rising health care costs are crushing American families and squeezing small businesses. Reform will reign in costs and cut the deficit in the long run -- that's why it's so important, and why Sarah Palin's lies are so malicious.

We're not letting it stand. We're calling Sarah Palin out:

http://www.democrats.org/CallOutPalin

Thanks for helping us set the record straight about reform,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Please donate

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This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Michael Steele's political games

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

Last weekend, Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher admitted what's been painfully clear for months, saying: "I see a lot of Republicans simply involved in political games."

Sadly, he's right -- and when it comes to health reform, there's no one that statement applies to more than Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Instead of encouraging his party to work toward reform, Steele's been leading the charge against it with a series of lies and distortions.

He's claimed reform would hurt small businesses, cost millions of Americans their insurance, and cut Medicare benefits -- and independent observers have declared each of those claims false.

Steele knows that all Americans -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- are dealing with the painful consequences of a broken health care system. But he's siding with Washington elites and insurance companies and playing political games to kill reform -- so we're calling him out.

Call 'em Out: Michael Steele. Watch the video, spread the word, make a call.
Call out Michael Steele

Even though everyone from Sanjay Gupta to AARP and the independent PolitiFact say that claims that reform would cut Medicare benefits or result in rationing are false, Steele's been spreading them for months.

And what does the Congressional Budget Office -- the independent arm of Congress that evaluates bills -- think about Steele's claims that reform would increase the deficit and force Americans from their current coverage? CBO analyses refute the RNC chairman's claims on both counts.

To top it all off, Michael Steele has claimed that reform would burden small businesses and kill jobs. But the conservative Chamber of Commerce admits business owners support reform, and one small business owner said such a claim is "little more than a purposefully misleading bag of rhetoric that has nothing to do with the real issues facing small businesses."

Michael Steele is willing to lie and play political games in order to kill reform that would help Americans of every political party -- so we're calling him out:

http://democrats.org/CallOutSteele

Thanks for helping us set the record straight about reform,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Please donate

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Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fwd: 100,000 calls to Congress

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

While millions of Americans deal with the painful consequences of our broken health care system, the insurance lobby is spending millions to try to delay and kill health reform.

So we need to speak up, drown out the lobbyists, and send a message to Congress: It's time to deliver on health reform.

Read the email below from Organizing for America director Mitch Stewart, and then help us generate 100,000 calls to Congress by calling your representatives today:

http://www.democrats.org/TTDCall

Thanks,

Jen

---------------Original Message---------------
From: Mitch Stewart, BarackObama.com
Subject: 100,000 calls to Congress

Friend --

Jenny U. from Missouri did what any parent would: When her son needed a kidney, she donated one of hers. But she didn't realize insurance companies would use her kindness as an excuse to never cover her again, calling her donation a "pre-existing condition."

Now, insurance companies are spending millions on a campaign of lies to kill health reform that would help folks like Jenny. So, today, with crucial negotiations taking place in Congress, we're raising our voices and making it clear: It's time to deliver on reform.

We've set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress made or committed to in a single day. To hit it, we'll need your help -- will you take 3 minutes to call Congress now?

Call your representatives and tell them: It's Time to Deliver on health reform.
Call Congress

Health insurance reform is finally ready for consideration by the full Congress, and hundreds of insurance company lobbyists on Capitol Hill are working overtime to kill it. Calling is quick and easy, but effective -- and your voice has tremendous power at this critical moment.

After you make your call, tell the staffer who picks up where you live and that you're counting on Congress to deliver on health reform. Let them know that Americans like you support the President's plan -- and that if your representatives are working to pass it, they have your thanks.

If we hit 100,000 calls made or committed to, we'll send an unmistakable signal that this time, families must come before insurance companies. We'll be tracking progress toward our goal publicly -- make sure to report your call back to us so we can count it:

http://www.democrats.org/TTDCall

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

The insurance lobby's lies

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

After fighting health reform with lies, deceit, and multi-million dollar ad campaigns, the health insurance lobby -- America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) -- recently released a report on the "effects of health reform." Surprise! It's full of flawed claims that reform would increase costs.

Many journalists and experts called the report "deceptive" and "implausible." Even the firm that wrote it now admits they only looked at parts of the health reform plan -- because that's what the insurance lobby paid them to do. It's exactly what we should expect from an industry that's been fighting tooth and nail to kill reform, and is now preparing an all-out assault.

We're not going to take it sitting down. So this week, we're calling out the health insurance lobby.

The lobby has invested millions trying to convince Congress to oppose reform. So this week, we're not simply debunking lies: The best way to Call 'em Out is to cut through the spin and tell our representatives to say "no" to deceitful lobbyists and "yes" to reform.

Call 'em Out: Health Insurance Lobby. Send a message urging Congress to stand with voters, not lobbyists.

Call out health insurance lobbyists

This isn't the first time the health insurance lobby has lied, cheated, or used misleading reports. This false report is just the latest salvo in a multi-million dollar offensive that appears designed to frighten voters and bully Congress into opposing reform.

In fact, just days after releasing the report, the lobby announced they will spend a million dollars on a television ad filled with debunked claims of Medicare cuts that could scare seniors away from supporting health reform.

We need your help to call out the insurance lobby and make sure our representatives understand that we're counting on them to stand strong against their pressure.

Visit Call 'em Out: Health Insurance Lobby, and help fight back. Share a video debunking the health insurance lobby's lies with your friends. Spread the word about their deceit on Facebook and Twitter. And most importantly, tell your members of Congress to say "no" to insurance lobby pressure.

Soon, health reform will be taken up by the entire House and Senate, and the insurance lobby will take their attacks to a new level. Their lies will grow more extreme -- and it will be more important than ever that our voices are louder than those of the Washington lobbyists.

Call out the health insurance lobby today:

http://www.democrats.org/CallOutAHIP

Thanks for helping us set the record straight about reform,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Please donate

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This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003

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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Inspired

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

We woke up yesterday to tremendous news: The Nobel Committee has awarded this year's Peace Prize to President Barack Obama.

The President made a conscious decision from the beginning of his presidency to promote American ideals through re-invigorated diplomacy, talking to rivals as well as allies, and inspiring us all to put what binds us together ahead of what pushes us apart. Yesterday's news is a clear sign that the United States has returned to its long-standing role as a world leader.

It's also a reminder of why we all worked so hard to elect Barack Obama as president of the United States. Hearing the President announce that he will accept the award as a "call to action," I was inspired once again:
    "...I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."
The news has left me deeply proud to be an American. So I want to congratulate President Obama, and give every American the opportunity to join me in saying "Congratulations, Mr. President."

Send a message of congratulations to the President.

President Obama's efforts to bring world leaders together are helping the people of the world face monumental challenges like nuclear arms proliferation, conflict resolution and climate change. His deep commitment to constructive solution and building alliances is bringing about a safer America and a more peaceful world.

It's exactly the change we fought so hard for.

The prize reflects a world that all Americans want to build. For our nation, it brings a sense of enormous pride. But it also brings a sense of deep humility about the work that remains if we are to resolve the global problems facing humanity.

As President Obama continues to work for a world in which conflicts are resolved peacefully and prosperity is widely shared, we will stand with him. And today, we're taking a moment to simply say, "Congratulations":

http://www.democrats.org/NobelCongrats

Sincerely,

Governor Tim Kaine
Chairman

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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Bachmann's "pants on fire!" lies

The Democratic Party
pacquiao --

"A gross distortion." "Pants on fire!" "False." That's what the independent PolitiFact site said about Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's health reform lies.

In fact, PolitiFact has rated six of her statements, and all of them have been either "false" or "pants on fire" false. As PolitiFact's Bill Adair said, "she has the distinction of a perfect record."

Let that sink in for a second. Together, we've made thousands of calls and written hundreds of letters calling out folks who are lying about reform. But Bachmann is in a class all to herself.

Too many Americans live with the painful consequences of our broken health care system to let Bachmann's reckless lies go unchecked. So this week, we're calling her out.

Call 'em out: Michele Bachmann. Watch the video, call her office, spread the word.

In the last week, while Republicans such as former Senator Bill Frist and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson were putting progress ahead of partisanship by speaking constructively about reform, Rep. Bachmann was on the floor of the House of Representatives spreading fear and lies yet again.

And Bachmann specializes in making lies personal -- like her outrageous claim that Ezekiel Emanuel, one of President Obama's health care advisers, believes health care should be reserved for the non-disabled -- so "watch out if you're disabled." ("We rule Bachmann's statement 'False,'" says PolitiFact).

Bachmann has promoted the death panels lie ("False," say the Associate Press and New York Times). She's lied about illegal immigrants receiving taxpayer-subsidized care under reform. And she claimed reform was a "national takeover of health care." The nonpartisan FactCheck.org plainly refuted her on both accounts.

Last week, she even claimed reform will create "sex clinics" at schools, allowing students to have abortions without parental consent. That earned her one of her many "pants on fire!" false ratings from PolitiFact.

It all adds up to someone who will tell any lie, distort any fact, and shamelessly scare folks about reform in order to kill it. We've had enough -- so we're calling her out:

http://democrats.org/CallOutBachmann

Thanks for helping us set the record straight about reform,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Please donate

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003

Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

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