The movement toward universal health care is poised to give the next president a mandate for change.

from OurFuture.org:



Real Health Care Solutions
Submitted by Roger Hickey on November 15, 2007 - 8:15pm.





In this keynote speech at the “Conference on Health Care for All: Real Solutions for New Jersey and the Nation” in New Brunswick, N.J., Hickey outlines what he sees as possible. Progressives — armed with facts and a compelling philosophy about the nation’s obligations to its senior citizens — were able to organize and beat back an effort by the Bush administration and conservatives to privatize Social Security. In the health care debate, progressives have even more ammunition — not just a sound principle, but a specific framework for providing health care to every American.

By using that ammunition smartly, the next president will have a strong mandate for radical moves toward universal health care. Hickey explains how.


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Thank you, and good afternoon. I want to thank New Jersey Citizen Action - and the New Jersey Statewide Health Care Coalition - for organizing this important conference.

I am honored to be invited because our country is on the brink of another historic debate about health care for all. We seem to have this debate every 20 years, and organizations like yours will make sure that voices of America's working families are not only heard in that debate - you will insist that the people you represent have a big hand in designing the reforms that will get us affordable, quality health care for everyone in America.

I am proud of my long history with New Jersey Citizen Action - and Phyllis Salowe-Kaye and her colleagues. Years ago I spoke at a big USAction meeting - to sound the alarm about conservative plans to privatize Social Security and urged that we work together to stop them. Phyllis Salowe Kaye and New Jersey Citizen Action were already on the case, educating their members and telling the entire New Jersey congressional delegation that they had better sign our pledge to strengthen, not privatize Social Security. And during the 2000 elections, Phyllis and I were proud to stand together with a political newcomer running for the U.S. Senate - named Jon Corzine - as he signed our Social Security pledge. Turned out the kid was a natural. He knows how to talk about ideas and win a few elections.

In 2004, when President Bush declared privatization his number one domestic priority, Jon Corzine was his chief opponent in the senate and New Jersey Citizen Action made sure that Bush couldn't come into the state without negative headlines about his plan to destroy Social Security. Together, working through a coalition called Americans United for Change, we defeated privatization, made Bush a lame duck - and we have since gone on to challenge Bush around a more positive goal - expanding SCHIP - the Children's Health Insurance Program. As you know Bush has stubbornly used his veto on SCHIP - with another one coming before Thanksgiving - forcing his party, as an election approaches, to vote against insuring kids. (Bush seems suicidal - but then Bush doesn't have to run again, just the rest of them.) ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://commonsense.ourfuture.org/real_health_care_solutions?tx=3

will make sure we the people keep getting screwed. If watching the lapdog Dems since the last election has taught us anything, it has taught us that.