Eric Massa is live blogging at dkos
NOW, and will answer questions about Medicare Part D, the pRezident's illegal wire taping, or whatever.
Eric must
really scare them :scared:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/12/15143/1229Bush Visit to NY 29 Will Backfire
by Eric Massa
Sun Mar 12, 2006 at 01:01:42 PM PDT
The last time President Bush came to upstate New York, the only results were that he got skewered on his plan to privatize Social Security and that he gave Randy Kuhl, my Republican opponent, a nickname - "Lollipop Man" - after he got a frozen treat stuck to his tongue while dining on Air Force One.
President Bush is scheduled to make a second stop in less than one year to upstate New York on Tuesday - this time to the 29th Congressional District city of Canandaigua, a small lakeside community, the likes of which you might see in tourist guides and a beautiful backdrop indeed.
In an interesting parallel to his last trip, the President will visit a local high school and upscale senior center to explain his mind-boggling privatization boondoggle for the prescription drug industry, Medicare Part D - the recently-launched, problem-plagued prescription drug benefit for seniors. He will almost certainly be accompanied by Randy Kuhl, his frozen dessert-loving friend, who invited the President to the area.
One cannot help but wonder why all the sudden attention. According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the trip will allow Bush to "talk about the prescription drug plan in a Republican-friendly community and give a boost to local GOP Congressmen, including Kuhl..."
I'd like to point out that the 29th Congressional District might not be as "Republican-friendly" as reported. In 2004, Randy Kuhl barely broke 50% against his Democratic opponent. Since then, Democratic Mayors have been elected to seats previously held by Republicans. Corning, NY, which hadn't had a Democratic mayor for over 40 years, elected a Democratic mayor in 2005 by an 18 point margin. This is even more striking when one notes that Corning is roughly the same demographically as NY-29 as a whole.
Interestingly, I also recently received an e-mail from a supporter describing himself as an "unhappy Republican," who reminded me that the seniors Bush will be speaking with in Canandaigua are those who most likely "don't need or care about Medicare part D."
Even members of the President's and Mr. Kuhl's own party are wondering why the President is coming to Canandaigua, making it one of two Presidential visits to the Rochester area in less than a year.
Jay Dutcher, Ontario County GOP chairman, told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle this week: "It seems unusual for us in upstate New York to have two visits from the president in less than a year after being neglected in the past."
Not surprisingly, the announcement of the President's visit has been met by skepticism by some media and political analysts who believe that the upstate stop is more than a campaign for Medicare Part D:
* "The fact that he might pick a congressional district where the freshman congressman might be vulnerable doesn't surprise me from a political point of view... He'll probably have a strong democratic challenger. He needs the president right now," said St. John Fisher Political Science Professor Jim Bowers. (News 10 - Rochester, 3/9/06)
* "Kuhl, according to some political analysts, may be vulnerable in a race this year against likely Democratic opponent Eric Massa, a retired Navy veteran from Corning...Bush's trip would serve several purposes, political observers said: He can talk about the prescription drug plan in a Republican-friendly community and give a boost to local GOP congressmen, including Kuhl...." (Spector, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 3/8/06)
* "There is no reason on the face of the Earth why George Bush would come to upstate New York, which matters not at all in national politics, other than to salvage Randy Kuhl," said Curt Smith, a local commentator and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. (Spector, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 3/10/06)
But back to the stated reason for the President's visit.
First, I want to thank the President for visiting this oft neglected district. The last sitting President to actually give a speech in Canandaigua was William Howard Taft in 1911, according to historical records.
Second, I want to thank the President for talking about Medicare part D. The more he talks about Medicare part D, the better. The plan is very unpopular, especially here in the 29th District. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 43 million elderly or disabled Americans who are eligible to enroll, but as of last month only about 16 million out of 43 million had enrolled. This is partially due to the intentionally confusing nature of the plans offered under Medicare part D and partially due to the fact that many of those eligible have recognized that their drug costs will actually go up under these plans.
Make no mistake, this Medicare part D debacle will hurt Republicans at the ballot box come November. By emphasizing this plan, President Bush gives Democrats an opportunity to talk about the incompetence and corruption of the Rubberstamp Republican Congress, including "Rubberstamp Randy" Kuhl, who has voted in lockstep with the President's agenda. For those unfamiliar with these issues, I have previously blogged about them here.
Lobbyists for the prescription drug industry were allowed to write major portions of the bill, which is a big part of the reason there is so much confusion. Instead of adding a real prescription drug benefit to the Medicare plan that will help seniors in upstate New York, Randy Kuhl joined his Republican colleagues in padding the pockets of their friends at the pharmaceutical companies.
The Medicare/prescription drug benefit that passed the Congress gives:
* $139 billion in new profits to drug companies;
* $46 billion to private insurers;
* Prevents the re-importation of less expensive drugs from Canada and other countries;
* Prohibits the government from negotiating drug prices with manufacturers; and
* Reduces coverage for some people whose drug costs are now paid by Medicaid.
As a result of the corruption that allowed this to happen, our seniors and others who depend on Medicare for help with their prescription drugs were deprived of group bargaining power with the prescription drug industry. Republicans often falsely accuse Democrats of having no solutions to problems and this is a prime example of an area where Democrats across the nation have been pointing out an obvious part of the solution to a big problem: stopping the spiraling costs of medications. Instead of allowing lobbyists for the prescription drug industry to write the legislation to suit their own needs, we must force that industry to give volume discounts to Medicare, just as it currently does with the Veterans Administration.
If Republicans were seriously interested in solving this huge problem they would already have insisted on these volume discounts. But they are more interested in selling favors in exchange for campaign donations than they are in actually solving the huge problems faced by the American people. That is the main reason why Republicans have done such a poor job of governing this nation, even though they control all three branches of government. They aren't really interested in fixing problems. That is why we need to elect Democrats to Congress to undo the harm done by the corrupt, incompetent Rubberstamp Republican Congress.
In addition to the volume discounts missing from the prescription drug bill, many important details of coverage during the changeover period were not properly planned for. States had to step in to temporarily help those who depend on prescription drugs to survive. Just last month Senator Schumer reported that New York state spent about $115 million to cover those who should have been covered under Medicare Part D. In some cases nationally this help came too late. Reading some of the stories of those adversely affected by the Medicare Part D changeover disaster (link) is maddening and far too reminiscent of the post-Katrina horror stories. As a nation, we cannot afford this level of corruption and incompetence.
The Medicare Part D debacle is just one example of the dangerous problems caused by the incompetent governance and corruption of our current Republican-controlled government. Katrina made some of these previously unseen problems very clear. President Bush has gutted government agencies like FEMA and replaced competent professionals with political appointees who are almost always inexperienced and often incompetent.
Here are some examples of problems the Republican leadership wants to hide: First, our economy is not coming up roses as the Republican leadership would have you believe. Poll after poll shows that the American people know this and that the Republican leadership is out of step with on-the-ground economic realities, just as they are with on-the-ground realities in Iraq. Second, our national budget deficit threatens the economic welfare of future generations. Even many staunch Republicans have begun to express concern over the combination of tax cuts and spending increases that has led to this spiraling deficit. And thirdly, the most obvious problem is that our present course in Iraq threatens our national security by creating more terrorists.
Democrats have already offered detailed and realistic plans to all of these and other problems only to be mostly ignored by the corrupt and incompetent Republican leadership. Democrats offer solutions because they want to solve our problems and promote the general welfare. Our Republican leadership rejects these solutions because they are more beholden to corporate fat cat benefactors than they are to the American people. That sounds harsh, but that is exactly why they allowed prescription drug industry lobbyists to write the Medicare Part D legislation instead of insisting on volume discounts that would lower drug prices for our seniors and others who depend on prescription drug assistance.
Democrats, for instance, in January offered legislation to correct the immediate problems with Medicare Part D. The Medicare Prescription Emergency Guarantee Act would provide uninterrupted access to medicines for seniors and persons with disabilities who enrolled in new privately-run Medicare drug plans. This bill is intended to preserve access to medications and prevent beneficiaries from being penalized as a result of poor program design or problems created by the agency or the private drug plans.
To guarantee that beneficiaries do not leave pharmacies empty-handed, the legislation would allow pharmacies to bill Medicare directly for prescriptions filled during the transition period, and receive prompt payments. In addition, it would require that Medicare recoup the payments from the private plan and apply sanctions to plans that do not provide medically necessary services, fail to meet contractual obligations under Medicare, or violate Medicare's marketing guidelines.
Right now, the only ones penalized for not taking prompt action are the seniors who fail to enroll in Medicare Part D. We have sixty days to put a stop to this "privatization tax" and to stand together to ask the President to take the lead in eliminating or delaying the late entry penalty that is written into the prescription drug plan. Not only has this Administration created an impossibly complex enrollment system, but it has also turned around and created a penalty for those who do not have the benefit of the President coming to their towns to personally help them enroll on the computer, as President Bush will reportedly do on Tuesday in Canandaigua.
Though I do want to thank President Bush for visiting our district and bringing up Medicare Part D, a subject that will hurt my opponent and other Republicans at the ballot box, I have some requests to make of him during his upcoming visit.
First, instead of his previous scripted, pre-screened, for-the-cameras, phony publicity stunts, I call on the Administration to open up his town hall-style meeting to honest public representation so that the residents of the 29th District will be allowed to ask tough questions of both the President and Randy Kuhl. Perhaps if they allowed real questions they might hear from the majority of voters in our district who feel uneasy about the economy, Iraq and many other issues.
Second, the President should change his schedule to visit the Canandaigua VA Center and talk about Veterans benefits. He will literally be right next door, but the White House has indicated that the President plans to speak only about his health care agenda. We have more veterans in the 29th District than the national average and they deserve to hear from the President, especially since he has made it a practice to stand in front of, but not behind, our nation's veterans.
Media reports indicate that the President may change his schedule to meet with Jason McElwain (Link:), the very deserving and inspirational autistic basketball team manager at Greece Athena High School who made national headlines when he scored 20 points during his only opportunity as a team starter. Personally, I am thrilled that the President may take some time to meet this wonderful young man. However, after being repeatedly implored by many to visit Canandaigua's VA Center and address veterans' health care, his final schedule extends no such courtesy to the areas veterans.
In response, to the President's visit, Democrats in the 29th District are preparing to rally before, during and after the President's visit on Monday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 14.
I have been invited to be a keynote speaker at a pre-Presidential visit press conference on Monday, March 13 at 10:00 a.m. at the New York State United Teachers Conference Center, 30 N. Union Street in Rochester.
And, on Tuesday, March 14, the day of the President's visit, the Rochester Area Labor Federation and Metro Justice will host a "Part D is a Disaster Rally" at 10:30 a.m. at Bella Lago Party House, 158 Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua. At 4:30 p.m. another rally and protest march is planned, beginning at the Routes 5/20 and 332 intersection and continuing to the Ontario County Courthouse.
If you plan to be in the Rochester area, please come out to support these groups' efforts. For more information, contact Stephanie Miler at the Rochester Area Labor Federation, (585) 263-2650 or visit my Web site, MassaforCongress.com.
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