View this YouTube video >here
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on the 11 states that are filing lawsuits with regards to the constitutionality of health-care reform.
Barack Obama has stated that it is critical that the healthcare bill in Congress, likely the Senate version, be passed by March 18, 7 days from now. There has been much discussion about the use of reconciliation to override the requirement of a 60 vote majority in the Senate. There also are numerous constituencies that object to some or all of the bill as written, eg. its language on taxpayer funded abortion, its effect on the federal deficit which already seems unsustainable, and progressives who want the public option.
So what can the Tea Party movement do to stop the bill?
1. There are those who are going to Washington D.C. to take the fight to the Senators and Congressmen, particularly the Blue Dog Democrats.
2. For those who can’t go to D.C., we must keep the pressure on our local Congressmen, particularly, Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar. How should we do that? Two ways… first, call their local and Washington offices every moment between now and March 18 stating your opposition to the health care bill, the use of reconciliation, and your willingness to remove them from office in November if they don’t vote against the bill; second, go to their local offices and ask for a meeting with the Congressmen’s local representatives to state the same message.
The Congressmen are saying that they are being inundated with support for the bill. However, most of the citizens in this country are against the bill. Bottom line is that you need to make known your position to undercut any such claims of support.
The San Antonio Tea Party needs a lot of volunteers to make the calls and go to the offices on a consistent schedule. Here is the proposed plan.
Calling
Call the offices of the following at the following times based on the first letter of your last name:
Henry Cuellar SA Office: (210) 271-2851; Fax: (210) 277-6671
D.C. office (202) 225-1640; Fax: (202) 225-1641
SA Office Address: 615 E. Houston St.
Ciro Rodriguez
SA(north): (210) 561-9421; D.C. office (866) 915-3493
SA(north) Office Address: 6363 De Zavala #105
SA(south): (210) 922-1874
SA(south) Office Address: 1313 SE Military Dr. #101
First letter of your last name Time slot for your calls
A 8:30-9:00 AM
B 9:00-9:30 AM
C 9:30-10:00 AM
D 10:00-10:30 AM
E, F 10:30-11:00 AM
G 11:00-11:30 AM
H 11:30-12:00 PM
I, J 12:00-12:30PM
K, L 12:30-1:00 PM
M 1:00-1:30 PM
N, O 1:30-2:00 PM
P 2:00-2:30 PM
Q, R 2:30-3:00 PM
S 3:00-3:30 PM
T 3:30-4:00 PM
U, V 4:00-4:30 PM
W 4:30-5:00 PM
X, Y, Z 5:00-5:30 PM
For those who can’t call in the designated time slot, please
JUST CALL when your time allows.
Office Visits
Call Bill Rice at 210-428-1300 to schedule a time slot for a personal visit to each of the Representative’s office. This will allow us to utilize all those who wish to paricipate in an effective manner as possible. We are envisioning each volunteer going once to each of the three offices either all on a given day or spread apart over Monday to Wednesday, March 15-17.
Folks, its crunch time. If we share the load, we can GET THIS DONE. Please help
Pictures of Thursday’s Obamacare protest, in Alamo Plaza
(A nice turnout of about 40 from the SATP, plus the Boerne Tea Party, plus TV crews from KSAT 12, Fox and Univision)
The line-up of protesters
Talking to the TV cameras
Real reform, por favor!
An acronym – it stands for ‘Bend Over – Here It Comes Again!
And don’t mess with Boerne, either!
In response to this column by “humorist” Garrison Keillor, which was published in the San Antonio Express News recently, Kenneth Bennight, the new SATP President of the Board of Directors had the following response:
Garrison Keillor plays off the Tea Party name, saying most Americans prefer coffee to tea. Though a board member of the San Antonio Tea Party, I too prefer coffee. And though Mr. Keillor and I both understand the historical reference of the Tea Party name, he finds it rhetorically useful to ignore.
Mr. Keillor next invokes the almost incomprehensible human suffering from the Haitian earthquake, apparently trying to tar Tea Parties with responsibility for natural disasters. Keillor’s prose is evocative. But wrapping himself in the pathos is a polemical tool, an emotional appeal unrelated to the substance of his argument.
Keillor correctly notes that healthcare reform proposals are too murky to explain clearly, but he blames that on trying to attract Republican votes. Obamacare did not rely on Republican votes, and the legislative contortions arose from attempts to draw in less ideologically committed among his own party, such a Ben “Sweepstakes” Nelson of Nebraska.
Keillor also correctly, albeit argumentatively, formulates the basic divide over Obamacare: whether health care should be a legally enforceable right. He and the left wing say “yes.” The San Antonio Tea Party believes rights remain as they were at our nation’s founding: not what the government might give you but protection from what the government might do to you.
In not one of the amendments comprising the Bill of Rights and nowhere else in the Constitution is there anything that the government must give you. Everything is focused either on organizing and running the government or on liberties the government must respect.
The reason is simple. Government creates nothing. Whatever government possesses, it has taken from those subject to it. To give a dollar to one person, government must first have taken the dollar from others. For you to have a legally enforceable right to the dollar, you must have a legally enforceable claim on the fruit of others’ labor. American history has a sordid episode when such claims existed: slavery.
Keillor tries to tie left-wing policy nostroms to Christian doctrine. I am hardly a theologian, but I don’t recall anything about Christ having a economic policy or saying people have a right to look to the state for support. If Christ demands a left-wing economic policy and left-wing economic policies are shown, as they have been, to impoverish people, where does that leave religion? As to the implied relationship between Tea Parties and Pat Robertson, if Keillor won’t blame us for what comes out of Robertson’s mouth, we won’t blame him for what comes out of Jeneane Garofalo’s.
The headline on Keillor’s column says Tea Parties “should wake up and smell the coffee.” After last Tuesday’s special election in Massachusetts, perhaps Keillor himself has some smelling to do. That a little-known Republican is replacing Ted Kennedy in the United States Senate testifies to overreaching by the left wing. The people of Massachusetts did not like where they were being taken and screamed halt. In Massachusetts. The only state carried by George McGovern. What does Keillor think will happen in states with more conservative leanings? To quote another columnist, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post: “You would think lefties could discern a proletarian vanguard when they see one.”
Back to the tea or coffee issue, Keillor may not be aware of the historical connection between the Boston Tea Party and the American preference for coffee. Both stem from the British tax on tea. Tea was initially preferred in America as it was in Britain, but Americans despised the British tax. Switching to coffee became a way to express solidarity against unfair taxation. No wonder so many Tea Partiers drink coffee. If Mr. Keillor comes to town, I’ll buy him a cup.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann has asked as many of us like-minded citizens to come to Washington DC to confront our Congressmen about our opposition to HR 3200. The vote in the House could be tomorrow or Friday.
The Republican wins yesterday have let the Democrats know that they will be held accountable by the voters. The Blue Dogs are most susceptible to our input. I have attached a template of a letter that includes many reasons for opposition. Please consider it as a model and put whatever you wish to write in your own words. I have also attached a list of the Fax numbers of the Blue Dogs. Please do this tomorrow, Thursday, so that for those of us who cannot go to Washington DC, we make our presence felt in these faxes.
A suggested letter and a list of fax numbers is listed below.
Dear Congressman/Senator(Particularly Blue Dogs):
I am writing to share with you my strong belief that the Health Care Reform Bill HR 3200(in the House) or the Baucus Bill(in the Senate) is bad for America. I think many Americans who are informed on health care issues would agree that some type of reform is needed, eg. cost containment, tort reform, better access to health insurance for the poor, coverage of pre existing conditions, a clearly defined policy regarding taxpayer funded abortion and stem cell research, and no access to free health care for illegal aliens. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans are satisfied with their current health insurance and care. They feel that a complete overhaul of the current system is unwarranted; will put private insurers out of business because they cannot compete with the government subsidized insurance – thus eliminating freedom of choice for the public; increase the power of the Federal bureaucracy to control life and death, health decisions of the citizenry, and will cost all of us in the form of increased health care costs and enormous Federal deficits that are unsustainable for our generation and generations to come. I believe reform is needed to improve our current system, but that the HR 3200 and the Baucus bills are not the right answer. I beg you to vote “NO” on these bill. Then, in a bipartisan way, with input from constituents and non-partisan, health care experts, take the time to craft a new bill that is better. Field test whatever reform you pass in one state and see if it accomplishes its objectives before making it the law of the land. Based on the results of the field testing, correct what doesn’t work and retain what does work. Slow down; don’t rush’ and get it right.
(NOTE – All Fax# are 202 Area Code)
Altmire, Jason PA 226-2274
Arcuri, Mike NY 225-1891
Baca, Joe CA 225-8671
Barrow, John GA 225-3371
Bean, Melissa IL 225-7830
Berry, Marion AR 225-5602
Bishop, Sanford GA 225-2203
Boren, Dan OK 225-3038
Boswell, Leonard IA 225-5608
Boyd, Allen FL 225-5615
Bright, Bobby AL 225-8913
Cardoza, Dennis CA 225-0819
Carney, Christopher PA 225-9594
Chandler, Ben KY 225-2122
Childers, Travis MS 225-3549
Cooper, Jim TN 226-1035
Costa, Jim CA 225-9308
Cuellar, Henry TX 225-1641
Dahlkemper, Kathy PA 225-3103
Davis, Lincoln TN 226-5172
Donnelly, Joe IN 225-6798
Ellsworth, Brad IN 225-3284
Giffords, Gabrielle AZ 225-0378
Gordon, Bart TN 225-6887
Griffith, Parker AL 225-4392
Harman, Jane CA 226-7290
Sandlin, Stephanie SD 225-1904
Hill, Baron IN 226-6866
Holden, Tim PA 226-0996
Kratovil, Frank MD 225-0254
Marshall, Jim GA 225-3013
Matheson, Jim UT 225-5638
McIntyre, Mike NC 225-5773
Melancon, Charlie LA 226-3944
Michaud, Mike ME 225-2943
Minnick, Walt ID 225-3029
Mitchell, Harry AZ 225-3263
Moore, Dennis, KS 225-2807
Murphy, Patrick PA 225-9511
Nye, Glenn VA 225-4218
Peterson, Collin MN 225-1593
Pomeroy, Earl ND 226-0893
Ross, Mike AR 225-1314
Salazar, John CO 226-9669
Sanchez, Loretta CA 225-5859
Schiff, Adam CA 225-5828
Space, Zack OH 225-3394
Shuler, Heath NC 226-6422
Scott, David GA 225-4628
Tanner, John TN 225-1765
Taylor, Gene MS 225-7074
Thompson, Mike CA 225-4335
Van Hollen, Chris MD 225-0375
Wilson, Charlie OH 225-5907
MINUTES OF HCTT MEETING 10/3/2009
Attendees:
Harry Sims
Stan Thompson
Margaret Zucco
Laura Mullaney
Franklin Sullivan
Nita and Jon Kaplan
Cynthia Konicek
Sharon Hall
Gloria Johnson
Deputy Team leader, Jon Kaplan, opened the meeting with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Jon welcomed new HCTT member, Gloria Johnson, who came to us from the 2nd Amendment Tiger Team. Gloria is a Physician Assistant who brings much to the table of the team’s understanding of health care in the trenches. Jon recapped the Four Prong Strategy that the team adopted at its previous meeting.
1. Congress
2. State
3. Judiciary
4. Private Sector
1. Congress
Jon reported on Steve Baysinger and Jon’s meeting with Shannon Cantrell, District Manager for Congressman Lamar Smith and Jonathan Huhn, aid to Senator John Cornyn. He shared that he and Steve made clear that the SATP saw them as allies in the Health Care debate in Congress and hoped that they saw the SATP as an ally. Jon and Steve asked how the SATP could help them. The aids said that until the bills were more solidified, they did not know specifically. We also asked them if they had sources of Constitutional law input to ascertain where the bills could be vulnerable Constitutionally. They said that they may have a source that gave them input in DC and that if the SATP were to present a letter to them asking for direct contact with that source, they might provide us with access to it. In the same breath, however, they said that they saw no Constitutional challenge until and unless a health care bill became law. We all observed that both the Tea Party movement and they were in the minority at this point in the effort to slow or defeat existing bills under consideration. The main accomplishment of this meeting was to open the door for further coordination as we all go forward. They seemed to appreciate that open door.
2. State
Jon reported in behalf of Hope D’Amore her meeting with Doug Miller, Texas Representative for Comal County, who is also an insurance broker, which fell into three categories – State Sovereignty, Texas Politics, and Healthcare. See Attachment 1 for a summary. Hope also has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday of this week with State Representative Frank Corte. She has a positive email response from Constitutional Scholar, Richard Epstein, who will contact her soon for a discussion. Hope is working on contact with San Antonio Constitutional lawyers, Allen Parker, and Clayton Trotter, of the Justice Foundation. Allen has spoken before the SATP and at the Alamo and may offer a local source of input. Jon reported that he had spoken to Mike Ariens, a Constitution Law Professor at St. Mary’s Law School, who offered insight into the Supreme Court’s historical position on Tenth Amendment issues. Ariens said that since the 1940’s the Supreme Court has broadened the federal government’s authority in its interpretation of the Constitution. One would therefore need new and persuasive arguments to pursue challenges from states based on 10th Amendment rights. There was discussion in the HCTT about proactive State pushback against federal intrusion into state’s rights, eg. getting the Governor to declare that Texas was going to relieve the federal government of the burden of administering Medicare and collect that portion of Social Security withholding allocable to Medicare, ie. play offense, rather than defense. Hope will follow up and report back to the HCTT on options.
3. Judiciary
Jon shared the idea of “using the law to enforce the law”, eg. trying to get a judge to issue a ruling that directly challenged or enjoined the federal government from creating an unfunded mandate to the states. This dovetails with the need for good Constitutional law input to know if this can be done. The general rule is that federal law, if Constitutional, trumps state law, but either by going to court or by governors acting de facto and throwing down the gauntlet to the federal government to try to enforce what they may assert as their authority is worth considering. Jon shared that Mike Ariens said that the Supreme court has upheld the authority of the federal government to regulate health insurance, but has delegated that authority to the states. As the Tea Party movement connects within Texas and eventually the nation, the fundraising resources to retain legal services for advice and action will be more supportable. SATP cannot finance this type of effort on its own.
4. Private Sector
Jon, Harry Sims and Laura Mullaney reported on efforts to first understand and second to make allies of the health related private sector, including the AMA, TMA, Bexar County Medical Society, doctors, hospital associations, and others. Laura and Jon attended the Bexar County Medical Society’s meeting where AMA(and former TMA) President, Dr. James Rohack, a cardiologist and a Texan spoke. Dr. Rohack says that the AMA has been characterized as supporting OBAMACARE and the public option. He backed off from that absolute characterization by saying that the AMA did not endorse HR 3200, but simply wanted to be a player at the negotiating table over how health care reform was ultimately done. He did a Power point presentation on the increased cost of Medicare by 2017 when more of the baby boomer generation reaches Medicare age. He said that if reform is not accomplished enough in advance of that point, Medicare will go broke. He said that he is concerned that Medicare reimbursements are not reduced as a cost saving measure by any of the bills. He said AMA was for tort reform which benefits doctors. He said that AMA was for mechanized medical records systems and alluded to $44 million that was allocated in the TARP for this purpose. He referred to the concept of an “accountable care organization” that would presumably decide what medical and diagnostic procedures were acceptable and what weren’t. He said that without tort reform to protect the doctors, this would both violate anti trust laws and place doctors in greater exposure to medical liability. He addressed the impact of illegal immigration in only the most cursory way by saying that illegals could buy insurance if it was affordable. He said the AMA was for Health Savings Accounts owned by the individual and for preventive care. He said AMA was for lowering health care administrative costs, but did not get specific on how this should be done. He referred to the Declaration of Independence(versus the Constitution) giving the citizenry ”the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. I believe he was making the case for health care being a right, rather than a privilege. Dr. Rohack will be back in San Antonio for a presentation at the Health Science Center on 10/19/09 from 5-6PM. Perhaps we might piggyback a private visit with him.
Other topics discussed were as follows
1. Tiger Teams Leader/co leader meetings planned once per month to coordinate.
2. “NO SOCIALISM” signs.
3. Terrell Hills neighborhood meeting, which Jon and Nita attended, showing (T. R. Reed of Washington Post)PBS video of “Sick Around the World” in which the socialized healthcare systems of Japan, Taiwan, England, Germany, and Switzerland were compared to the American system. It was actually informative and something the HCTT might want to view at some point. All of the systems have cost containment problems.
4. Sharon Hall explained the workings of the Texas Board of Insurance.
5. Dr. Stan Thompson and Gloria Johnson will work on finding out where the waste and fraud in Medicare is and how it can be eliminated. As of the date of these minutes being written, there was an item presented on Fox news that addressed a wheel chair that can be bought on the open market for $1800, which Medicare reimburses for $4600. The federal procurement program needs to be looked at. Gloria also reported on medical procedures that are not allowed to be reimbursed doubly for two in the same day, even though it would be efficient to do so for the patient. Therefore, providers make the patient return later for a separate appointment, so they can get reimbursed by insurance, ie. we reward inefficiency.
6. Texas Tea Party leaders will meet with SATP leaders in San Antonio later this month to coordinate our efforts.
7. We all need to recruit new members. (At the SATP General Meeting on Sunday, 10/4/09, we met Davis Jackson, who will join our Tiger Team). Welcome, Davis. If anyone knows lawyers, Constitutional and otherwise, who have an interest in our movement, please recruit them for the HCTT.
8. I have attached a wikipedia list of health insurers in Texas and Blue Cross’s FAQ for your review. Harry Sims and Laura Mullaney will be working to make contact with them so that we may get an opportunity for Q & A.
A closing prayer was said and the meeting adjourned. Next meeting will be at Eyes Of San Antonio (thank you Stan and Joyce) from 2-5PM on Saturday, 10/10/09.
Blue_Cross_FAQ_on_Health_Care_reform_Oct-05-2009.pdf
San Antonio Tea Party
