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Carolynne Quinn
Carolyn Quinn (nor relation to the governor) attended two events this week that I would have loved to attend, but had to work instead. Work is the curse of the activist class. I have made the trip to Springfield several times and would have loved to hear the scuttlebutt about how next year’s races are shaping up. But more important would have been the chance to stand up for Healthcare Reform right here in Crystal Lake. That event was organized by a local outfit stitched together from local Tea Baggers, Minuteman anti-immigration zealots, and paranoid gun worshipers. In McHenry County that makes them as respectable as the Bishop’s wife. The Northwest Herald, an editorial opponent virtually any reform breathlessly covered the event. So did conservative blogger Cal Skinner who had been promoting the event.
This week I attended 2 events, both held in the bubble of their own opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Democrats held their annual Governor’s Day rally at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. Lots of rah-rah, go Democrats stuff. The Patriots United group held an event they billed to the media as a town hall meeting in Crystal Lake but denied to attendees that it was any such thing. “This is the regular monthly meeting of a private entity,” according to a woman who sold me a ticket. The moderator of the event announced that that they were nonpartisan. According to their website they are purely libertarian. Nonpartisan my eye.
Here is my take on the two.
Gov. Pat Quinn
Gov. Pat Quinn: “When [JFK] said, 'A rising tide lifts all boats, notice he did not say a rising tide lifts all yachts”
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, Keynote Speaker at the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association (IDCCA) brunch before the Fair rally: “We believe in public policy solutions. While they are the party of 'Nope' - we are the party of ‘Hope.’”
Congressman Manzullo consulting with insurance lobbyist Ryan Brauns. The platform principles of Patriots United an allegedly “nonpartisan” group were in plain view. I approve of the transparency-just not the principles...
Cong. Don Manzullo (R-IL16): “This 1000+ page of legislation is designed to put private insurance companies out of business and drive medical doctors into other professions.”
Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley and a vice president of Centegra Health System, McHenry County’s near monopoly hospital system: "Speaking as a former lawyer, the proposed bill is purposefully vague - which is legalspeak for 'We can do whatever we want.'" "What's primarily wrong with the [healthcare reform] bill is that it doesn't address tort reform; not one word about tort reform in the document.”
Gov. Pat Quinn: "The stronger our people, the stronger our state. What the people need to be stronger right now is jobs."
Gov. Chet Culver: “On the first day of drivers' ed. you learned that if you want to go backward you put it in ‘R’ and if you want to go forward you put it in ‘D.’”
Cong. Don Manzullo: “The number of MDs who have been driven out of business because they cannot afford to pay for malpractice insurance is outrageous. The should not have to fear losing everything in the blink of an eye.”
Mayor Aaron Shepley: “Medicare does not pay very much relative to the cost of hospitals' expense. What makes people think they should get to have a baby for a $10 co-pay?”
Ok. Here are my questions to these politicians:
To Gov Quinn: You hit the nail on the head in terms of what I need to be stronger right now is a job. While I see progress toward new jobs in construction, green job training and car sales, I don't see so much progress for most people in my generation which represents the biggest chunk of the population. We are too young to retire and too old to start a new training from scratch. What do you propose to help us?
To Gov Culver: Great job helping the people of Iowa to learn how to move their politics Forward into Drive. Loved your rousing speech. But can I see the map of where we are going with all this hope and drive with a capital D? Is our president the only one with a map?
To Cong Manzullo: Good thing small business has you on their side. Good thing you don't want to see doctors, insurance companies and pharmaceuticals driven out of business. What about workers like myself who barely make enough money to pay bills and are in the same boat of not being able to afford insurance? Are you okay with it that people like me should have to fear losing everything in the blink of an eye? Are you okay with millions of people whose business is their home being driven out of that business?
To Mayor Shepley: Great to know my mayor is not intimidated by a legal document / proposed legislation. I like to see how you printed it on both sides of the page and organized it into a binder. Less waste of paper and energy to make that paper. No need to be overwhelmed by words just because there's a lot of them. As a teacher, I’m with you on that. My kids could read a thousand page book in 6th grade. Happily. And they don’t get paid $500/hour to do it…
So, since you don't approve of people getting Medicare because it costs the hospitals too much, and you don't approve of Medicaid because poor people are basically welfare queens or illegal immigrants who ‘don’t deserve” it: Will the city of Crystal Lake now provide healthcare to people who need strep throat tests, mammograms, measles vaccinations, TB tests, swine flu vaccinations or other needed treatment? It would be good to tell my neighbors who lost everything including their job, their insurance and their house - all in the blink of an eye - that the mayor of Crystal Lake has a plan to take care of them so they won't overburden the hospitals or the taxpayers.
