Health care reform. We don't want to chase our doctors to Canada.

This is the kind of articles we need more of in the PWW:

Twin Cities health care supporters hit the streets
>Archive - Daily Online


Author: Esteemed Professor Emeritus Erwin Marquit
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/24/09 06:52


Some 500 healthcare supporters rallied over the weekend on the lawn of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party headquarters in St. Paul before hitting the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul to go door to door to expose lies being spread by the right about the proposed health care legislation.

Addressing the rally, the two members of the U.S. Congress representing the Twin Cities region, Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison, declared that no bill without a public option will pass the House.

“We have drawn a line in the sand,” said Rep. Ellison. “No more compromises on this question.” SEIU and AFSCME t-shirts were prominent among those attending the rally.

Shar Knutson, who has just given up her post as chair of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly, said that she was delighted to be making her first speech as president of the state AFL-CIO, after being elected last week as its first woman president.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak both stressed the necessity of the public option. Mayor Rybak said the election of Obama was only the beginning of change, but that progress in health care and other needed changes will not come about unless people do the kind of grass-roots work that was to follow the rally.

Clipboards were distributed along with canvassing directions as the rally-goers moved out into the neighborhoods for door-to-door knocking.

I would like to point out the most important features in this article and how we promote unity instead of division. As long as we agree with the Democrats there will be unity:

1. There is no mention of single-payer.

2. There is no mention of public health care.

3. The health care issue is not confused with other issues like peace.

4. No criticism of Barack Obama. This is most important.

5. Notice we will not publish the fact that delegates to the state convention of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution for single-payer universal health care. There is no need to beat a dead horse.

I agree with Senator Joe Lieberman. The American people can wait a little longer to get access to health care. For most people its just a matter of paying a little more. For 46 million people they really won't know what they are missing because they never had it. President Obama is doing just fine in my play book.

I couldn't believe my eyes reading some of these criticisms of Barack Obama when it comes to health care reform.

The President included a lousy little $250 billion dollar increase in fees to doctors and my God one would think heaven is falling. We need to see to it doctors are paid well so they can make larger campaign contributions. We sure don't want our best doctors leaving for Canada. Good pay will keep them here. We all know we can't have health care without doctors.

Sam Webb
National Chair, CPUSA