West Virginia Blue - Recent Comments

The only question I'd ask Senator Daschle

WV26003 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:37:45 GMT

Senator Daschle,

What do you suggest should be done about powerful Democrats, like WV's Rick Thompson and Brent Boggs, who feel their personal religious beliefs outweigh their commitment to the Democratic party platform?

"It's a great Da' to be a Mountaineer wherever you may be!"

Wabi-Sabi — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:08:18 GMT

Wow! What a game and what a tournament! Great job by the whole team, especially Da'Sean Butler! Now let's win the next tournament too!

.

heath_harrison — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:17:09 GMT

can't help but wonder what cringe-inducing choices for awards will be handed out this time.

I wouldn't go to hear Tom Daschle

wv voice of reason — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:11:00 GMT

if they paid me $75 to attend.
This is the 3rd speaker in a row from a coal producing state (Kaine, Schweitzer and now Daschle). It would probably be too obvious if Joe invited Blankenship to speak. Probably a lot of "Democrats" would still pay the big bucks to attend though.

One place for a presentation that caught others attention

CA Berkeley WV — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:57:43 GMT

is emptywheel or others at FLD, believe it or not. Marcy usually writes about DOJ and FISA matters.

The first American generation of my mother's family settled in Lancaster, Penn, in 1739, the second generation farmed around Boonsboro, Md., and the third generation acquired land in Berkeley Co, Va. during the Presidency of George Washington. I will take it to heart your frustration with Rockefeller and his runs for governor in 1972 and 1976. I was at the University of California, Berkeley, at that time and had others things on my mind. I moved back East in 1976, staying with my mom in Maryland for a while, before coming here to Berkeley County.

I mention this only to say that I chose West Virginia for complicated and various reasons. And I accept your experience and reasons. Sen. Feinstein is the Chair in Intel now. Go after Sen. Leahy on Judiciary. Sen. Byrd worked to help out those who draw from the Black Lung Fund for health care. He will take some heat for that in the conservative-leaning main stream media.

Just don't ask me to advocate for Medicare plus public option in a Senate reconciliation bill. It was not generated from either Senate committee. The Budget Committee cannot now put it in not matter how hard you wish for it. That is what the Budget Act of 1974 says. If the House writes the reconciliation bill, then what is possible changes. Battling us here is counterproductive.

Thrilling news.

One Citizen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:32:14 GMT

I wonder what Mr. Daschle plans to speak about.

Here in WV the strategy is to underpay teachers in the race to the bottom.

One Citizen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:06:02 GMT

The famous Recht Decision requires our state to "distribute the wealth" evenly between the counties, but unfortunately Judge Recht mostly left it up to the legislature and the state Dept. of Education as to how go about doling it out.

What that means is that even though there's a certain amount that schools in well populated, (non-coal) producing counties like Putnam will willingly pay their teachers, coal operators obviously prefer that everyone leave the coalpatch counties, so those running Mingo, Boone, Lincoln, Fayette, Raleigh and McDowell would much rather piss their money away on technology than pay teachers.

So don't get me wrong, I'm not against computers, I just think that there's something reeeallly suspicious about counties that insist on purchasing new technology for every classroom every year.

Most folks don't realize that for a number of years there has been a super push for new computers and whizbang technology in classrooms all across WV even as teachers are being paid far less than in each of our neighboring states. For example I personally know early education teachers who have so many computers that they actually have a tough time finding enough room for the kids' desks and still comply with fire code. Add to that the very real threat of county technicians actively reporting teachers to county officials if they don't use ALL of the new stuff, when any pre-school educator knows that the challenge for teaching kids at that age is to simply get 'em settle down enough to focus primarily on learning the basics of reading and math, not to mention their shapes and colors.

That's an especially tough challenge in WV when there's currently no required pre-school attendance. So rural parents tend to put off taking the kiddies to school until they absolutely have to.

Any education professional knows that all a really talented teacher needs to teach the basics is a single book (for each subject), a blackboard, and plenty of pencils and paper for the kids. And a decent aide to help keep 'em focused.

FACT: West Virginia exported $4.8 billion worth of products and commodities last year and led the nation in coal exports, according to the state Development Office.

FACT: West Virginia's teachers are currently somewhere around the 40th lowest paid in the U.S.

note: the above ranking was disputed by wvteacher2 at 04:44 PM on 11/27/09:

I am a west virginia teacher with a masters plus 30 and fifteen years experience. I have also had cancer, and our health insurance did not cover anything. So with a salary of less than 40k in the part of the state that is the bedroom community for DC with DC cost of living, a retirement plan that was stolen by our governor - I too have to have a part time job. In fact on average at my school 75% of the teachers have second part-time jobs. So for those of you who think that all teachers have great health insurance, retirement packages, and loads of time off - think again. Not every state is the same and the starting salary/average salary on this scale is not accurate. My state's starting salary is much lower. What I would like to see is the average net pay. My NET pay after taxes, health Insurance, etc (not including my personal IRA) is only 21,000. source

There's a huge differece between a leak and leadership.

One Citizen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:02:29 GMT

As I stated before, Rockefeller could easily have talked with any of the FISA judges about what could have been done at the time. Instead, he virtually gave Cheney written assurance that he wouldn't do anything when he let him know he was going to put lock his little pink doily up in the back of his bureau.

Fact is, Rockefeller could also have at least threatened Cheney that he was going to seek the advice of any number of FBI lawyers who also had the same clearance that he did. I think that you'd agree that had he done that, things would likely have turned out a lot differently. Note that the FBI flatly refused to waterboard their suspects early on as well. So if Rockefeller also had been briefed of that (as Cheney has since claimed that he did), the FBI might have actually fired up a secret FISA court battle to put a stop to it.

Oh, and one more thing. If you think that Congress' intel committee members aren't actually proud of their leaks, then you haven't been paying attention.

[T]hree years ago on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States.
On March 20, 2003, at the onset of military hostilities between U.S. and Iraqi forces, Roberts said in a speech to the National Newspaper Association that he had "been in touch with our intelligence community" and that the CIA had informed President Bush and the National Security Council "of intelligence information from what we call human intelligence that indicated the location of Saddam Hussein and his leadership in a bunker in the suburbs of Baghdad."
The former intelligence officials said in interviews that Roberts was never held accountable for his comments, which bore directly on the issue of intelligence-gathering sources and methods, and revealed that Iraqis close to Hussein were probably talking to the United States. source

Just in case you weren't aware, CA Berkely, the "Roberts" to which the above quote refers is none other than the former Republican chairman of the Senate Intel Committee back when Rockefeller helped him to slow-walk us through the Iraq war.

Yeah, THAT Roberts.

So although you may wish to believe that Congress intel committees aren't leaking, unfortunately that really isn't close to being accurate at all, is it?

Thanks for the offer to find the links Rockefeller's impassioned plea for a public option later, but due to your guidance I've come up with it. So now, instead of me review what I think about his presentation, why don't YOU imagine using his type of impassioned crapola on the IRS the next time they do an audit on you, in place of shoving some real accounting at them.

Then you might get a little more balanced idea EXACTLY why Rockefeller's librul dogwhistle delivery didn't go anywhere in the Senate Finance Committee.

Now since that time, after seeing how well the senate's former Public Option Pope has really reeeallly advocated for the idea (NOT), one can certainly understand why Nancy Pelosi refuses to trust the Senate to pass it.

Not taking One Citizen's suggestion -- sticking with my usual pot of hot tea

CA Berkeley WV — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:03:16 GMT

Thanks for the update. Too bad it's anything but.

One Citizen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:00:45 GMT

You say "While he avoided reference to the Public Option". Correct me if I'm wrong, my friend, but isn't that what you specifically asked him about?

So really it wasn't a response to your query at all, but an ad asking for your vote paid for by your tax dollars.

One thing's for sure. He sure blows a helluva lot of smoke for such a tiny fire. In fact like so many of the others I've gotten from him, that letter reminds me vaguely of a scene from Deliverance. By completely dancing around the issue, Rockefeller expects me to be another hapless hillbilly who should squeal with joy as he tells me that I shore has a purty mouf when all I really asked for was directions.

In other words, despite his Finance Committee choreography, all that dancin' doesn't help get the job done especially considering his complete avoidance of any mention of what it'll do to the federal budget. By the way, why am I the only one who sees that as being completely lame coming from a senator in the FINANCE committee? If I were a fiscal conservative, I'd say that it looks like he's trying to hide something, doesn't it?

Could it be mere coincidence that that's EXACTLY the lie that the insurance lobby is currently running as a scare tactic all across the country?

So you really ought to frame that letter. It really is classic Schlockafeller, leaving plenty of room for Conservatives to blame tax and spend libruls so that once they take back the Senate they already have the groundwork laid to repeal the reforms (as if Conservatives ever lost control of the Senate in the first place)

I understand that you don't believe that Rockefeller would purposely go to a gunfight armed with a wet noodle, but I am certain of it. I used to excuse it, thinking it was because he wasn't being well served by his office staff (because I used to knew a bunch of them), but after this same crap has "happened" repeatedly for so many years, I'd say its more a problem stemming from the pool of people he ultimately chooses to work for him. That the G.O.P. never mounts a well-funded campaign for our junior senator's seat whilst clamoring many times for Byrd's seat ought to tell you something.

One last thing. For the record, I think he'd probably vote for the public option as well if there ever was a vote on it. The difference between where you and I stand is that I know good and well that there'll never be a vote on it as long as politicians like him have anything to do with it. I personally spent enough time in his Washington office to know that they cater far more to Wall Street types and big business lobbyists than the average joe there. Back then the ratio was something like 20-to-1 in favor of high rollers.

Do not consume fermented or distilled spirits

CA Berkeley WV — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:24:38 GMT

CBO score of a House bill may not hold any weight against a Senate bill that also has other differences. It is all together, all the moving parts.

And it certainly held absolutely no sway with Connecticut for Lieberman Sen. Joseph Lieberman, whose vote was needed to overcome the obstruction for passing the bill under regular order first. The Connecticut Cop Out.

I mentioned the amendments that the pubic option advocates were pushing at the top of every diary over at CongressMatters, taking my cues from slinkerwink or nyceve or mcjoan on those, advocates all.

The diaries would contain links for the documents. As we commented the text of the amendments as published were repeated for everyone's edification. There is a link to Slate's google doc that I found as the days went on. I used it during the markup in Finance. I have a kid to pickup right now or the aftercare gets really expensive. I will look this up since the markups were almost six months ago.

For better or worse, the Congress is sort of proud that their Intel Committees do not leak.

And the reason this may matter here?

CA Berkeley WV — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:42:34 GMT

Let's hope not so much. Digital printing techniques hopefully will still allow them so do orders by states, but Texas is a big buyer.

Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among the conservatives on the board because he coined the term "separation between church and state.")
"The Enlightenment was not the only philosophy on which these revolutions were based," Ms. Dunbar said.
Mavis B. Knight, a Democrat from Dallas, introduced an amendment requiring that students study the reasons "the founding fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring the government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion above all others."
It was defeated on a party-line vote.

Just like the meddling Monica Goodlings and Sara Taylors of the DOJ scandal, this nation is in trouble if this is what passes for a legal mind. Their loyalty was not to the Constitution. And at least one of them went to the same fine law school as Ms. Dunbar.

Regent University School of Law. Pat Robertson's Regent University.

Let's not fool ourselves.

One Citizen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:22:03 GMT

Rockefeller didn't need to "get" the CBO to score it, because Pelosi already had done it, using the numbers to help her pass a strong public option amendment in the House.

With all due respect, I don't give a rat's hind whether or not you believe he purposely tried to kill the public option. I only brought up that he hid the FISA letter instead of standing up and actually doing something about wiretapping because it's part of his overall pattern of 'slow-walking" and bullshit "bipartisanship" instead of providing true oversight and leadership. And whether you wish to remember it or not, Rockefeller admitted publicly that all the pre-Iraq invasion WMD doubts by the intel agencies were available for his inspection but that he was "just too busy" to go and look at it. So his "excuse" is that he relied on the now infamous White House Intel Group to vote for giving Bush permission to go into Iraq.

My point is that I happen to believe that Nancy Pelosi could have shoved the CBO report under his nose and he wouldn't have used it. Because the fact is that he flatly said right out that he was against using reconciliation to pass the public option in the Senate because it would be "too partisan". So please explain what YOU think he meant by "too partisan" after the health care reform bill had just passed in the Senate without a single Republican vote?

Just how could it have gotten any "more partisan" than that?

I'd like to continue the fruitful exchange by offering some info which might help get your head wrapped around Schlockefeller's subterfuge. There's a very revealing account of his political hijinks from back in 1972 at this link.

Now in the spirit of fair play, I'd like for you to please post a link to Rockefeller's "public option amendment" presentation before the senate finance committee so that I can perhaps better understand why you're so convinced that he still shouldn't be trying to push for it.

One last thing. If you've even half been following the dire economic woes of WV's Public Employees Insurance Agency particularly regarding the health benefits of retired employees, then you probably also realize that WV AFT is working in the statehouse to fix the problems they've been having. But nowhere can you find much discussion as to how this dilemma could have happened in the first place.

Although most automatically attribute the PEIA's financial woes to former governor Arch Moore's chicanery (and rightfully so), legally it was Jay Rockefeller who actually de-coupled the retirements benefits payments from employees paychecks.

And yet you're apparently still prepared to trust him implicitly not only that the public option is D.O.A., but that Single Payer was a non-starter.

Perhaps you should do a double-shot at your Drinking Liberally in Martinsburg event just to choke that one down.

Great news!

Wabi-Sabi — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:48:25 GMT

Thanks for sharing.

Response from Rockefeller

Wabi-Sabi — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:33:25 GMT

One Citizen, if you spoke to the Senator's office a bit more and ranted about fellow commenters a bit less, I think you'd be more effective.

To clarify, Rockefeller criticized Dean not for "expressing disappointment", but for saying folks should scrap the bill entirely. Rockefeller was pointing out the merits of the bill, which are substantial, and criticizing attempts to scrap the bill as counter-productive.

I share your frustration that Rockefeller isn't asking to use Reconciliation for the Public Option, but despite the fact that you keep saying it, he has NOT "clearly stated that he's against it". He expressed a nuanced statement, but he stopped short of saying he would vote against it.

In my opinion if there was a vote on the Public Option, he would vote for it. The road block to such a vote is not Jay Rockefeller; it's the lack of a push for a Public Option from the White House.

Since you asked, here is the Senator's response to my email and calls asking him to support using reconciliation for the Public Option. While he avoided reference to the Public Option, which is disappointing, the features of the bill that he outlines are nothing to be sneezed at.

Dear Jim,
Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about health care reform. This is such an important issue, and I am glad you have been in touch. I am proud to see so many West Virginians participating in the conversation about moving our country's health care system forward. Right now, we are historically close to passing comprehensive health reform legislation that would go a long way towards beginning to fix our broken health care system and making life easier for hundreds of thousands of West Virginians.
On December 24, 2009, I voted to support passage of H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. My vote reflects the imperative need to improve the coverage people have today, expand access to affordable and meaningful coverage for the uninsured, control runaway health care costs, and to rein in the private health insurance industry's underhanded business practices.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would make significant improvements to our health care system if it were signed into law, which is why I will continue to push for its final passage as the health care reform debate moves forward. The following are some of the immediate benefits West Virginians would receive within six months or less if H.R. 3590 were enacted into law:
o Making Health Coverage More Affordable for West Virginia's Small Businesses. Within six months of enactment, small businesses in West Virginia would have access to tax credits for up to 35 percent of the cost of health coverage for their employees. This bill could help as many as 20,000 small businesses in West Virginia afford to offer health coverage.
o Significant Help for West Virginians Denied Coverage Due to Pre-existing Conditions. Within 90 days of the bill's enactment, individuals with pre-existing conditions who are denied health coverage would have access to affordable and meaningful health coverage through a high-risk pool. West Virginians have the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease in the country, with one-third of the total population of the state exhibiting high blood pressure. These are all pre-existing conditions for which health coverage can be, and often is, denied. A complete prohibition on insurance company pre-existing condition exclusions would begin in 2014, when the state health insurance exchanges are operational.
o New Immediate Protections for West Virginia's Children Suffering from a Pre-existing Condition. Effective immediately, health insurers would be prohibited from denying coverage for children under age 19 due to a pre-existing condition. Almost one-third of children and youth with special health care needs are considered to be underinsured - many of them because they are denied the coverage they need due to a pre-existing condition.
o Stable Coverage for West Virginia's Children and Young Adults. For plan years beginning six months after enactment, health insurers that provide dependent coverage for children are required to continue providing that coverage until the child turns 26 years of age. Young adults just starting out would no longer be ignored by our health care system.
o Protection for West Virginians against Abusive Health Insurance Rescissions. Within six months of enactment, insurance companies in all markets are banned from dropping your coverage once you get sick (rescissions). All 1.8 million West Virginians can rest assured that their health insurance coverage would not be rescinded when they need it most.
o Protection of Health Coverage for West Virginia's Early Retirees. As soon as practicable upon enactment, the Secretary of Health and Humans Services is required to create a new, temporary reinsurance program to help companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55-64 to offset the expensive cost of that coverage. An estimated 41,500 people from West Virginia have early retiree coverage through their former employers, but early retiree coverage has eroded over time. The reinsurance program included in the health reform bill would stabilize early retiree coverage and provide premium relief to both early retirees and the workers in the firms that provide their health benefits. This could save West Virginia families up to $1,200 on premiums.
o Providing Value for the Health Insurance Premiums that West Virginians Pay. Beginning in 2010, insurers in the large group market are required to spend a minimum of 85 cents of every premium dollar paid on medical care, rather than on marketing campaigns or profits. Insurers in the small group and individual market are required to spend a minimum of 80 cents of every dollar on medical care. Insurers that do not abide by these minimum limits would be required to refund consumers the balance of the premium that should have gone towards medical care. Insurers in West Virginia currently spend an average of 65 cents of every dollar on medical care in the individual market and only about 75 cents of every dollar on medical care in the small group market. West Virginians can rest assured that the vast majority of the hard-earned dollars they pay to private health insurance companies would go towards actual medical care.
o No Annual or Lifetime Dollar Limits on Health Coverage for West Virginians. Within six months of enactment, the bill bans lifetime dollar limits on coverage, and tightly restricts the use of annual dollar limits to be sure individuals can access needed care. The bill would completely prohibit annual dollar limits on coverage beginning in 2014, when the state health insurance exchanges are operational.
o Access to Free Preventive Health Services for West Virginians. Within six months of enactment, all new health plans must include coverage of preventive services and immunizations free of charge (i.e. health insurers cannot charge a co-payment). An estimated 45 percent of West Virginians have not had a colorectal screening, and 23 percent of women over 50 have not had a breast cancer screening. This provision would make life-saving health screenings more affordable for West Virginians.
o Substantial Reduction in West Virginia Seniors' Prescription Drug Costs. In 2010, West Virginia seniors who fall into the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap (the "doughnut hole") would receive $500 towards their prescription drug coverage. Also, starting in 2010, West Virginia seniors who fall into the coverage gap would receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs and biologics. According to West Virginia AARP, roughly 135,000 West Virginians fall into this coverage gap each year.
A longer list of the benefits West Virginians would receive from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is available on my website at: http://rockefeller.senate.gov/... If you would like for me to send you a paper copy of the list of additional benefits for West Virginia, please contact my local office location nearest you or feel free to send an email to: health@rockefeller.senate.gov.
Additionally, you can find more information about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - including the text of the bill, a section-by-section bill summary, descriptions of specific provisions, and an implementation timeline - at the Democratic Policy Committee's website at: http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc-s... If you do not have access to a computer in your home, you can access the Internet at your local public library, free of charge.
Thank you again for writing. It is always good to hear from my fellow West Virginians about matters of importance. Please know that I will continue to push for action on this vital legislation, and your views and concerns will be critically important to me as the debate moves forward. Continuous updates on health care reform are available on my website at: http://rockefeller.senate.gov/... Best wishes.
With Warm Regards,
Jay Rockefeller

The fact remains that Rockefeller never even referred to the CBO scoring

One Citizen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:57:47 GMT

even though it was the FINANCE COMMITTEE he was supposedly trying to impress.

Why would he argue the case for implementing the public option without using the evidence most persuasive to his target audience? By now we all know that Rockefeller will use anything he can to win a debate when his heart is in it.

BTW you still haven't explained why Rockefeller even gone on record to say that he'd support the public option since he dropped it like a hot potato after the finance committee vote. In fact he said it'd be "too partisan". In contrast, I remember when Republicans came out of those Finance Committee debates screeching like someone set their clubhouse on fire. Yet Rockefeller actually scolded Dr. Dean for expressing disappointment over the loss, all but telling him to clam up and lay down.

So you go right ahead and root for johngcole. I'll be rooting for Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin and universal health care. If Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) doesn't know what the Senate Parliamentarian will do, no one does.

If you think Rockefeller did his best to sell the public option, that's certainly your prerogative. Just like it's Wabi-Sabi's prerogative to take him beyond his words that he's for its passage although Rockefeller has clearly stated that he's against it.

Worrying that the public option would make health care reform appear "partisan" is so stupid it's comical. Apparently Rockefeller either didn't notice that the Senate bill already passed on a pure partyline vote, with every Democrat voting "yes" and every Republican voting "no", or else he thinks YOU didn't know the difference.

C_A_Berkely, anyone even half paying attention watched Rockefeller go from promising to vote against any bill without some form of a public alternative to promising to vote against any effort to create a public option. At this point is it really necessary to explain why I'm beyond waiting for Wabi Sabi to report Rockefeller's response to his personal inquiry about the issue? I mean come ON! Haven't we all begun to marvel at the Coalpatch Gazette's apparent lack of interest in Rockefeller's silence?

The grossly negligent media coverage of Rockefeller's long, sordid history of undercutting important so-called "liberal" issues after first promoting them is exactly why people still think he's such a great leader. Be it strip mining, women's right to choose, or the promise of jobs, jobs, jobs, he's punked out at least once on each. But you don't take my word for it.

You can either on my schlockylinks below in order to read a 1972 newspaper accounting of Rockefeller's early political flop-flipping in Appalachia, or you can read the same scanned newspaper at this link.

It's just too bad we have to go outside the state to get accurate coverage.

Schlockefeller 1

Schlocky 2

SCHLOCKYROCKY 3