Things I learned while knocking doors for Marsden yesterday

1. People respond very positively to someone wearing a bright pink-and-white-polkadotted scarf. It's practically impossible for them not to smile.
2. Practically, but not completely. There were two grumpusses. Oh well.
3. Not everyone feels it's necessary to clean up their dog's poop - even when it's right in the middle of the sidewalk.
4. Snow is very good for cleaning off one's shoes.
5. Yesterday's weather was just about perfect for canvassing. Crystal clear blue sky, not too cold, not too hot. Just right.

49 doors, 14 contacts, 1 yard sign spotted

Write your delegate and your state senator

And ask them to raise the income limit on Medicaid eligibility in Virginia from 80% of the poverty level - which means that if a single person is earning $11,000/year, they're too rich for Medicaid (really! It's despicable!) to a more rational level.

Thank you.

In the parking lot at Wegman's* last night

I had a conversation with one of my favorite LCDC members. She asked if I thought the health care bill would pass and I said, "I really hope not"

Whereupon, she, aghast, said, "But if it fails, we won't get health care legislation passed for decades! Look what happened when Clinton tried it!" and I said, "I'd rather have it not pass than get this piece of crap. It's WORSE than what we have now. No public option to keep costs down. No guarantee of affordable coverage for people with pre-existing conditions (and yet, a mandate that they must buy coverage), less coverage for women (who, btw, make up more than half the nation's population), and on, and on. AND IT DOESN'T COVER EVERYBODY. It stinks. It should fail."

She said, "But if it fails, we'll lose all those seats in congress and Obama won't get re-elected."

I said, "If it fails and then the Democrats pull up their socks and pass Medicare For Everybody with 50% + 1 vote, they'll look strong and mighty and they'll get reelected. They need to stop negotiating with people who won't vote for the bill no matter what. They need to act like a majority, or they deserve to lose. It makes no sense to work to put Dems in a majority if they cave on every little thing."

And then we smiled at each other, and I went to my car to work my way out of the Wegman's parking lot. Which is a whole other story.



*An error in judgment. I should have gone to Giant instead - but I wanted a pain de campagne.

Head, meet Desk. Desk, Head.

Catch 22, anyone?

I hate the Senate bill. HATE. IT.

It's worse than no bill at all. Really.

No help for people with pre-existing conditions.
Women's health? Not in this bill.
Public option? What's that?

Don't pass this crappy bill!

I'm with Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders

Scrap that POS and start over. Here's a good place to start! Amend the existing Medicare bill to change the starting age to "birth"! Raise the contributions from employers and employees by 4% and leave the rest alone. It'll get paid for, cover every citizen, and still be cheaper than what we have now.

You're welcome!

Thank you!

Thank you for visiting and for your kind words. I really appreciate them!

Where I'll be tonight: CSB program review task group meeting (talking about how to maximize our Medicaid billing - please join us if you've got insight into this issue!). And then on parent duty while Teh Spouse is at a town hall meeting in South Riding.

If you're going to be at the town hall meeting, please remember that the BOS gives a bucket of money to the School Board, but it's the School Board who decides how to spend that bucket of money. If they don't choose to spend it on teacher raises, that's not something the BOS can control.

I want single payer - That is what I want

Anything less is a compromise.

And compromising away from the compromise? That is selling out.

Single Payer. Failing that, a strong public option. Failing that? We might as well have lost the House and the Senate in 2008.

It's not that complicated.

We have a majority. Act like it.

If you have a favorite political blog, please post the link in the comments

I know my blog roll is by no means comprehensive. In fact, it doesn't encompass most of the political blogs I'm reading. However, I'm trying to limit it to the following*:

Local politics (Virginia)
Feminist issues
Ablist issues (AKA disabilities activism)
GLTB issues
Progressive national and international issues.

I am not going to post links to conservative blogs, even if they are the best source for some hyper-local coverage, because they raise my blood pressure and make me want to throw things.

So link away!

*Wow! There's a bunch of intersectionality in my blog roll!

Where I'll be tonight

At a fundraiser for Dave Marsden, whom I'll be canvassing for as well for whom I will be canvassing as well.

Come on out and join us!

Teh Spouse will be there too!

One thing that annoys me (first in a continuing series)

When Democrats win an election, we rejoice that it was a victory for the Democrats.
When Republicans win an election, they rejoice that it was a victory for the region they won.

IE: McDonnell's win is a victory for Virginia. Bush's 2004 win was a victory for America.

Where I'll be tonight

At the CSB meeting discussing the needs of our clients with our state delegates and state senators.

This will be the second night in a row that I'll be hangin' with Senator Mark Herring, whom I adore.

I'll be at Joe's Pizza tonight for the Sterling Volunteers Appreciation Dinner

With my son. The husband will, unfortunately, not attend as he will be at a budget input session thingy. Go easy on him, will you? He's doing his best and he's just one of nine.

Edited to add:
Joe's Italian Restaurant
22360 Sterling Blvd., Sterling Park (next to Safeway in the Sterling Plaza Shopping Center)
www.joespizzaria.com

Testing a new space

Since I've been more political than bookish lately.