Democrat Ben Lowe Responds to Peter Roskam’s Hysterical Funding Pitch with Gentle Humor

On April 4, 2010, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, Peter Roskam's Corporate Agenda, by RSR
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We received a breathless fund-raising email from Peter Roskam last Monday. Apparently his huge stash of corporate cash is not sufficient for him to buy enough attack ads this fall to crush his unfunded grass roots Democratic opponent and he needs to beg his constituents for their hard-earned dollars so that he can return to Washington and vote against any bill that might actually help them. Here is the way Roskam’s message began:

The Democrats are out of control. Never in my life did I anticipate serving in a Congress that is poised to take over 1/6 of our nation’s economy through the procedural slight-of-hand known as reconciliation. With the Democrats’ passage of the Senate bill in the House of Representatives, the stakes for our country have gotten even higher. But the fight to defend our healthcare system from a government takeover is far from over – in fact, it has just begun.

Because that is what this election year will be – a fight against a Democrat political machine powered by liberal “back room” politics and I believe Americans like you and I have seen enough. We’re tired of watching the Administration cut deals with members of Congress to secure votes on a health care bill that the vast majority of Americans know to be irresponsible, misguided, and even harmful. Here in the Illinois 6th district, we know dirty Chicago politics when we see it, and it’s time to put an end to this madness.

Just a tad over-dramatic, no? We think Roskam should at least get some sort of literary award for fitting so many slurs into two short paragraphs. Roskam is, of course, ridiculous. There is no government takeover of healthcare, only an insurance regulation bill that will float a lot of new business to the insurance companies. Reconciliation is a parliamentary technique that Roskam’s own Republican party has used repeatedly when they held the majority. And Roskam’s Democratic opponent this fall can only wish that he had the support of a “democratic political machine” – he is, so far anyway, pretty much dependent on a small band of volunteers from the district who are fed up with Roskam’s obstruction and bullshit. If you want to see a political machine, look instead to the Republicans who control Du Page County Government and the big corporations like Exelon and Bank of  America who fund Roskam’s campaigns in expectation of influence over his votes on environmental legislation and banking regulation.

Anyway, we got a smile when we received a fundraising email in response from Roskam’s opponent, Ben Lowe of Wheaton. Bent sent this out on April 1st and his message displays a great deal of plucky humor approopriate to the day:

Hi, I thought I should introduce myself.

My name is Ben Lowe.

I’m the out-of-control, liberal, left-wing, big-government, backroom deal-cutting, game-playing, dirty Chicago politician, engaged in a hostile, irresponsible, misguided, harmful, insane government takeover of health care, that your Congressman, Peter Roskam, warned you about in his recent fund-raising letter.

My naive mother is crushed to learn what I have become since I left the gentle protections of her tender bosom, for the corrupting influence of Wheaton College, the twisted machinations of suburban Wheaton, and the left-wing radicalism of a Midwestern evangelical church. My pastor-father cannot figure out where he went wrong! It must be the extreme liberalizing result of Wheaton College’s student life policies, with its exuberant embrace of swing dancing. Or perhaps the consequence of a nature-goddess worshiping environmental-studies college major and profession. Or maybe the effect of a socialist-inspired radical experiment in communal living among the drug-addled, prostitution-riddled projects of blighted Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.

Fortunately for you, Congressman Roskam is not alarmist, but reasonable, commonsensical, and conservative.

Albeit hard-up for funds. After all, he currently has only $547,000 or so left in his campaign war-chest after spending as much on an uncontested primary, and that may not be enough when stacked up against my whopping $2,000 campaign account balance. It certainly is not enough to finance limitless television and radio ads, and a steady stream of life-enhancing robocalls. Donate big, donate often, for the free government postage granted to Washington politicians, the free publicity generated by news media interviews, and the other perks of incumbency are not enough to overcome the threat that I pose to our town, our district, and our American way of life.

This is going to be a tough race. True, Obama won this district with 56% of the vote. And though his national approval rating has fallen to 46%, one can never be too careful in defense of our country from liberal political schemes and harmful government borrowing and spending (which are immeasurably more insidious than the private-sector plagues of deregulation-induced, recession-causing, finance-industry implosions of our economy, or the oil-and-power-company pollution of our environment, the health-industry abuse of the uninsured poor, or the lawyer-enriching tort-cases with enormous verdicts against medical professionals).

Health care reform, in particular, has progressed at break-neck pace in the century since that radically-liberal, communist-inspired, former-Republican Teddy Roosevelt first proposed it in 1912, along with his other nefarious strategies, such as occupational safety, child-labor laws, minimum wage, and Sundays off.

We’ve got to slow this speeding snail before it breaks the sound barrier!

Now is the time for incremental reform!

I urge you to reduce government spending today by contributing to Congressman Roskam’s campaign fund!

Or join us instead, and help bring reason and common sense back to congress. We cannot win without your support.

Yours,

Ben Lowe

Advocate for informed political debate

Democrat for Congress, 6th District Illinois

Ben is a fine person. We’ve met him. We’ve read his book. We are certain he would make an excellent Representative for the 6th District. If you are tired of the Republican obstruction and corporate money that is crippling our nation’s ability to cope the very serious problems it faces, please consider giving your time and/or money to help Ben’s campaign.

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Dan Lipinski & Peter Roskam Want to Keep Pregnancy a Pre-Existing Condition

On March 19, 2010, in Healthcare, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Insensitivity to human suffering appears to be a bipartisan condition: afflicting both Democrat Dan Lipinski, who appears intent on opposing healthcare reform over its funding for abortion, a (chimera) and Republican Peter Roskam, who has vowed to oppose it because it will increase debt (also a myth).

Hear is one mother’s touching appeal to Dan Lipinski for a change of heart. She rightly states that the healthcare reform bill is, by its very nature pro-life, because it will give access to care to millions of pregnant women who now go without.

Hopefully this will move Congressmen Lipinski and Roskam to reconsider their votes.

(H/T to @Joy__Hart )

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Is Representative Luis Gutierrez Really Going to Unite with Peter Roskam to Kill Healthcare Reform?

On March 17, 2010, in Healthcare, Immigration, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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There is no uncertainty what Peter Roskam will do when the Democratic healthcare reform package comes to a vote, probably later this week. Roskam will vote “no”. Roskam vote will be just the culmination of a year of effort on his part to block the President and Congress from doing anything meaningful to help Illinois residents who are suffering because the can’t afford to purchase healthcare insurance, because they have a pre-existing condition that makes getting coverage impossible, or because the insurance they have won’t pay for the care they need.

Roskam has not only argued against healthcare reform in Committee and on the House floor. No, rather than listen to his constituents and understand their needs, he has undertaken an intensive misinformation campaign designed to promote fear and confusion about the Democratic plans amongst his constituency. And he has used your tax dollars in this war of deception, spending them on huge volumes of direct mail, robo-calls, and town hall meetings designed only to air his point of view. Why is he doing this? First and foremost to cause the President to fail for political gain – a failure on health reform may make other Democratic reforms on immigration and finance more difficult and improve Republican prospects in the 2010 election. And, of course, because it is the will of the big insurance companies who help fund his campaign.

If Roskam is successful in his efforts, and the Democratic healthcare plan fails, thousands will continue to die and suffer needlessly due to lack of care. The bill that is expected to emerge this week will not be a perfect solution. A single-payer plan or national health service would do more to improve quality and reduce costs, but this is a huge first step.

More troubling than Roskam sure “no” vote at this point is an expected “no” vote by Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez, of the 4th Congressional District in Chicago. Representative Gutierrez is a fine and principled legislator who is an outspoken advocate for badly-needed immigration reform. Representative Gutierrez is rightly upset that the healthcare reform plan on the table would exclude undocumented immigrants from coverage. This exclusion is not merely unjust, it is also bad policy. It will continue to force undocumented immigrants to use emergencies rooms for care. Care rendered will be less effective and more expensive than it would if these workers were included in reform plans. And undocumented workers tend to be younger and healthier than the population at large so their addition to risk pools could reduce premiums for everyone.

Representative Gutierrez is also upset because he feels that President Obama abandoned his pledge to make immigration reform a top priority during his first year in office. We too are disappointed, but I’m not sure that candidate Obama had any real sense of how difficult the healthcare fight would be or of the depths to which the Republican Party would sink in obstructing the Democratic agenda. We think it unlikely that the President could have, practically speaking, advanced immigration reform during the first year but we don’t see that as an abandonment by the President of the cause.

But whether that is true or not, we feel certain that Representative Gutierrez has the potential to kill both immigration reform and healthcare reform in one fell swoop, along with the rest of the Democratic agenda, if he casts a “no” vote on healthcare reform as he has suggested he may do. If healthcare reform fails, we believe that it is over. Neither immigration reform nor any other progressive reform is likely to go anywhere, and Representative Gutierrez will likely end up fighting for immigration justice with a Republican Congress and a Republican President hostile to immigrants.

So, Illinois, Peter Roskam already has his mind made up. Calling him will do you know good. Please call Representative Gutierrez instead and thank him for standing up for immigrants while asking him to change his mind and vote “yes” on healthcare reform. His contact information can be found here.

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Peter Roskam Email Enrages Constituents

On October 12, 2009, in Healthcare, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Peter Roskam’s communications to his constituents generally assume that we are all as gullible as the average “Tea Party” participant or Glenn Beck viewer. That is a serious mistake. This is a highly-educated district, literate regarding the serious issues we face as a country.  I can discern a growing disgust with Roskam, particularly with regard to his stance on health care, both in the volume of traffic this site receives and the number and nature of  communications I am receiving from among Roskam’s other constituents.

Received a note today from a 6th District voter.  I won’t disclose her identity because I haven’t obtained her permission. She wrote regarding this email message from Roskam. She was upset by the “survey” on the “government takeover of healthcare” included in the message. Her response to Peter Roskam, which she copied me on, follows.

Roskam Email 2009109_sm

To: peter.roskam@mail.house.gov
Sent: Sun, Oct 11, 2009 10:05 pm
Subject: Fwd: Roskam Hosting CNBC`s Squawk Box Monday

This email is a perfect example of how words can be manipulated to fit YOUR version of the health care debate.

Who would answer “Yes” to the question below? I wouldn’t answer “Yes” and I am totally in favor of revamping our health care system. It is disingenuous of you to ask your constituents the LOADED question below. President Obama CLEARLY stated in his address to congress that a single-payer option (aka government takeover, in your words) is NOT on the table.

Yet, you will use the results of this question to justify not voting for health care reform, including a public option, saying it is not what your constituents want. You recently sent me a letter stating that you agree with President Obama’s assertion that congress is in agreement with 80% of the health care reform package currently being considered–and that you AGREE with him. Then you send out this email that totally rebuts what you said in that letter because this email will drive a bigger wedge between proponents of health care reform and those that are afraid of a public option–and you will use that to further your own agenda which is just to stop health care reform so that the democratic party is looked upon as a failure.

Your party is so good at calling the President every word in the book. Well, I’ll throw one at you–the republican party is treasonous. You are trying to disrupt the government at the cost of every American who does not have health care and those who cannot see through your manipulative words and believe they are doing the right thing.

You make me sick.

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Where’s Peter Roskams Healthcare Plan?

On September 14, 2009, in Healthcare, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Peter Roskam appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday yesterday and, I must say, our Congressman was looking particularly dreamy. The friendly Fox News team quizzed Pete again about the Joe Wilson outburst during President Obama’s speech last week  and Roskam describes the “thud” he felt at hearing Wilson cry out “you lie” to the President when Obama said his plan would provide no coverage for undocumented workers. When I look at the pictures though, I’m pretty sure that the only “thud” Roskam experienced came much later when he saw his picture in the New York Times.  In the picture that showed Wilson shouting, Roskam exhibits no reaction to Wilson. It does look like he’s reacting negatively to the President himself, though not shouting like his buddy from South Carolina. And notice in the interview how Roskam quickly changes the subject when the interviewer comments that, in the picture, Roskam didn’t look at Wilson:

In an interesting post, FDL questions whether the Wilson shout was planned because of the lack of reaction by Roskam. But enough about Wilson.

Roskam only does safe interviews and this one was no exception. Fox gave him free air time to rehash his same tired obstructionist Republican talking points.

Roskam remarks that we need more clarity regarding the issue of coverage for illegal immigrants. I really don’t know how you can get any more clear than the President:

There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

Personally, I feel undocumented workers should be covered. They are human beings who work hard for us, they pay taxes too, and we are all presently  paying through the nose for ineffective care for them in emergency rooms. Why not provide them with lower cost effective health care while they are among us. But I know that won’t fly.  Roskam seems to think that the paltry 30 million uninsured Americans remaining after you eliminate the undocumented are hardly worth bothering about.

Roskam says that polls show that the majority of Americans are opposed to a public option. But in a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, “76 percent of respondents said it was either “extremely” or “quite” important to “give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance.” A CBS News/Nework Times poll in June found that 72% of respondents support a government-sponsored health care plan to compete with private insurers. Even a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted this month after all the August teabag nonsense shows 55% support. (A poll of Congressmen receiving hefty campaign contributions from the healthcare industry would probably show weaker support). Roskam’s assessment of public opinion is, at best, disingenuous.

Listen to the Fox interviewer helpfully remind Roskam of his principal talking point that a public option “is opening the door to single-payer in the United States”. Apparently Roskam had gone off script. A single-payer plan is not, of course, what the President is proposing:

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable.  And the insurance reforms that I’ve already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. It would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up.

Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea. They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the government. And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won’t be. I’ve insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits and excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers, and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.

Now, it is — it’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn’t be exaggerated — by the left or the right or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and shouldn’t be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage available for those without it.  The public option — the public option is only a means to that end — and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

Peter Roskam loves to go on TV and radio and talk down the democratic efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality affordable healthcare. What we have never, ever, heard from Roskam in all these  is his alternative plan for providing healthcare to the millions of Americans who presently go without.

President Obama last week outlined an actual plan. It needs some meat on its bones and I’ll admit to skepticism on some points but he’s laid out a path we can follow to address the problem of the uninsured this year.  All we ever hear from Roskam is “no”, “can’t do it”, “won’t work”, “too expensive”. Well the time for “no” is over. If Roskam doesn’t like the President’s plan, he should outline his own plan to provide universal healthcare. Otherwise, Roskam needs to take a heaping dose of STFU and work with the President to enact his.

I have no real hope, of course, that Roskam will do either. The hallmark of Roskam’s brief tenure in Washington has been an appalling lack of concern for those less fortunate than himself. I have no real expectation that he will change now. Not while there is political hay to be made by trying to cause the President to fail.

Healthcare really shouldn’t be so difficult a problem for our country to solve. In case you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend T.R. Reid’s Frontline report “Sick Around the World” below. Reid shows how five wealthy democracies have tackled the problem and have come up with solutions that, while imperfect, are pretty good, and haven’t resulted in a totalitarian state or economic collapse. All the noise that surrounds the effort to provide universal healthcare in this country is the result of obstructionist Republicans like Roskam manipulating their gullible base into working against their own best interests for political gain and to the benefit of their corporate sponsors.



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The Company Peter Roskam Keeps

On September 10, 2009, in Friends of Peter Roskam, Healthcare, Peter Roskam, Wingnuts, by RSR
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If you watched President Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress last night or have seen the news since, you no doubt heard or heard about Representative Joe Wilson’s inappropriate outburst during the speech. Wilson screamed out “You lie!” when the President stated unequivocally that his proposed health care reform plan would not provide coverage to illegal aliens:

On insistence of the Republican leadership, Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, today apologized for his outburst and his apology was graciously accepted by President Obama.

I was intrigued to see at the New York Times and at TPM this morning , that our own Peter Roskam was seated directly to Wilson’s left during the speech.

It does not appear that they are seated alphabetically, or by state delegation, because  they would not fall together. They aren’t seated by Committee because Wilson is not on Ways and Means. They aren’t particularly close in seniority – Wilson was seated in 2001, Roskam in 2007.  So either they were seated that way by accident, or they chose to sit together.

I don’t know whether Wilson and Roskam are close. If they were, I would not be surprised. The two have very similar voting records – 93% out of 2318 roll call votes since 2007 were identical according to Open Congress’ nifty new comparison tool as of this writing. Both Roskam and Wilson have been working to defeat President Obama’s efforts to provide healthcare coverage to all Americans. And Roskam has not been afraid to play the illegal alien card himself when he thought it could work to his political advantage.

It would be interesting to hear Peter Roskam’s thoughts on Wilson’s outburst, the nature of his relationship with Joe Wilson, and whether he admonished Wilson himself on his behavior, having been seated right next to him.

And what’s that angry scowl about on Roskam’s face?

Addendum: I just heard Peter Roskam quoted on WBEZ a saying he “cringed” at Wilson’s remarks. But the photo’s don’t seem to show Roskam reacting negatively to Wilson. Rather his attention and his scowl seem to be focused elsewhere. Notably, WBEZ did not quote Roskam as saying he chastised his colleague. Presumably, he did not.

2nd Addendum: The Daily Herald now reports that Roskam was “surprised” and “disappointed” by Wilson’s outburst. The camera does not show that. If Roskam had been surprised we would see him reacting to Wilson at this moment. Instead his expression, IMHO, seems to be a reaction to the President on the podium. Birds of a feather, I believe.

3rd Addendum:  TPM has further background on Joe Wilson including his attacks on Sen. Strom Thurmond’s illegitimate daughter (Wilson is a former Thurmond page) and on Rep. Bob Filner who had the temerity to state that the U.S. had armed Saddam Hussein. Its a little frightening, though not particularly surprising, that Peter Roskam would hang out with this guy. Perhaps Peter would feel more at home if he joined the the South Carolina delegation. The climate is nicer (at least for the moment) and South Carolina is a better fit for a 19th century kind of guy like Roskam.

Last Addendum: It looks like, as of this writing, Miller has raised over $750,000 in campaign contributions since Wilson’s outburst on Wednesday night.

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