Kay Hagan

I have obtained a copy of the letter that Senators Kennedy and Dodd distributed to their colleagues on the HELP committee. It's public information, so will post the entire letter.

Dear HELP Committee Member:

No issue is more important to our constituents - or to our economy - than health care reform. As President Obama has said - and as even those who disagree about the particulars of reform understand - inaction is not an option. The status quo isn't just unacceptable, it's unsustainable.Read more

In a scene near the end of The Dark Knight, The Joker has planted bombs on two ferries crossing the river out of Gotham. True to form, the evil-doer has set up a moral dilemma for mere mortals. Passengers on each ferry have the ability to blow up the other boat to save themselves. If neither group acts, The Joker will destroy both ferries at the strike of midnight.

In our own real world, such moral dilemmas face us every day. Indeed, our nation has planted figurative bombs all over the world through our gluttonous consumption of fossil fuels. Today we have the ability to sink whole islands in the South Pacific and melt polar ice caps ... or not.

In his sad vote last week to protect what he believes are the parochial economic interests of the 8th district, Congressman Larry Kissell chose to blow up the other ferry.

Will Senator Kay Hagan have her fingers on the detonator, too?Read more

How in the world did the freshman senator from North Carolina wind up as the key figure in the health care debate? How can one lone moderate Democrat on a committee of liberal Democrats sink the public option?

Fact is, Kay Hagan alone won’t sink the public option. Kay Hagan alone won’t water down the public option. Somebody floated that idea and like a bunch of Pavlov’s dogs we jumped on it.

Let’s take a look at the reality of the situation so we can better understand what’s going on. It may help us lobby our senator more effectively.

First, let me make it clear we need to continue flooding the good senator’s office with phone calls and emails. We are her most important lobbyists. The pay might stink, but if we work hard enough the benefits alone will be worth the effort. Read more

So last night, I watched Charlie Gibson's talk with the President. I had hoped that it would be a perfect opportunity for him to finally shed some light on the situation, instead of having everyone else do it for him. Honestly, after watching it, I don't know what to think. I don't know how many people stayed up to watch it, but I hope it wasn't a lot. The president really didn't do that great of a job explaining his plan. Of course, I try to keep up with it on a day-to-day basis, and I still don't have a clue on the details. He kept reiterating the point that "If you like the coverage you have, you can keep it." He answered nearly all the questions with that one response. But for me, that's really not what is at issue. What happened to the Barack Obama from last year who deemed healthcare reform as a moral obligation. What about the 45 million people without any coverage that you promised to help. All this talk about cutting costs is starting to get irritating.Read more

Last week, Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake reported that Democratic plans to push for a "public option" for health care reform -- a publicly-financed plan to compete with private insurance -- were hitting an unexpectedly difficult wall: newly-elected Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina.Read more

Doug Gibson at Scrutiny Hooligans put together an enlightening and germane Harper's Index style rundown of fast facts about North Carolina health care and health care reform.

I'll drop a few lines here, but you ought to read the whole thing.Read more

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is running ads in North Carolina and several other states. Obviously the target in North Carolina is Senator Kay Hagan. BlueNCers have been busy calling and emailing the Senator so she will know how we feel. Hopefully the ads will inspire more to call Kay.

You can email Kay here and you can call her if you want to speak to a live person. (202-224-6342) I have a feeling her staff members are a bit frustrated at this point. When you call or email, please be polite. Being an ass honestly doesn't get you anywhere.Read more

Okay people. It's clear to me that the battle for a public healthcare plan is heading south. Corporatists in the Senate are leading obstructionism, insisting that the money and the political will just aren't there to make it happen. All the while CEOs and insurance company shareholders are pulling down millions, laughing all the way to the bank. The more they master the dark art of denying care, the more money they make. And they're playing us for suckers.

What can we do? Here are two options:

1. Hit them where it hurts. Let's show them what it's like to not have money. Let's organize a national "Up Yours Month" with businesses and citizens everywhere refusing to pay premiums. July would be perfect.Read more

Have you contacted Senator Hagan yet? Please do. And please ask her to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem when it comes to addressing our nation's health care needs.

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Whether it is for those who have a decent income but no employer coverage and can't afford private insurance (have you actually tried to buy family coverage for a family of 3 when Mom is over 45?), or it is for young people just getting started or for middle class single mothers (not eligible for any other govt benefits) with kids to cover or to make small businesses attractive for people to work in and relieve the strangle hold of for-profit insurance from the small business man's neck ... America NEEDS a public option in THIS year's health care reform package.

In fact, if you don't include a public option, you may as well do nothing.Read more