Rep. Gregg Davids (R-Preston) is an example of the Republican who will likely be in trouble because of his GAMC flip flop. Last Friday, he joined 37 other Republicans and voted for the GAMC bill that overwhelmingly passed the House. Yesterday, he cravenly flip-flopped and voted to uphold Gov. Tim Pawlenty's GAMC veto.
What changed over the weekend?
The threat of a primary challenger. Davids is in a swing district and desperately needs his party's help to win in 2010. In Winona and in a mostly rural district like this one, a few disgruntled Teabaggers with a little help from some zealous party hacks in the Twin Cities could easily dislodge Davids from his precarious perch.
In 2006 Davids lost his seat to DFLer Ken Tschumper by 52 votes. He got it back in 2008 by a mere 407 votes.
When voters see the effects of throwing 30,000 Minnesotans off GAMC, they are not going to be happy with Rep. Davids. When voters see the real effects on poor children, veterans, the elderly and the mentally ill, they may consider voting DFL in November. When voters see the effects of Davids actions on people they know, they'll throw him out.
Especially after some organization or another spends a couple hundred thousand dollars telling everyone in his district that he cares more about Tim Pawlenty's presidential ambitions than the poor, elderly and mentally ill.
The MN Senate voted to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of GAMC funding, a health care program for some of the poorest Minnesotans. The 45-21 vote was split very rigidly along party lines, with Republicans overwhelmingly protesting support of the override.
As the legislative battle over the GAMC continues, DFL senators are keeping an eye on the calendar, aware that funding for the program, and the massive health care coverage it provides to many disabled and impoverished people, is set to run out in just a month.
(Bumping this one again; will be referring to it on the radio tonight! - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
{I'm bumping this back up to the top -- please call today. The Big E]
The MN House and Senate passed a bill to reprieve the poor, elderly and mentally ill from absentee Governor Tim Pawlenty's unallotment of the healthcare they receive through General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). This bill passed the House 125-9. 38 Republicans voted on Friday to protect the poorest and those least able to take care of themselves.
Of course, Pawlenty faxed in his veto from out of town (CPAC convention in Washington, DC). Now, these 38 are being pressured to hold Governor Teabags veto as his presidential ambitions are more important than Minnesota's poor, elderly and mentally ill.
The most interesting members of this list are Governor candidate Marty Seifert, MN State Auditor candidate former Secretary of State and current State Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, and House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers. Jim Abeler bucked Governor Gutshot and was one of the Override Six, so this wouldn't be his first time standing up for what's best for Minnesota.
Here's the complete list of Republicans who voted for the GAMC deal that passed the House on Friday. Just click on their name, I've linked to their House pages. Please call these legislator and urge them to support overriding Pawlenty's GAMC veto.
Let's break down the analogy literally: Pawlenty/conservatives = wronged white wife; Obama/liberals = unfaithful, multiracial public figure; politics = golf, both realms traditionally reserved for whites; violence = appropriate solution to budgetary challenges.
The governor has used the nine iron line before, so be assured that the race-based comparison is intentional and playing well with teabaggers. A point of information to the governor--you need more than a nine iron to make it all the way around a PGA course.
As anticipated, Governor-in-absentia Tim Pawlenty vetoed the GAMC extension passed by the Legislature yesterday. He did so from a conservative horse-and-pony show in Washington D.C., and didn't appear to offer any kind of reasoning for the veto, leaving us to speculate.
The question now is whether the DFL House majority can gather the two or three extra Republican votes to override Pawlenty's veto -- we should have an interesting view of newly minted Minority Leader Kurt Zellers' skill at holding his caucus together to support Pawlenty's veto. His predecessor in that role, gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert, managed to do so successfully on all but one veto override, the 2008 Transportation bill.
However, the GAMC extension could represent a potentially damaging campaign issue ("Representative X stuck with Tim Pawlenty and stuck it to poor people -- twice!") so even in a rump caucus like the House GOP, there could well be a handful of veto override votes available.
The GAMC bill passed overwhelmingly and quickly through both chambers (Joe Bodell's earlier story). A reliable source just told me that the veto was issued by the Governor's Washington Office. It's clear where TPaw's strings are being pulled.
Our puppet governor wins big-time on this. His ordered veto keeps his "Punish the Poor" hero medal untarnished. Meanwhile the legislative Republicans have their conscience cleansed by voting for the bill. If they vote against over riding the veto they all get new Iron Crosses. If they vote for over ride the Presidential heir apparent can claim that his crown is clear, it was the nasty legislature.
It seems the legislature has tried for some time to eliminate the governor's Washington throne, but he keeps finding a way to keep the power securely behind the beltway billions.
Wow -- a nifty piece of political jujitsu from the DFL leadership in the State Senate.
How's that? The Senate quickly passed the House version of an 18-month General Assistance Medical Care extension verbatim -- slamming through a big piece of legislation faster than most observers (and some legislators) expected it to move.
Part of the plan may be to jam Governor Pawlenty. Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Washington D.C. tonight through Tuesday morning for the CPAC conference and the National Governors Association's Winter Meetings.
Under the Minnesota Constitution (Article 4, section 23) the governor has three full days to sign or veto the bill (that includes Saturday). Michelle Timmons with the Revisor's office said it's highly likely that her office will engross and present the bill to the governor's office today. That means Pawlenty will have Friday, Saturday and Monday to act on the bill. He has to file it with the Secretary of State's office and notify the body that the bill originated in (Senate) by midnight Monday.
If Pawlenty doesn't take action on the by that time, the bill will become law. The governor told reporters that he's returning to Minnesota on Tuesday morning. I'm checking to see how they'll handle the issue if it's sent to him. Update: The governor's office could potentially send the bill to Pawlenty for his action.
Great move by Senate leadership: even if Pawlenty's staff find a way to get him the bill while he's hobnobbing with the conservative elite at CPAC, what are his choices?
1. The optics of him vetoing a bill from a thousand miles away -- especially one that's focused on helping the most needy Minnesotans, whose medical assistance Pawlenty had already unallotted last year -- should be a tough pill to swallow for Team Pawlenty.
2. Alternately, he could sign the bill while at CPAC, right under the noses of the conservative elite, and look weak in allowing his unallotment target to be extended for 18 months by the DFL-controlled legislature.
3. Do nothing, and the bill becomes law on its own. Of course, that's about as good as option 2, since he once more looks weak compared to the legislative leadership who made the bill happen.
Today I joined other TakeAction Minnesota members at the State Capital to lobby legislators for the restoration of GAMC. This is the state funded program, General Assistance Medical Care, that serves the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick. Recipients are the most vulnerable of Minnesota citizens.
The Save GAMC Coalition includes many organizations working together to solve this urgent problem. Funding for GAMC was unallotted by our uncaring governor. It's scheduled to end March 31, so time is of the utmost importance. Pawlenty came up with a not-very-clever plan to put these recipients on MinnesotaCare. This is not a good idea. Most people who are on GAMC have an average income of $203.00/month. Out of that they would have to pay a nominal premium for MnCare plus $5.00 per prescription. If a person had 3 prescriptions, that would be a total of $15.00 plus the insurance premium for a total of around $20.00/month. That doesn't seem like much at all to you and me, but for someone who only makes around $200.00/month, it's an enormous amount. If they miss paying a premium, they get kicked off the program.
Seventy thousand people use GAMC over the course of a year. There are 30,000 - 35,000 on it at any given time.
There is a bill that provides for most of the GAMC recipients to stay on it. The bill would provide funding to save GAMC. Counties and health plans would have to contribute more money to the program, but it would still save money in the long term.
So far this bill has passed the following Senate committees: Health Policy, Health Finance and Full Finance. It will go to the Floor on Thursday of this week.
In the House, it has passed Health Policy and Health Finance. Sometime this week it will go to another Finance committee, Commerce & Labor, Taxes and Ways & Means. Tuesday or Wednesday of next week it will go to Floor.
Almost no one is opposing this bill. The exception is a couple of hospitals that cater to the wealthy with such procedures as varicose vein surgery and that don't take GAMC recipients.
Thursday's start to the 2010 legislative session brought the first in what are expected to be several protests surrounding Governor Pawlenty's unallotment of the General Assistance Medical Assistance Program (GAMC). As with other areas of uallottment (such as Personal Care Assistant cuts and the defunding of the special dietary needs-or MSA-SD--grant), victims of this part of Pawlenty's cuts are among the poorest, most vulnerable residents of Minnesota. In the case of GAMC defunding, those suffering are overwhelmingly the mentally ill adults, typically trying to survive on a meager $200 per month General Assistance income.
The Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is working hard to educate the public about the gravity of this cut for the seriously mentally ill, and to organize large-scale protest against the inhumane decision to defund GAMC. Minnesotan's relying on the GAMC for health care-many of whom are homeless-- face losing critical services for their managing their chronic mental illnesses, including loss of psycotherapy and inability to continue their essential medications. In a news release issued Thursday, NAMI organizers wrote:
The veto and unallotment of funding for the General Assistance Medical Care program, which provides basic mental health care to thousands of Minnesotans with mental illnesses, will profoundly impact the lives of these individuals, our health care infrastructure and our criminal justice system. The legislature has tried valiantly to find ways to fund a pared down program through cuts to provider payments and surcharges. Yesterday, due to the objection of counties being asked to pay for 10% of the costs of GAMC, the Senate proposed to take $12 million from adult mental health grants - which would greatly impact the infrastructure of our already fragile mental health system - and $17 million from funding for child protection, children's mental health and vulnerable adult services.
Mental health advocates are faced with a "Sophie's Choice" - health care or community supports - both needed to live.
Yesterday, the press reported that Governor Pawlenty suggested that a new lottery game could raise $12 million for a new stadium for Vikings. Coincidently, that's the same amount that would have to be cut from adult mental health services. "We would be happy to be thrown this 'hail Mary pass,'" said Sue Abderholden, Executive Director of NAMI Minnesota. "In these tough economic times, all of us must make sacrifices - not just people who live on $200 a month or people who live with the most serious mental illnesses. If we can find the money for a stadium, we can find the money for basic health care and social services that support the poorest and most vulnerable among us."
A NAMI-organized rally at the State Capitol is scheduled for February 16, 2010. For details, including information on free bussing and a detailed agenda of speakers, link to the NAMI MN website above.
The Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition - http://www.muhcc.org/ - joins with Minnesota justice and faith organizations in calling for the reinstatement of General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), a state funded health care program which provides health care for 35,000 of our state's poorest residents, 70% of whom have a mental illness and/or chemical dependency.
We find it mean-spirited and short-sighted to cut GAMC with a line item veto. Further, Governor Pawlenty's proposal to shift current GAMC recipients to MinnesotaCare is an inadequate short-term solution that will threaten the solvency of MinnesotaCare, insufficiently protect the GAMC recipients, and over burden our safety net hospitals.
Until we have a health plan such as the Minnesota Health Plan (SF 118/HF 135) which guarantees comprehensive health care for all Minnesotans, we must preserve the programs that provide care for the most vulnerable among us.
(Thanks for covering the event, MsTigerHawk! - promoted by The Big E)
Let's talk about what happened at the Health Equity Event on December 15.
The event was opened by Gene Nichols. Gene told the audience of how he used to be so proud to be a Minnesotan. Now he's very disappointed with Governor Pawlenty. He's disappointed with health inequities. And he's disappointed and angry about the demise of GAMC. All reNEW Minnesota members are disappointed and angry about these things.
I'm going to jump ahead of the obvious criticism of that headline and acknowledge it's premature. We don't yet know how the health care debate will come out. I'm going to expound on the lessons learned anyway for two reasons, only the weaker of which is that at this point, we've seen enough to be pretty sure what some of the lessons will be. With the acknowledgment that this assertion is arguable, I'm confident that most of what I say will hold up when a bill is passed and when some time has passed.
However, the second reason is not arguable at all: the legislative fights to which these lessons must be applied are starting already. The state legislature goes into its non-budgetary session in January, where it will be trying to reverse some of Pawlenty's unallotments, especially GAMC. There will also be the bonding bill which is always contentious, at least with Gov. Wounded Deer still in office. Congress is already working on financial reform and global warming legislation, the corporate lobbyists have already chosen their targets, and conservatives are certain to use the same tactics they've been using to obstruct health care, the stimulus, and pretty much everything. That's why the heading says "apply" instead of "learn". What particularly worries me is I see the same mistakes being made at this early stage.
Maria Ruud, HD42A, shared her first hand observations of the pain caused by the pending cancellation of GMAC. She described is as, "A serious moral shift in state policy." She also reported that she has heard little from her constituents supporting GMAC but she has heard from opponents who argue for cutting many state programs.
Maria, a nurse practitioner who daily sees the faces of the GAMC participants, met with some of her constituents Saturday morning, November 21, to share concerns about the governor's destruction of GAMC (General Assistance Medical Care) health care coverage for low income Minnesotans who don't qualify for other state or federal programs. During 2008 about 70,000 people were enrolled in the program at some point. These are often the most desperate, immediate need citizens. This meeting was coordinated by TakeAction Minnesota as part of ongoing health care reform actions across the state.
The governor's latest band aid (a temporary bandage is all the governor can manage) is to move GMAC recipients into Minnesota Care, which is not a plausible alternative. They can't afford the premiums, the 4-month wait could be catastrophic and it provides limited hospital coverage. This move just hastens the death of another needed safety net.
Rep. Gregg Davids (R-Preston) is an example of the Republican who will likely be in trouble because of his GAMC flip flop. Last Friday, he joined 37 other Republicans and voted for the GAMC bill that overwhelmingly passed the House. Yesterday, he cravenly flip-flopped and voted to uphold Gov. Tim Pawlenty's GAMC veto.
