Rev. Rodger McDaniel to speak on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Press Release from the Platte County Democratic Party:

The public is invited to hear Rev. Rodger McDaniel speak on the topic of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The talk will take place on Wednesday, May 25th at the First State Bank Conference Center in Wheatland at 7 p.m. The guest speaker will also welcome questions from the audience.

Rev. Rodger McDaniel served in the Wyoming legislature from 1971-1981, was the Democratic Party nominee for US Senate in 1982, practiced law for 18 years, and was the Director of Habitat for Humanity operations in Nicaragua from 1991-1992. He holds a Masters of Divinity Degree from the Iliff School of Theology, and is an currently the pastor at Highlands Presbyterian Church after serving as director Wyoming Department of Family Services and head of the state's mental health and substance abuse programs for 8 years.

Refreshments will be served following the Q&A. The event is being sponsored by the Platte County Democratic Party.

Hope you can make it!

Fear mongering health care- Don't Buy In!

“They won’t pay for my surgery, but we’re forced to pay for abortions.”
“New rules could hike your health insurance premiums 95 percent.”
“Washington wants to bring Canadian-style health care to the U.S.”
"Reform will promote euthanasia."

These are just a few of the scare tactic comments that are being thrown around by Conservatives and right wing special interest groups. Can we PLEASE stop with the fictitious quotes and lies already? President Obama has continually reiterated the same proposal that he campaigned with. Coverage for everyone. Keep your plan if you like it. He restates his stand on the issue again in yesterday's radio address. Please read the text or watch the video. If this bill comes out of the Senate any other way, the blame should be upon folks like Mike Enzi, who wants to clip and cut this bill until it is no longer recognizable.

I'm hearing the rants around the water cooler at work. "Obama wants to kill off my Grandma!!" Give me a break. And let's not pretend that Fox news' coverage on this issue is "Fair and balanced." It's brainwashing, and I hope you are not gullible enough to fall for it. Want to sort the fact from fiction? See the latest posts on the FactCheck.org website.

We have people come to our county hospital every week that are without insurance. These are not "lazy" people who need to "get a job". These are hardworking people who are just trying to stay ahead. For some, their employers don't offer a health care plan. Others have been laid off and can't find work in Platte County. Like our President said, people shouldn't have to claim bankruptcy because they became sick. Our current system just doesn't work. New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman does a wonderful job of describing what is wrong with it.

Now is the time to use our big American brains and really think this through. Let's get it right, and get it done.

Gary Trauner on Health Care

Please take a look at Gary Trauner's stance on health care:

• Nearly 1 in every 5 of our fellow Wyomingites is without health care coverage
• The US system is the most expensive in the world
• Our system is inefficient - nearly double most other developed countries, per person
• The US is the only country that relies primarily on employer based plans for health care coverage

Gary's response to "What can we do?" is:

• Reduce the health care coverage burden on our businesses, especially small businesses
• Strive to cover every American with basic, quality coverage
• Take medical decisions away from insurance companies, medical product manufacturers and accountants and give those decisions back to patients and doctors
• Stop the fear talk about universal health care and start the hopeful work of solving this huge national problem

I think Gary Trauner hits the nail squarely on the head. This is the kind of leadership that Wyoming needs. We have a lot of issues to solve in the USA, the hottest topics being the War in Iraq, Energy and the Economy. But let's not forget about healthcare; it should be a priority too. Don't be so resigned to accept our current system as unfixable. Give this man a chance and vote for him on November 4th.