Five years ago today, I went to check out the San Francisco protests with one of my interns. Today, I went downtown to Market and Montgomery at noon and in retrospect am quite glad I didn’t bring anyone with me. I did however, bump into my buddy Luke Thomas from Fog City Journal. You’ll see him in some of the pics below (with his bright pink SFPD press pass clearly visible against his black jacket). He’s also in the video, trying to protect his camera while he is treated like a human pinball. This is the craziest video I’ve ever shot.

Before the video, here are some pics to set the stage.

The casket approaches the intersection for a die in.

The die in begins.

Even the SFPD has a vlogger.

Cameras converge on the scene.

More cameras start appearing and lots of people taking cell phone pics.

Speaking of cameras, there’s Luke Thomas:

This was extremely peaceful at this point.

I mean, laid back even.

And then, this happened…

I shared breakfast with Nick Leibham last week and discussed where he stands on a number of issues.  I mostly just lobbed topics and let him talk; this is the relevant transcript edited to be a remotely reasonable length and minus fun stuff like us chatting with the waitress and our occasional divergence into non-relevant shop talk.  Some parts I liked, some parts less so. But here it is.  Note this is a contested primary.

Iraq

Each and every day we remain in Iraq we’re compromising our national security further. It’s a blood feud that goes back 1400 years between the Sunnis and Shiites. American military forces are not going to be able to sort this out for them and at the end of the day they’ve got to want peace; they’ve got to want their own stable form of government; they’ve got to want democracy more than the American Marine Corps wants it for them

The longer that we’re there, the more strain it puts on our own men and women in uniform. They’re going out on third, fourth, fifth tours of duty, and you read about it all the time of course because we’re just miles away from Camp Pendleton

We need to come out and we need to set a date certain for when we are going to redeploy out of Iraq.

Military and Security

There’s one…threshold question that needs to be answered whenever even the thought of American military use is involved, and that is ‘Is it in the interests of the United States of America; Is it in the national security interest?’  Obviously the United States military has a role to play in ferreting out al Qaeda, in ferreting out terrorist organizations, in…making sure that our own interests abroad are taken care of.

But the United States military has no business in trying to create whole cloth [or] molding different societies.  It’s kind of antithetical- democracy can’t be imposed at gunpoint.  

They’ve got to figure it out for themselves. It can’t be the United States government doing it for them.

Immigration

The most fundamental job of a nation is to protect its sovereignty, and when you can’t secure your borders and ports you can’t protect your sovereignty…As a nation we need to recognize that we are going to have to put a significant amount of money, time and effort into suring up our southern border.

As a former prosecutor…if you really want to dry up illegal immigration, you hold employers accountable, and I’ll be the only one up on stage that has ever prosecuted an employer for hiring illegal immigrants. After that’s done, you get to other questions.

Health Care and SCHIP

We should be providing health care to kids and Brian Bilbray has staked out a position of essentially rabid ideology at the expense of some 10 million American kids…I think that it’s a disgrace that he decided to stand on ideology and stand with the President as opposed to providing these kids with proper medical care.  I think it’s just very mean-spirited and worse, it’s bad public policy.

My endpoint [on health care] is that every family should be able to see a family doctor of their choosing. The way in which we get there I think is going to be a battle royale come January 2009. And what is being pitched today out on the campaign trail- there isn’t going to be even a shade of resemblance once this thing actually gets done.

There is a little bit of overlap between Democrats and Republicans on a few issues. One, I think all parties agree that you’re going to have to see rapid and massive adoption of information technology and digital patient files.  That will cut down on everything from medical errors to back office expense.  And the estimates on what that would shave off- I’ve seen 10-12% of the total healthcare dollars. Secondly, another overlapping area is preventative care.  There are certain areas of medicine where this makes a lot of sense. This makes a lot of sense in the area of inoculations…it makes a lot of sense as it concerns preventative screening for certain diseases.  From a cost benefit analysis and a quality of years lived analysis.

You’ve got to have a very serious debate on how else you get there. we’re the only westernized country in the world that tells the pres drug companies that they can charge anything they want and it doesn’t matter…I think that’s something that needs to be addressed.

What that final product is going to look like, I’m not exactly sure.  But I know that…we need to look at that end goal…and say let’s try to get there.

FISA

we spoke briefly about the general nature of modern privacy before FISA

What’s much MUCH more disconcerting to me is the entire FISA bill…As somebody who has been a prosecutor and dealt with the 4th Amendment, I can tell you that this happened to have been the one amendment in the Bill of Rights that all the Founding Fathers could agree upon; that in order for the government intrusion there had to be probable cause signed off on by an independent magistrate that says you may have committed a crime. I find the entire FISA process to be constitutionally dubious. That doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be made constitutionally valid but I think that anytime you have wiretaps involved…that deals with an American citizen, you’ve gotta have a court sign off on it.  The only question in my mind is whether or not that has to be done prior to there warrant being executed or whether or not there is some grace period.  There is no doubt in my mind that the executive branch itself cannot act as both overseer and executioner (of warrants or wiretaps). That, I think, is constitutionally impermissible; I think it’s a violation of the judiciary’s proper role of interpreting laws.

As a former prosecutor [and] law clerk in the US Attorney’s office in the Major Frauds and Economic Crimes section…I’ve never heard of anybody being given immunity when you don’t know what they’ve done. It’s not how the immunity process works.  You don’t say to somebody ‘Whatever you’ve done, don’t worry about it.’…It’s unthinkable to me as a lawyer and as somebody who will have…sworn to uphold the Constitution that I could ever support that.

California Emissions and the Environment

I’m not a scientist, but from what I have read…the EPA seems to have made their decision to deny California its waiver based on faith based science. That’s not good enough. If it’s warranted by the facts and the evidence, it should be granted.  During the next administration, if it’s a Democrat, I think we’ll get a fair hearing. And if we don’t, that’s ripe for congressional action to clarify the rule. Because it’s the congress that makes the laws, the executive branch simply carries out those laws.

The debate on the science (of global warming) is over. There is no doubt in any serious scientist’s mind that global warming is happening. There is virtually no doubt that mankind is directly causing global warming. The only question at this point is ‘What is the causal relationship and what are the consequences going forward?’

The role of government as it concerns energy and the environment I think is going to be crucial in the next 5, 10, 20 years. One of the things I very much hope to work on as a member of Congress…is pursuing and advocating for alternative energy in the areas of wind, solar, some biomass, hydrogen. And the role of the government here is to set high standards, it’s to help foster innovation- especially in the very early stages of research and development- and then I think it’s to turn it over to the market who does a great job of packaging this up…and if people can make a…fortune doing it, great. It makes good public policy, it’s good politics, I think it’s a good way to return some manufacturing to…the Americas.

It’s also an issue of national security. We send hundreds of billions of dollars each year to…Middle Eastern regimes many of them hostile to our interests. We know…that some of that money ends up with Hezbollah; that it ends up with Hamas; some of it filters down and ends up with al Qaeda. We’re funding both sides of the war in this particular time.

Then there is the great moral calling of our time which is addressing the global warming problem itself…There is no doubt that our kids will bear the full brunt of this, and we need to figure out now a way to mitigate it because to do anything other than that is nothing short of…long-term child abuse.

Economy

Two prime reasons (for the current economic situation).  One, it has been fiscal insanity on the part of the Bush administration…We see that in everything from the weakness of the dollar which hits you…at the pump and in the grocery aisle, to being able to sure up many of those social programs which we know have a pending disaster: Medicare, Social Security, our infrastructure, etc.  Secondly, the war. You cannot talk about anything else in this campaign until you address the war.

We are spending- the estimates are- $10-12 billion a month.  We have direct outlays to Iraq…upwards and including $500 billion.  For one single solitary day of war making in Iraq, we could have sent 160,000 low-income students to college for a year.  For 3 1/2 months of war in Iraq we could have provided healthcare coverage to those 10 million…American kids for 5 years under SCHIP.  Until we end that, again, we are committing long term fiscal child abuse.  Because we’re not paying for it…we’re borrowing money from…foreign creditors to finance this thing. It’s completely and totally irresponsible and it must end.

There’s some middle class tax cuts that…we should retain. We should retain the 15% capital gains rate as opposed to seeing it revert back to 20%. More than 50 million Americans at this point have 401Ks; hat benefits them greatly.  We need to once and for all end the AMT.  These last couple years it has snagged a whole cross section of our population that it was never meant to hit, and the doubling of the child tax credit is a positive thing. It’s a positive thing for San Diego families and San Diego parents.  Of course, the recklessness as it concerns the Bush giveaways in terms of the top 1%- no. That’s fiscal insanity and I will be a voice to end it.

Most interesting for me was an interlude about halfway through the interview where we lapsed into discussing this year’s election in an historical context:

We win this fight because their platform is old and it’s worn out…The Reagan Revolution…which started really in 1964 with Goldwater’s defeat…it culminated in 1980 and 1994 and the end of the Bush years are a bookend. It’s tired, it’s played out, and it no longer offers up a positive agenda for America. This isn’t just a change election in the sense of Democrats or Republicans.  This is a paradigm shifting election and Democrats can capture that…they’ve got a lot of work to do but we can capture it and I think the pendulum is swinging our way.

So-called Pres. George W. Bush initiated a war of aggression and limitless occupation against the sovereign nation of Iraq in order to exact revenge on Sadaam Hussein over Hussein’s assassination attempt on former Pres. George H.W. Bush and to secure Iraqi oil for Bush’s Texas oil cronies.  Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mary Bono Baxely Mack, absentee Congresswoman, have supported every Bush war policy without reservation.  In fact, McCain is prepared for the U.S. to continue the occupation of Iraq ‘for 100 years.’

The U.S. Army recently released a study on the impact of the Bush war of aggression on the mental health of U.S. troops (The Associated Press, by Pauline Jelinek, dated March 7, 2008).  The findings of the report are devastating to the Bush occupation efforts and reveal the harmful impact on a significant percentage of U.S. troops.

More below the flip…

More than 27% of U.S. troops on their third or fourth combat tour suffered anxiety, depression, post-combat stress and other problems.  More than 12% of U.S. troops on their first tour suffered similar mental health problems

Suicide rates “remained elevated” in both Iraq and in Afghanistan.  Four suicides occurred last year in Afghanistan and 34 either confirmed or suspected suicides in Iraq.  If all suicides are confirmed, this would be the highest suicide rate since the Bush war of aggression began

The percentage of soldiers reporting depression in Afghanistan was higher than that in Iraq, and mental health problems in general were higher than they had previously been in Afghanistan.  The adjusted rate in 2007 for depression in Afghanistan was 11.4% compared with 7.6% in Iraq

83% of U.S. troops in Afghanistan reported exposure to traumatic combat events, a key risk factor for poor mental health among the troops

Spreading U.S. troops out in Afghanistan tended to isolate troops and made it more difficult for them to obtain mental health services in Afghanistan

About 29% of U.S. troops in combat outposts in Iraq reported that it was difficult to obtain mental health services in Iraq.  About 13% of U.S. troops not at outposts reported similar difficulty

U.S. troops receiving “Battlemind” training reported fewer mental health problems than those who did not.  The training teaches U.S. troops and families what to expect before troops depart for the Bush occupation of Iraq and what common problems to look out for when troops readjust to Stateside life following deployment

29% of U.S. troops feared seeking mental health services would harm their careers, down from 34% in 2006.  Fears of seeking mental health services would prevent many from getting help for anxiety, depression, and post-combat stress and would exacerbate the symptoms

89% of U.S. troops reported that their unit’s morale was neither high nor very high, down from 93% in 2006.  79.4% reported neither high nor very high individual morale, down from 81.7% in 2006.

In Iraq, 72% of soldiers reported knowing someone seriously injured or killed

U.S. troops reported an average of only 5.6 hours of sleep nightly in Iraq, significantly less than that needed to maintain optimal level of performance.  This puts U.S. troops at greater risk for harm.  Officers appear to significantly underestimate the impact of sleep deprivation.

Almost 33% of U.S. troops in Afghanistan were highly concerned that they were not getting sufficient sleep, and about 25% reported falling asleep during convoys last year thereby increasing their risk for harm.  16% of U.S. troops reported taking psychiatric medications during 2007 (there was no figure for the percentage of troops who were prescribed psychiatric medications and who were not taking them), and about half of those were sleep medications

(Xposted from www.mydesert.com, the online edition of Palm Springs’ The Desert Sun)

Well, well, well.  Proud progressive Democrats and their Independent and Republican supporters in Riverside County, and especially in the Coachella Valley, repudiated The Desert Sun endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama in the California primary by giving Sen. Hillary Clinton approximately 67% of the vote.  State-wide, Clinton appears to have won 54% of the vote while Obama has won about 39%.  Shows how relevant The Desert Sun is to the Riverside County Democratic Party, to the California Democratic Party, and to our supporters amongst the Independents and Decline to States now.

The Democrats of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Coachella, La Quinta, and other Desert Cities gathered tonight in a Unity Rally at Dale’s Lost Highway to celebrate our common democratic and Democratic principles.  Fiscal responsibility, universal healthcare, education, withdrawal from the Iraq morass and occupation, economic recovery, human rights, equal rights, and more.

The Democratic Unity Rally was sponsored by Richard Oberhaus, campaign manager of the Greg Pettis for 80th Assembly District, Greg Rodriguez, activist for the Clinton for President campaign, and Rob Simmons, Palm Springs Airport Commission and activist for the Barack Obama for President campaign.  A conservative estimate of the attendance at the soiree would run about 200 given the steady to-and-fro of the enthusiastic crowd.

More below the flip…

The media took special note of the event with coverage by CBS Channel 2, Channel 3, and live coverage of NBC Channel 6 on the 11:00 News.  Of interest, The Desert Sun reporters were apparently absent.  Must have been a paparazzi sighting of Brittany or Brad and Angelina in the Desert that necessitated its attention.

Electeds in attendance included Ginny Foat, City Councilwoman in Palm Springs, Rick Hutcheson, City Councilman in Palm Springs, Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro-Temp of Cathedral City and Candidate for the 80th Assembly District to replace the termed out Bonnie Garcia (R-CA), and Paul Marchand, City Councilman of Cathedral City.  Pettis discussed the progress of his campaign and reveled in the number of community activists in attendance.  Foat discussed her admiration and support for Clinton and her pleasure at the tide of events for Clinton during the evening.  Marchand focused on the excitement in Cathedral City, especially amongst the Latino community, for the Democratic candidates, especially Clinton.  In fact, Rodriguez reported that Latinos appeared to be supporting Clinton over Obama by a 6:1 margin across the country!

In additon to Pettis, other Democratic candidates in attendance included Paul Clay, Candidate for the CA 45th Congressional District, and Dave Hunsicker, Candidate for the 45th Congressional District.  Amalia Deaztlan, manager of the Manuel Perez for the CA 80th Assembly District campaign, also attended.

Local Democratic activists who attended the Democratic Unity Rally included George Zander, Chair of the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club (DSD), Bob Silverman, Treasurer of DSD, James Reynolds, Recording Secretary of DSD, and Donald W. Grimm, Ph.D., Jono Hildner, Bob Mahlowitz, and Bill Post, members of the Steering Committee of DSD.  Silverman discussed his previous support for Rep. Dennis Kucinich for President and his present support for Clinton due to her consistent support of the LGBT community.

Zander discussed his efforts as poll watcher and some of the disarray at the Mizell Senior Center due to the overwhelming number of Democratic and Independent voters who registered their votes at the precinct(s).  Seems that the several counties were ill-prepared for the numbers of voters not only in Santa Clara County but also in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties as well.

Other local party activists attending the Unity Rally included Sandy Eldridge, Co-Chair of the Palm Springs Democratic Club (PSD), Lisa Arbaelaz, co-founder of the PSD, her friend, Armando, Ruth Debra, DSD member, her friends, Tracy Turner, Vets for Peace, Deaztlan, Campaign manager for the Manuel Perez for 80th Assembly District, and many, many more.  Eldridge articulated her excitement about and plans for PSD and the November general election.  Her theme was re the local Democratic clubs working together in order to defeat John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney and those who support the ongoing, unending trampling of the U.S. Constitution, of the U.S. economy, of the Rights of the middle class and GLBT community, and of International Law.  Kudos to Eldridge and the PSD!

Bloggers in attendance included BluePalmSpringsBoyz, Fofitti, GRodriguez, and SeekTruth from www.mydesert.com, BlueBeaumontBoyz from www.Calitics.com, and others.  Observer discussed the advantages that Clinton has over Obama regarding electability and her consistent support of the Latino and LGBT communities.  SeekTruth and Fofitti discussed their concerns about the protection of our Right to Vote and the potential for voter fraud in the Republican-controlled election machinery in Riverside County. (BluePalmSpringsBoyz, Fofitti, SeekTruth and BlueBeaumontBoyz have endorsed Pettis for the 80th Assembly District.)

Union representatives in attendance included Chuck McDaniel, IBEW Local 440 and co-chair of the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club, Tony Aidukas, Executive Committee of the SEIU United Healthcare Workers, and Juan Carlos Sanchez, Regional Political Organizer, Political Department of SEIU United Healthcare Workers.  McDaniel and Aidukas discussed the difficulty that they had in deciding for whom to vote following former-Senator John Edwards’ withdrawal from the race for the Democratic nomination.  Aidukas reported that two days following Edwards’ withdrawal, the SEIU UHW Executive Committee endorsed Obama for President.

At least one Republican attended tonight’s Democratic Unity Rally, Roger Williams.  (No, not that Roger Williams.)  Williams, heretofore a Mitt Romney supporter, reported that he recently removed Romney’s bumper sticker from his car and tonight obtained a Clinton bumper sticker as a replacement.

Obama activists attending the Unity Rally included Ed Grubman and his wife, Simmons, Debra, and many more.  Grubman and Simmons discussed Obama’s appeal to African-American and young voters and enjoyed each report of Obama’s successful run in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and Utah.

Clinton activists who celebrated her wins in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennesee, included Grimm, Oberhaus, Rodriguez, Bond Shands, and many, many more.  Rodriguez discussed Clinton’s appeal to women, Latinos, and the LGBT community.  As in previous caucus and primary states, women and Latinos went largely and overwhelmingly, respectively, to Clinton last night.  Rodriguez was particularly gratified by the surprising ease that Clinton had in such states as California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennesee, states that as early as (Tuesday) morning were rated as toss-ups.

The delegate totals now appear to favor Clinton over Obama in both Pledged Delegates from the Democratic primaries and caucuses and the Super Delegates with Clinton now having 825 Delegates (632 Pledged Delegates and 193 Super Delegates) and Obama with 732 Delegates (626 Pledged, 106 Super Delegates).  The Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO will have a total of 4,049 convention delegates, and 2,025 needed for the Democratic nomination.

When the results of the California primary were posted on the big screen, a massive cheer arose from the Clinton camp.  Of note, those from the Obama and Clinton camp intermingled freely and provided support to each other’s members.  Many talked about a possible Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket that might be unbeatable in November.  Simmons discussed the possiblity of an Barack Obama-Mark Warner (D-VA), Barack Obama-Tim Kaine (D-VA), Barack Obama-Jim Webb (D-VA), or Barack Obama-Joe Biden (D-DE) ticket.  Rodriquez examined the possibility of a Hillary Clinton-Bill Richardson (D-NM) or Hillary Clinton-Ted Strickland (D-OH) ticket.

In any case, Democrats rallied and celebrated tonight the victories of Clinton and Obama.  Even more, Democrats and their supporters reveled in the thought that the disastrous Bush Administration is drawing to a well-deserved close, especially with Bush’s Dead-on-Arrival 2008 Budget.  How many days can you hold your breath?

Three Doors © 2008 Emily Duffy

Cross-posted from my blog.

On The Issues: Unbiased Comparison of Clinton, Obama, Edwards

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s confused about who I should vote for in the upcoming primary. I’ve been leaning towards voting for Edwards all along but I also like a lot about Obama and I have to admit I think Hillary is the scrappiest fighter of the three.

I’m certain I won’t find clear comparisons of the three candidates from the MSM (mainstream media) and in fact they’re doing an excellent job of making my research even more difficult. They’re treating this election like a celebrity battle between Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton instead of the crucial decision for our national leader.

So, I’ve found some info in various places and I’m putting it together for myself, and for you right here. I’ve focused on issues that are 1) Of great importance to me personally, and 2) Where the candidates differ substantially on their position or previous votes. Please feel free to share this around to your contact list. As I said, I’m certain I’m not the only one who’s split on this decision.



Iraq & “War on Terror”

Each candidate’s position on addressing the threat of terrorism in general and their attitude toward specific campaigns, principally the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Additional positions may be found in the National Security section Source.

Barack Obama

Words: Obama advocates a slow, scheduled withdrawal from Iraq (which he argues was a strategic blunder) and feels we should have an open dialogue with Syria and Iran. He believes that the focus of the “war on terror” should be on al-Qaeda in Pakistan and the Taliban. “We live in a more dangerous world, partly as a consequence of Bush’s actions, primarily because of this war in Iraq that should have never been authorized or waged. … The US has to reserve all military options in facing an imminent threat – but we have to do it wisely.”

Actions: A long time critic of the invasion of Iraq, Obama voted AGAINST redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007 (2006) but FOR redeploying troops out of Iraq by March 2008 (2007). The Center for Security Policy has given Obama a rating of 21%.

Hillary Clinton

Words: Clinton believes we should redeploy troops out of Iraq accompanied by regional diplomacy; she takes responsibility for her vote to authorize the use of force against Iran, but does not feel it was a mistake, claiming “we are safer than we were, but we’re not yet safe enough”. She further proposed setting a cap on troop levels until they are redeployed. She also feels that we should rule out using nukes on Iran and believes in supporting Israel unequivocally. “There is no question mark next to me – there’s an exclamation point. I am an emphatic, unwavering supporter of Israel’s safety and security.”

Actions: Clinton proposed a measure setting October 11, 2007, as the expiration date of the authorization to use force against Iraq. She voted FOR authorizing the use of force against Iraq (2002), FOR funding military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq (2003), FOR on requiring on-budget funding rather than emergency funding for Iraq (2005), AGAINST redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007 (2006), and FOR redeploying troops out of Iraq by March 2008 (2007). The Center for Security Policy has given her a rating of 21%.

John Edwards

Words: Edwards feels that al-Qaeda should be the target in the “war on terror”, not Iraq, that North Korea’s nuclear program should be shut down, and that our security depends on working with our allies. He voted for the authorization to use force in Iraq, but has since recanted and apologized for that decision. He supports requiring President Bush to seek new authorization for military action. “What this global war on terror bumper sticker-political slogan … was intended to do was for Bush to use it to justify everything he does. The ongoing war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture, none of those things are OK.”

Actions: Edwards voted FOR authorizing air strikes in Kosovo (1999) and FOR using all necessary force (1999), FOR authorizing the use of force against Iraq (2002), and AGAINST funding military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq (2003).

Corporations/Regulation

Policies in relation to corporate regulation and deregulation, tax incentives, business development, and corruption are all included. Source.

Hillary Clinton

Words: Clinton feels that “to the corporate elite” middle class and working Americans are invisible. She believes there is a “culture of corruption and cronyism” in Washington and that we need to “stop outsourcing critical government functions to private companies, close the revolving door between government and the lobbying shop, and end no-bid contracts”.

Actions: Clinton voted FOR restricting rules on personal bankruptcy (2001) and FOR repealing the tax subsidy for companies that move jobs offshore (2005). The US Chamber of Commerce has given her a rating of 35%.

John Edwards

Words: Edwards argues that we should eliminate tax breaks for all companies outsourcing jobs. He feels we should support organized labor against mistreatment by corporations and that record corporate profits do not benefit the struggling middle class.

Actions: Edwards voted FOR restricting rules on personal bankruptcy (2001). The US Chamber of Commerce has given him a rating of 15%.

Barack Obama

Words: Obama believes that corporations should be responsible for work conditions and pensions and that there should be tax incentives for corporate responsibility. He feels we should close tax loopholes for companies that relocate abroad and end tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs.

Actions: Obama voted AGAINST reforming bankruptcy to include means testing and restrictions (2005) and FOR repealing the tax subsidy for companies that move jobs offshore (2005).

Health Care

A variety of health-related issues are included, ranging from universal health care and AIDS research to veteran’s benefits and assisted suicide. The focus is largely directed by what each candidate has chosen to address. Source.

John Edwards

Words: Edwards believes that universal health care can be implemented through a combination of cost containment and a variety of revenue sources. He advocates full funding for AIDS research. “We’re asking everybody to share in the responsibility of making health care work in this country: employers, those who are in the medical insurance business, employees, the American people – everyone will have to contribute in order to make this work.” He proposes requiring all Americans to obtain health insurance by law.

Actions: Edwards voted AGAINST limiting self-employment health deduction (1999), FOR including prescription drugs under Medicare (2000), AGAINST the Republican “prescription drug benefit” bill (2001), FOR allowing patients to sue HMOs (2001), FOR allowing the import of prescription drugs from Canada (2002), and AGAINST a limited Medicare prescription drug benefit (2003). The American Public Health Association has given Edwards a rating of 100%.

Barack Obama

Words: Obama believes that the federal government should provide health care for everyone. He also feels that we need to increase competition in the insurance and pharmaceutical markets and advocates better funding for AIDS research and prevention. “Too many hard-working Americans cannot afford their medical bills, and health-related issues are the number one cause for personal bankruptcy. Promoting affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care is a priority.”

Actions: Obama voted FOR negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs (2005), FOR increasing the Medicaid rebate for producing generics (2005), FOR expanding the enrollment period for Medicare (2006), and FOR requiring negotiated prescription prices for Medicare (2007). The American Public Health Association has given Obama a rating of 100%.

Hillary Clinton

Words: Clinton believes in incremental reforms that will lead to universal health care through insurance premium subsidy, but feels that single-payer health care is unrealistic. She also supports AIDS education and research and advocates expanding eligibility for the SCHIP program, expanding Medicare coverage, and requiring all employers to contribute to the cost of their workers’ health care. She proposes expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act and barring insurers from rejecting patients with pre-existing conditions. “We have to lower costs, improve quality and cover everybody.”

Actions: Clinton voted AGAINST the Republican “prescription drug benefit” bill (2001), FOR allowing patients to sue HMOs (2001), FOR allowing the import of prescription drugs from Canada (2002), AGAINST a limited Medicare prescription drug benefit (2003), FOR negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs (2005), FOR increasing the Medicaid rebate for producing generics (2005), FOR expanding the enrollment period for Medicare (2006), AGAINST limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000, and FOR requiring negotiated prescription prices for Medicare (2007). The American Public Health Association has given Clinton a rating of 100%.

What About the $$$?

See which groups/industries are donating to which candidates (Republicans included) from Open Secrets category:

Casinos/Gambling

Commercial Banks

Computers/Internet

Education

Health Professionals

Hedge Fund/Private Equity

Insurance

Laywers/Law Firms

Lobbyists

Oil and Gas

Pharmaceuticals/Health Products

Real Estate

Retired

Securities and Investment

Telephone Utilities

Tobacco

TV/Movies/Music

You can take THIS QUIZ to figure out which candidate most matches your positions on the issues. (Note: this quiz matches you up with ALL candidates including some who have dropped out of the race.) I was quite surprised by the order in which the top three Dems came up for my own quiz. It’s caused me to re-think my vote.