LYNCH OPPOSES HCR, IMO

WELL-CONTROLLED MEETING

Congressmen Lynch and Curry College President Quigley did a great job keeping decorum and minimizing shouting or speaking out of turn.  Quigley set the tone and the rules of participation. We all recited the pledge of allegiance. A lottery would determine who asked questions. Many questions were long and so were answers.

LYNCH’S INTRO

Rep. Stephen Lynch started the meeting by saying he had not made up his mind about whether he would support the bill for Health care reform.

WAFFLE

Lynch’s undecided status is allegedly because he doesn’t know what the final bill would look like.  Yet, he failed to volunteer whether or not he would vote for any of the five existing bills including HR 3200.  No one asked him either.

Lynch even brought HR 3200 with him to the meeting and said he had read over the summer.  So why no assertion about whether he supports it in its current state or not?  He is concealing his support, rather his lack of it, for HR 3200 for his own unstated purposes.

IMO LYNCH OPPOSES HCR, as it stands.

Lynch is not on board with health care reform as it stands. Here is why I think that is the case. He described HR 3200 as an omnibus bill.  He expressed concerns about the cost of it, and concerns about saving $500 billion in Medicare to finance HR 3200.  He bragged about getting the bank bailout right (He voted against it) and he doubted that the bill in its current form would have the effect of getting health care cost growth in line with regular inflation.

To Lynch passing this bill at a price tag of $1 trillion while not getting cost control would be a disaster.

He gave us all the reasons, most expressed as doubts and fears, for why he would not support health care reform as it stands, even while asserting he had not yet decided.  One person said (roughly paraphrased) You say you don’t know where you stand on support for health care reform but I do.

Lynch’s intro to many of the topics discussed last night was “I’m afraid…”.  Topics such as whether public option would have the intended moderating effect on health care cost inflation; whether cost-savings in Medicare could be realized; whether Medicare would suffer as a result; whether the public option would in effect deny his constituents access to their doctors in the course of events …were all topics he introduced as “I’m afarid…” or “I fear…”

FEAR-MONGERING

One person, a nurse who works at MGH, called Lynch on his fear mongering. I think Lynch missed the point – I know I did until I spoke with her after the event.

Her first point to Lynch was that he should have corrected the man who asked him about “death panels”. Lynch reserved his most emotive and adamant tone of voice (and perhaps his only rebuke of the evening) for her, the nurse.  He lectured her that he had in fact corrected the man and that he insists on having a forum that encourages free speech, which of course implied she was against free speech. She isn’t. She is against falsehoods and vicious lies being allowed to stand uncorrected and unrebuked.  

Her second point was lost in the kerfuffle, that Lynch is fear-mongering himself in the way he states his concerns about the bill; “I’m Afraid…”, “I fear…”  

This woman told me she wants a Congressman who, like Ted Kennedy will stand up and fight for what is right.

The way I take it, Lynch doesn’t support HCR as it stands. I predict Lynch, like the blue dogs and Republicans, will insist we start over if its to get his support.  

COST COST COST CONTROL

Lynch stated a concern that if the cost control mechanism effected by the public option did not work, the $1 trillion price tag was not worth it.

OPPORTUNITY

Public Option for cost control is one of the best arguments that can be make for why Blue Dogs and Republicans should support this bill. Anyone who watched Senator Cantwell eat Senator Hatch’s lunch on CNN last Sunday would surely agree. Video: http://tinyurl.com/CantwellHat…

Health care industry economists have an opportunity to provide compelling evidence about how Public Option delivers cost control. Articles of this type are much needed.  Does anyone have links?

UNION REPRESENTATION

at the meeting was excellent. As far as I can tell, none of them seemed pleased with the direction Lynch was leaning. One union leader even stood and said, “Don’t forget, we helped get you elected.” I sat next to a lady who worked for the Iron Workers Union, she was none too pleased with Lynch.

IS LYNCH A BLUE DOG?

You know the expression, If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck? One thing is for sure, there is room in the MA 9th district for a pro-labor progressive candidate that supports health care reform and other progressive initiatives whether or not Lynch throws his hat in the ring with Martha Coakley for Ted Kennedy’s seat.  

LET TAKE STEPHEN LYNCH AT HIS WORD

and do what we can to help him to decide to support health care reform.  

Lynch said he plans to hold one or two more forums, in the Boston and Brockton areas, and will host a teleconference call with senior citizens who can’t make them.

MORE

94.5 WATD-FM broadcast Lynch’s Healthcare Town Hall Meeting, with audio and photos.

http://bit.ly/MN1MJ

Live[blog] at congressman Lynch Town Hall Meeting, Blue Mass Group, by bowes3

http://bit.ly/3aNbsG

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch leery of health-care plans, Boston Herald, By O’Ryan Johnson

http://bit.ly/hI0iJ

Grossly Misinformed Must be Heard, Blue Mass Group, By fieldmouz

http://bit.ly/agVWI

800 turn out for Lynch health care meeting in Milton, By Nancy Reardon, video

http://bit.ly/E39xI

Stephen Lynch’s town meeting, My Fox Boston, video

http://bit.ly/1mOezA

(crossposted at FireDogLake)