When Mike Stark asked Joe Courtney if he would vote for a health care bill without a public plan, Courtney blew him off and wouldn’t even give his name (VIDEO).
It’s the less-civil answer he gave to reader Hugh B., who called into WNPR to ask Joe Courtney if he would take The Pledge. Courtney refused — he took issue with Hugh’s contention that 76% of voters support a public plan (they do), but he says he is confident that there will be one in the final House bill.
Courtney says he needs to be able to "compromise"because he "wants to get healthcare done" this year, which is exactly what Jim Moran said — when arguing there weren’t enough votes in the House to pass a public plan. Since Courtney sits on the Education and Labor Committee that will be marking up the bill, that’s not encouraging.
Blue Cross is trying to raise rates in Connecticut by as much as 32% — the average person would face a 22% to 30% annual rate hike. Having a strong, competitive public plan is one of the best ways to keep that from happening.
If Courtney cares more about his constituents than he does his donors like Aetna and Wellpoint, why won’t he answer a simple question? Because the Blue Dogs don’t have any problem saying where they will draw the line in screwing over the public, and as long as Courtney stays silent, they control the conversation.
It sets Courtney up to take a bad vote — just like he did on ACES and the supplemental — just to "get something passed."
DC office: (202) 225-2076 (860) Norwitch office: 886-0139, Enfield office: (860) 741-6011. Chief of Staff: Jason Gross. Legislative Director: Neil McKiernan.
16 Comments
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL Action
Advanced search
I suspect the constituents concerned about healthcare are focused on Overriding rell’s Sustinet veto.
Toll free phone numbers to Capitol switchboard,
thanks to Katymine
1 (800) 828 – 0498
1 (800) 459 – 1887
1 (800) 614 – 2803
1 (866) 340 – 9281
1 (866) 338 – 1015
1 (877) 851 – 6437
I called Rep. Courtney, they said they would pass it along. Same thing with my own congressman, Zack Space.
No, 76% of voters do not support a public plan. But 76% of all socialists support a public plan!!!!!!
That’s because they think everything should be an entitlement. Socialists are not very good at math and they have no idea how to pay for such foolishness (other than soaking the rich once again).
Sooner or later they will run out of other people’s money.
JNo, 76% of
votersCEOS do not support a public plan. But 76% of allsocialistsCEOS support a public plan (for themselves)!!!!!!That’s because they think everything should be an entitlement.
SocialistsCEOS are not very good at math (only voodoo math) and they have no idea how to pay for such foolishness (other than soaking therichtaxpayer once again).Sooner or later they will run out of other people’s money.
*Newsflash* they already have.
His office help don’t even understand the question. They seem unaware that he is getting his paycheck from someone other than the people. They couldn’t answer the question, or refused. Perhaps by the end of the day they will have the company line down pat. Call them and see how confused they are.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know what this public pan actually contains? Because at the moment it seems more like a pig in the poke.
Democrat Joe Courtney, needless to say.
so try a primary Firepups, Netroots . . . and best of luck to you!
the one I was involved in in Chicago broke out into double digits, wooo!
but then, if you can’t overcome the massive incumbent advantage Democrat Joe Courtney has,
and
if someone, like a progressive millionaire, if there is such a thing, decides not to bother with a Democratic Primary and runs as an (I) against Democrat Joe Courtney
then what does Netrootsia do?
really, do you fall in line and vote for Democrat Joe Courtney out of habit, tribal loyalty, cautious pragmatism, and because the (R) is reeely reeely scary?
the (D) establishment knows you are a safe bloc, despite all the disgruntled faxes calls and letters, which they have their interns dispose of.
think this might have anything to do with why pols like Democrat Joe Courtney can scorn you so easily?
Dear Joe Courtney—have a nice primary campaign! And a nice day, of course. We progressives are always polite.
Yes sometimes I forget what we are talking about when we talk about “public plan” I means lets spell out all the possibilities of “public plan”. Because when I think of good, I think single payer.
Hugh your link! you are a citizen of massachusetts now? and where is selise?
LMAO. The scary socialists again. Should we bring in the fainting couch for ya?
“Joe Courtney Blows
Off Questions About Where He Stands on Public Plan“Fixed it for ya :)
Grow up ideologue.
as with Democrat Joe Courtney in the video above, the refusal to answer is itself a clear answer.
the (D) establishment, and almost all the (D) politicians, know that progressive activists phoning faxing and calling have as a default setting, part of their most basic operating system, the self-imposed obligation to vote Democratic, no matter what.
the intensity of all the outrage, phoning and faxing does not correlate into lack of support in even numbered years, therefore it can be treated as kabuki from a constituency that has nowhere else to go.
no wonder some, like Democrat Joe Courtney, do not bother to hide their contempt.
progressive activists=socialists
You don’t have to be Einstein to understand this equation.
First timer to this site, thanks to Marcy Wheeler’s head’s up and very memorable comment on MSNBC.
I then saw Jane Hamsher’s article on Joe Courtney.
Joe Courtney is one of the good guys, and Hamsher’s portrayal was disheartening, so I had to listen to the entire interview on WPNR to see how he could have taken such an about-face.
He didn’t… it was a distortion of what actually took place. Don’t you hate that.
First, about the Mike Stark video, get over it. In the 27 second video, Stark never asked Courtney whether he would vote for a health care bill; and when Stark identified himself, Courtney said, “Nice to meet you Mike”. The rest…probably the response all of us would have to Stark’s sophomoric approach.
But the WNPR interview is central, and Hamsher’s interpretation is a head shaker. “Blows off questions about where he stands on public plan”? (trying to preempt Marcy’s colloquialism.) Well, wrong context, and way, way off base.
A “…less-civil answer he gave to reader Hugh B.” Courtney was more than civil, and very politely corrected Hugh B. that the poll number of those that support a government sponsored plan is 72%. The reference to 76% is from a NBC/Wall Street poll of those supporting a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance. It was a simple distinction.
And Hamsher stated that Courtney refused to take the Pledge to support a public health plan. Wow, did you miss Courtney stating “I’m with you”; “I totally support a public option (several times); reiterated his “pledge to bring health care to all”, etc.
But then Hamsher inserts a paragraph about Blue Cross raising rates in Connecticut by 32%, etc., a comment that Joe Courtney made, inclusive of having a public plan, as if it was her own piece of reporting(?).
Joe Courtney remains one of the “good guys”; not one of the “good old boys” that Hamsher infers. He does want to “stay smart”. Understanding that by the end of August there are not enough votes for a “single payer” system, but hopefully “…can have universal health care, with a multi-payer system.”
Advise all to listen to the WNPR interview.
Here’s hoping that Hamsher isn’t representative of this entire site. I want a progressive place to visit, that has some depth and heavy lifting, re: Marcy Wheeler; but not reckless utterances from someone like Hamsher.