Dede Scozzafava’s announcement that she would suspend her campaign is a huge victory for Doug Hoffman, third parties, and the conservative grassroots. Whether it will be a true victory for the Republican Party is less certain. Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, the Republican Party has moved quickly to jump on the Hoffman bandwagon. They [...]

Eshoo wigged out yesterday in the Hill and the Huffington Post and launches a bitter, personal attack in response to my article on her PhRMA-friendly legislation — and Nancy Pelosi’s daugher helps her promote it. Which surprising, I said I was “dissappointed” in Pelosi because I thought she was just bowing to the will of the caucus, but I guess she’s endorsing Eshoo’s efforts. (I know Christine, she’s very cognizant of how this stuff reads and doesn’t do things like this in a vacuum).

I’ll have much more later, but in the mean time, I invite you to read the Pelosi-endorsed Eshoo melt-down and watch the video of these wonderful young students and compare.

DEADLINE EXTENSION : POP art contest deadline has been extended to 12 midnight on Nov. 7th, 2009. This is the final week so get your work in now! www.publicoptionplease.com SteveAlfaro

The local Watertown Daily Times is reporting that Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate for the special election to fill the NY-23rd congressional district, has just suspended her campaign. The announcement comes only days before the election. Scozzafava was facing Democratic party candidate Bill Owens and Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman. Recently, Hoffman has been gaining [...]

The North Carolina rally in front of Hagan’s office came off without a hitch due to the superb organizing efforts of Quang Pham, who writes:

The AP is reporting that Olympia Snowe (R-ME) does not plan to offer a public option trigger amendment, because it does not have the votes to pass. With Snowe planning to vote against Reid’s bill, it would be ideal if we can remove some of the other terrible compromises that were added to win her support. [...]

The public option would suffer because it will be the only plan playing by the rules. This dangerous lack of sufficient risk adjustment mechanisms is the Achilles heel of reform. Progressives met with Obama last night and told him no triggers or opt-outs. Is Stupak bluffing about his threat to kill reform over the issue of [...]

Several months ago, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) created a huge media hoopla when Conrad got Elmendorf to claim that the House health care bill would not “bend the cost curve.” Fast forward a few months, and Elmendorf has now taken a far more philosophical look at what “bend the cost” [...]

Blanche Lincoln isn’t even sure she’ll let health care be debated on the floor of the Senate, let alone allowing to go to a vote. Now that Blanche Lincoln is holding health care hostage from even being debated, it’s clear she needs to hear our message as soon as possible. Contribute now to find supporters of a primary challenge to Blanche Lincoln with organizers in Arkansas.

For anyone interested in why the lack of sufficient risk adjustment will doom everyone to bad health insurance, I recommend this primer about risk adjustment from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The Dutch health care system is probably the closest useful model to what Congress is trying to achieve with the new [...]