The handful of women who attended yesterday's health care summit may have made for a small contingency of the attendees, but they didn't hold back when it came to voicing women's issues during the meeting.
Joining Cong. Louise Slaughter in highlighting crucial issues -- particularly those of women and families -- were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and EMILY's List alums Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Patty Murray (WA).
As always, we were incredibly impressed with how articulate and insightful they were -- especially when so few of them were there to represent more than half the American population. And if they're this good when their numbers are so low in Congress (only 17%!) just imagine how much more they could achieve with a great number of women among their ranks...
Here's what they had to say:
Sen. Patty Murray, Washington, on making health care reform personal
"Every time we talk about this, every time I think about this, I remember a little boy who I met last spring, who was 11 years old, who's name was Marcellus. And he told me that his mom, single mom, taking care of him and his two younger sisters, was going to work every day, had a job managing a fast-food restaurant, was doing OK, but she got sick. And when she got sick, she had to take time off from work. And because she was missing so much work, she lost her job. When she lost her job, she lost her health care. And because she lost her health care, she couldn't get in to see a doctor and sadly, Marcellus' mom died."
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, on current insurance practices
"I think the most dangerous part of the system right now is having people -- having insurance companies pick and choose who gets coverage and who doesn't, based on your health condition. It's a lot cheaper to insure people who promise never to get sick."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, on what health care reform means to America
"This is not just about health care for America; it's about a healthier America. This legislation is about innovation; it's about prevention; it's about wellness. But most people haven't heard about that. And those people sitting at that kitchen table, they don't want to hear about process; they want to hear about results. They want to know what this means to them. And what it means is a health initiative that is about affordability for the middle class, lowering costs, improving access for them."
Cong. Louise Slaughter, New York, on what's at stake for women
"Eight states in this country right now have declared that domestic violence is a preexisting conditions on the ground, I assume, that if you're been unlucky enough to get yourself beaten up once you might go around and do it again. Forty-eight percent is the higher cost for women in many cases to buy their own insurance. Believe you me, that is really discriminatory."
The Democratic women of the Senate aren't the only ones stressing the importance of health care reform for women.
On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading the way, holding a press conference earlier this week with the Democratic Women's Working Group earlier this week.
Pelosi got right to the heart of the matter, focusing on current challenges some women face when trying to get insurance coverage: "Think of this, you have survived domestic violence and now you are discriminated in the insurance market because you have a pre-existing medical condition. Well, that will all be gone under this legislation."
Here's a clip:
EMILY's List alums Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Donna Edwards (MD-04), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), and Gwen Moore (WI-04) joined Pelosi at the conference, and each had powerful things to say about the need for reform.
Kilroy, whom EMILY's List members helped elect in 2008, spoke of her own multiple sclerosis diagnosis and current struggles facing women with chronic diseases. "The insurance industry tells us that because women are 2-3 times more likely to have multiple sclerosis, 10 times more likely to have breast cancer, because 55,000 more women than men have strokes every year, they can rate insurance based on gender. And the decisions that they are making are not only unfair or immoral. Frankly, they're bad public policy."
Speaker Pelosi had the perfect reaction today when a reporter asked her what she thought about a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman suggesting that General McCrystal needs to "put her in her place" over her comments about the war in Afghanistan:
"It's really sad, they really don't understand how inappropriate that is.... I'm in my place. I'm the speaker of the House, the first woman speaker of the House, and I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me here. But that language is something I haven't even heard in decades."
Her tone is priceless. She's polite. She's clear about who she is and the power she wields. And darned if I don't detect a soupçon of pity for her completely clueless critics, who seem to be stuck in some bizarre "Mad Men" time warp when women were just starting to push back against clearly defined gender roles.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has really crossed the line. The NRCC publicly encouraged Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to put Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi "in her place" for voicing an opinion on the the situation there. They went on to say Pelosi was "out of her league."
Fortunately, EMILY's List alum Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz didn't waste time responding to the outrageous attack:
"It's evidence [Republicans] long for the days when a woman's place was in the kitchen. Now a woman is third in line for the presidency... But it's not surprising, coming from a party that's 80 percent male and 100 percent white."
And here's the kicker: "I think the place for a woman is at the top of the House of Representatives," Wasserman Schultz said.
I’d read about the mob right-wing protests happening nationwide at health care town hall meetings, and I’d seen reports about the level of anger among demonstrators. Yesterday in Arizona, disruptions from protestors forced Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick to cancel a series of town hall meetings on health care. In Florida, right-wing protestors banged on the windows of an event until Rep. Kathy Castor was forced to shut down her event.
But it wasn’t until I was standing in a crowd of protestors that I realized how destructive -- and organized -- their efforts are.
Right here in Denver, which many consider a very progressive city, mobs of organized right-wing protestors took over an entire street block with the hopes of disrupting Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Diana DeGette and Rep. Jared Polis as they toured the Stout Street Medical Clinic. I spent the afternoon standing with them, reading their hateful slogans and listening to their angry chants.
“Obama is a fascist! Obama sucks!” screamed one woman over the crowd. Next to her, a small child held this sign:
And then there were the personal attacks, protestors clashing with health care reform supporters: “Why should I pay for [health care] for you? Go back to your job at 7-11,” one man yelled after hearing the story of a woman whose health care had been cut. Another man joined their argument, yelling, “Violence isn’t the answer, but it sure is fun.”
At the very end of the event, a group of protestors were shouting “We want a town hall! We want a town hall!” Really? A town hall? The town hall meeting is a thoughtful, respectful forum for citizens to learn and discuss an issue. The very last thing these protestors want is a respectful discussion of health care. They want to intimidate and threaten our members of Congress and American citizens who truly want a discussion about these issues in a democratic forum.
The level of anger and hatred that I saw from these protestors was unlike anything I’ve ever seen -- and I’ve been front and center during other heated demonstrations, including ones about choice.
These destructive actions are leaving an indelible mark on our public discourse. Their slogans are offensive and misleading. Their chants are full of anger and misinformation. And all the while, the people who are hurting most because of this debate -- the ones struggling to pay for insurance or going without any coverage at all -- are left waiting in the wings.
Read My Lipstick
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