May They Please Speak With Joe?

by Melinda Tuhus | November 5, 2009 12:25 PM | | Comments (9)

christopher%20chen.JPGA pro-health care rally on Yale’s campus Wednesday featured more than speeches. It featured phone calls too: At the end, all the students, including Christopher Chen (pictured), pulled out their cell phones and dialed the office of Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Why Lieberman? He recently announced that he does not support a government-run “public option” health insurance plan — and might join his Republicans colleagues in filibustering the reform bill that contains one.

The Wednesday protest in New Haven was followed Thursday morning by another health-care protest against Lieberman, this one at his D.C. office. Nine people were arrested.

(Click here for an op-ed Lieberman wrote for the Hartford Courant defending his position; here for a past interview he did with the Independent; and here for a story on the reaction from his past Connecticut AFL-CIO supporters.)

students%20with%203%20signs.JPGChen, a Yale junior, joined three dozen other students for the brief rally on Cross Campus Wednesday. He had a personal reason for participating.

“When my parents were laid off in the past, they lost their health insurance,” he said. Those were stressful times.

“As a future taxpayer,” he continued, “I’m invested in where our money goes and in the state of our health care. I believe health care reform would go a long way toward improving the well-being of the country as well as help the economy.”

Chen called Lieberman’s office right from the rally and told a staffer there the same thing.

The rally was organized by the Yale College Democrats. It started small; then students called out their friends who were passing by and recruited them to join in.

lee%20and%20three%20students.JPGDr. K. J. Lee (pictured on left), an ear-nose-and-throat specialist who teaches at the Yale med school and an expert on health policy, urged the students not to stop with their rally but “to maybe organize a march before Thanksgiving to Washington, D.C. Then you’ll make a difference.”

He continued, “Young people don’t usually think of health care, because you think you’re invincible, [but] young people can get sick, too.” He said he was speaking as a health provider and as a patient and cancer survivor.

He then argued the U.S. health care system could save more than $372 billion a year through measures such as reducing administrative overhead; introducing electronic medical records; reducing the unnecessary procedures doctors carry out just to guard against being sued (“protecting their asses” one student offered when Lee was searching for just the right term).

Andrew Feldman, one of the organizers, said his group has been calling Sen. Lieberman’s office every day for the past two weeks. “The day he announced he might filibuster the public option, his voicemail boxes were full in both his New Haven and D.C. offices,” he said.

Feldman said students told the senator’s office about their specific concerns as young adults — the age group least covered by health insurance, once they finish college.

“I focused on my role as a student,” he said. “When I graduate I’ll have to find a job that provides insurance. I’m fortunate because I live in Massachusetts, and we’re already covered under our parents’ insurance for a few years past age 22” under a new universal health care plan.

Contacted by phone, a Lieberman aide reported that calls to the D.C. office had been relatively evenly split on the health care plan. Earlier calls leaned more against a public option plan, recent call more in favor.







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Comments

Posted by: terrapin | November 5, 2009 12:57 PM

This is the Joe Lieberman that had no problem with spending billions on an unnecessary war, but feels health care isn't a cost we can take on. This is the Joe Lieberman who Harry Reid wanted to keep in the fold so the Democrats would have a fillibuster proof majority. This is the petty small minded Joe Lieberman who has dedicated his sunset years to being a roadblock to anything on the Democatic agenda. I cannot believe that Senator Joementum's childish need to be the center of attention doesn't have a lot to do with this. If he was tossed out of the Democratic causus, he'd be just another contrarian Republican. By keeping him as a "Democrat", Reid has set him up to be the same jerk he was at the peak of the Iraq war.

Posted by: lance | November 5, 2009 1:08 PM

Students who pay no taxes demanding that others surrender their hard earned money for the benefit of strangers, in most cases lazy strangers. How liberal.

Posted by: Yale College Democrat | November 5, 2009 4:49 PM

Liberal isn't a pejorative, Lance.

Posted by: Alum | November 5, 2009 7:08 PM

To be clear, Yale students aren't the ones not paying taxes, it's the university.

However, as an alum and a proud New Haven resident I encourage these students to bring more of their work to the rest of us. Venture off campus, connect with other community groups and have a health care rally on the green.

Posted by: Ben Stango | November 5, 2009 7:17 PM

Please join us in helping to pass meaningful health care reform. Become a member of Organizing for America in Connecticut to stay involved (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=59639106495)

Posted by: Bill | November 6, 2009 10:04 AM

It's sad to see college students who are so narrow minded that they can't see anything except a single issue. Are they even aware of the 1.4 trillion dollar deficit for this year alone? Are they even aware of the projected 9 trillion dollars of deficits for the next ten years. Do they understand anything about economics and the damage that will be done to the U.S. economy with these deficits. Are they aware that Social Security and Medicare are soon not have enough money to pay their obligations?

Posted by: Hello? | November 6, 2009 6:43 PM

Bill, are you aware that the CBO estimate of the House bill projects that health insurance reform with a public option is deficit neutral?

Are you aware that these very deficits were created by a massive increase in spending combined with tax cuts that were created under the eight years the the Republican Party controlled Washington?

Are you aware that no one from either party has proposed any real solutions to the unfunded liabilities that you mentioned?


You bring up interesting points, but they have very little to do with meaningful health insurance reform.

Posted by: Tom | November 6, 2009 7:14 PM

Lance,

Plenty of students work and pay their own way through school. And surprise, they pay taxes. Guess you didn't know that. How out of touch.

Posted by: Matt | November 9, 2009 2:22 PM

I love how everyone tries to outsmart the previous poster with little gottcha facts and quotes. So here's mine.

"Hello" says that the CBO reports the House bill to be deficit neutral. This suggest that the bill is, to a certain degree, financially responsible. However the CBO also estimates the cost of this plan to be $1 Trillion over the next 10 yrs. To keep the plan deficit neutral, the house proposes increased taxes, increased fees and saving money by fixing the current system. So the true question is not whether the government has the money to pay for this because we know for certain that it does not. The question is how much is enough?

The truly ironic part of this is that these children who protest so strongly for this bill will be the ones in the tax brackets most burdened by the new taxes and fees. Moreover, the savings estimates in this bill are laughable so they will also be the ones burdened by the increase to the already ridiculous deficit when it somehow turns out that saving $300 billion didn't quite work out.

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