‘The Daily Show’ takes up TennCare lottery

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From health reporter Tom Wilemon:

“The Daily Show” has been in town again, last week filming footage at Tennessee Justice Center for an upcoming political spoof, according to an email sent out by staff attorney Michele Johnson.

Johnson didn’t give away much about the segment, but she did indicate that the topic was Tennessee’s dialing-for-healthcare program, the TennCare Standard Spend Down. Tennessee launched Spend Down in 2010 to help people with low incomes and high medical bills gain access to TennCare who would not normally qualify for the state’s Medicaid program.

The state has never set up an effective way to process applications so two to three times a year it opens up a telephone line. People end up doing competitive dialing to get an application.

The program has consistently had more slots available for coverage than people enrolled. Critics compare it to a lottery.

The Spend Down has been on comedy-show hosts radar for a while. Stephen Colbert did an extended take on it back in April. He facetiously praised the program for injecting “some suspense to that old, boring question: ‘Will I see tomorrow?’” and compared winners to contestants on “The Price is Right.”

 

The tenor will probably be the same when “The Daily Show” segment airs. Expectations are that’ll be sometime in June.

Posted In:  National, Politics, State

Ron Ramsey to ride in pace car at Coca-Cola 600

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Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey will ride in the official pace car for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 stock car race in Charlotte, N.C., after being named its honorary race director.

A press release put out by organizers of the NASCAR race  — one of the biggest of the year — says that Ramsey, along with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, will also be honored at a pre-race event, attend the official drivers meeting and address the crowd at Charlotte Motor Speedway, expected to be more than 140,000 people. Ramsey will also be on hand when the trophy is presented at the end of the race.

It may seem odd for a Tennessee official to have such a major role at a North Carolina race, but the connection is a bit closer than it might first appear.

Ramsey’s district includes Bristol Motor Speedway. Both it and the Charlotte track are owned by North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Posted In:  Politics

With Continued Focus On Strengthening The Middle Class, O’Malley Promotes Early College Innovation Fund

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ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today at Prince George’s Community College, Governor Martin O’Malley highlighted the new Early College Innovation Fund – an initiative aimed to expand access to a college education across Maryland. The administration is investing $2 million in the fund to support creating and expanding early college access programs that provide accelerated pathways for [...]

Three Openly Gay California Public Officials Honored by the White House

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California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, Sen. Ricardo Lara and Redondo Beach Mayor Michael Gin will be honored by the White House May 22 as “Harvey Milk Champions of Change.”  

The three are among 10 openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender public officials across the country being recognized at an event that falls on Harvey Milk Day, which commemorates the civil rights leader’s birthday.  

John Laird

John Laird

“These are LGBT leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to both equality and public service. They are citizen legislators, executives and appointees who serve honestly, openly and proudly,” said Chuck Wolfe, president of the Washington D.C.-based Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, which works to elect gay and lesbian candidates.

Laird is a former member of the Assembly. Among the 82 bills he had signed into law was creation of the landmark Sierra Conservancy.  He has been Gov. Jerry Brown’s cabinet secretary for natural resources since January 2011.

A former Assemblyman, Lara is a Long Beach Democrat. He was elected to the Senate in 2012.

“I am humbled to be included among such an amazing array of LGBT leaders,” Lara said in a statement. “The fact that three Californians are being honored is telling of the essential role California plays in advancing equality.”

Michael Gin

Michael Gin

City councilman from 1995 to 2003, Gin is completing his second four-year term as mayor of the South Coast city of 68,000.

The other Harvey Milk “Champions of Change” are:

Simone Bell, Georgia State Representative

Angie Buhl O’Donnell, South Dakota State Senator

Karen Clark, Minnesota State Representative

Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii State Civil Rights Commissioner 

Kim Painter, Johnson Country Recorder, Iowa City, Iowa

Ricardo Lara

Ricardo Lara

Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati Ohio City Council Member

Pat Steadman, Colorado State Senator

The White House established its “Champions of Change” program in 2011 to honor ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things for their community, their country and their fellow citizens. 

These are the first Harvey Milk Champions of Change awards.

President Obama created the special awards in 2009 when he posthumously gave Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian medal. The citation for Milk reads:

“Harvey Bernard Milk dedicated his life to shattering boundaries and challenging assumptions. As one of the first openly gay elected officials in this country, he changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation’s gay community.

“Throughout his life, he fought discrimination with visionary courage and conviction. Before his tragic death in 1978, he wisely noted, ‘Hope will never be silent,’ and called upon Americans to stay true to the guiding principles of equality and justice for all. Harvey Milk’s voice will forever echo in the hearts of all those who carry forward his timeless message.”

The bill creating Harvey Milk Day — SB 572 by Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat – offers a  brief appreciation of his life and legacy.

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Garcetti, Backed by Tenant Groups, Wins L.A. Mayor’s Race

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By Randy Shaw

Eric Garcetti has won a 53%-46% victory in the Los Angeles mayor’s race following a tough campaign against Wendy Greuel. Greuel sought to become the city’s first female mayor, but was a bland candidate from the Valley who failed to energize women voters. Although the media framed the candidates as ideologically similar – the New York Times claimed they “did little to differentiate themselves on major issues like jobs and the city budget” – the city’s big landlord and realtor groups backed Greuel, while tenant groups like the Coalition for Economic Survival supported Garcetti. Greuel pledged to decimate the city’s vastly improved housing code enforcement program, while Garcetti has long backed tenants and affordable housing. I wrote on April 3 that Greuel faced an “uphill battle,” and that New York City’s Christine Quinn, another real estate-backed moderate woman candidate, had a greater chance of success. Quinn’s chances still look good, particularly because she does not face an opponent as strong as Garcetti.

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Whitaker does a 180 on Obamacare – now favors full repeal

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In a candid interview with Des Moines Register columnist Kathie Obradovich a couple of weeks ago, soon-to-be Republican U.S. candidate Matt Whitaker said that he opposed the outright repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Instead, Whitaker told Obradovich that the law needed to be “reformed and fixed.” He went on to say, “We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I think it’s a very easy sound bite to say repeal Obamacare, or repeal the Affordable Care Act, but there are actually some good things. Very few, but there are some good things.”

Whitaker has since reversed is position on the Affordable Care Act and now favors its outright repeal.  Whitaker explained his position change at a conservative breakfast club in Des Moines on Tuesday.

Whitaker explained that he likes how Obamacare allows you keep your own doctor.  He also appreciated that Obamacare was not a tax, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was.  Whitaker then admitted that after examining the new law closer, there is nothing good about it, and thus joined every Republican member in congress in calling for its full repeal.

Whitaker also made an argument that the new healthcare law is unconstitutional because it did not originate in the U.S. House of Representative.  Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution states that “all bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.”  Whitaker noted that since the bill originated in the U.S. Senate and not the U.S. House, the controversial law ought to be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the interview with Obradovich, Whitaker also said, “People know my reputation and who I am. And I think it is one of the many things that is wrong with politics right now is candidates holding up a mirror to voters and repeating what they are told by those voters. I’m just going to be a different kind of politician.”

Some voters may know who Whitaker is, but his little flip-flop on Obamacare demonstrates that they might not know exactly where he stands on some significant issues.  It is also apparent that the blowback he received from the interview he gave to Obradovich caused him to reconsider his position.

To be fair, Whitaker isn’t the only likely Republican U.S. candidate having a change of heart on an issue.  State Senator Joni Ernst, once a supporter of raising the state’s gas tax, now opposes the idea.  Ernst told Mike Wiser of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, “I think there are other ways to pay for road repairs than raising taxes.”

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Whitaker claims to have been targeted by IRS

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Whitaker contends that the IRS audited both him and his law partner because of their association with various conservative organizations.  Whitaker made the allegation while speaking to a few dozen Republican activists Tuesday morning at a Des Moines area conservative breakfast club.

Whitaker and Bill Gustoff, one of the partners in his law firm, are the registered agents for at least three conservative organizations that were established in 2010.   Whitaker is listed as the registered agent for Iowans for Prosperity.  Gustoff is listed as the registered agent for The Des Moines Tea Party and Iowa Firearms Coalition.  Whitaker says that the IRS has recently audited both him and Gustoff.

Whitaker said that he recently settled his audit with the IRS and it was determined that he did not own any additional money.

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