Thanks to everyone who volunteered, helped or attended last night’s events with President Obama and Senator McCaskill.   It is always an honor to have the President in our town and last night was no exception.  Last night reminded us again how fortunate we are to have a strong committed leader.  The President explained some of the key benefits of his Health Insurance Reform Proposal to a packed room of supporters

As Claire and the President both said – this is about the next generation, not the next election.  We need to continue to fight for Health Insurance Reform and to help I’ve included some of the key benefits of the President’s Health Insurance Reform Proposal below.

• It will strengthen the coverage you get at work by reining in the worst insurance company abuses.
• It will provide tens of billions of dollars in new tax credits to small businesses to make it easier for them to provide coverage if they choose to do so.
• Many Americans buying their own coverage in the individual market will qualify for tax credits that reduce their premiums by an average of nearly 60 percent – and they will get better coverage than what they have today.
• If you are on Medicare, you will have benefits you don’t have today: Preventive services like cancer screenings at no cost, and a substantial reduction in prescription drug prices if you fall into that gap in coverage known as the “donut hole.” Over time the proposal closes this coverage gap completely.
• If you don’t have insurance, you may be eligible for a tax credit to help pay for your coverage – part of the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history.
• Insurance companies will be required to offer coverage regardless of your health status or because of pre-existing conditions, and they cannot boost rates or drop you from your coverage when you get sick.
• If you are a parent, you can keep your children on your insurance plan until the age of 27 (the current limit is age 21).

Please take a moment and visit http://my.democrats.org/KaineReformto watch a video message from DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and to join the “Final March for Reform.”

Again, thank you for making last night a memorable one.  And let’s get to work!

Sincerely,
Brian Wahby
Chairman

Senator Claire McCaskill invites you to join President Barack Obama, with special guest, Missouri’s Own, Neal E. Boyd, winner of 2008’s America’s Got Talent for a Grassroots Fundraiser.

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel.

Tickets for the event start at $25.00

Visit www.claireonline.com/potusevent to purchase tickets before they sell out!

On January 30, the world lost a great activist named Melanie Shouse. She died Saturday January 30 at the age of 41 from breast cancer at her home in Overland. Melanie spent the last 4 1/2 years fighting tirelessly for health care reform and also to send Barack Obama to the White House. She lived to see the latter dream accomplished but died before a healthcare bill was signed into law.

I had the pleasure of meeting Melanie during the presidential primaries and campaigning alongside her for our nominee, Barack Obama. I can say unequivocally that she was one of the hardest working and most dedicated volunteers on the campaign. I will never forget Melanie’s speech on the Arch grounds in days before the historic election that sent Barack Obama to the White House. Melanie, speaking on the subject of healthcare reform, said we must “take on the big insurance monopoly and liberate American families form the slavery of skyrocketing insurance premiums and canceled coverage, which leave millions of us in a state of perpetual fear and insecurity …” Last year, we came closer than ever before to passing the kind of healthcare reform Melanie mentioned in her speech. Now, healthcare reform is in limbo because our congressional leaders do not have the courage to make tough decisions and send a final bill to the President’s desk.

This past weekend, during a speech to the Democratic National Committee, the President mentioned Melanie and used her story as an example of why we must continue working for healthcare reform. I will quote the President in full, because no one can articulate this message as well as he can. The President said:

“Think about this: She was fighting that whole time not just to get me elected, not even to get herself health insurance, but because she understood that there were others coming behind her who were going to find themselves in the same situation and she didn’t want somebody else going through that same thing. How can I say to her, “You know what? We’re giving up”? How can I say to her family, “This is too hard”? How can Democrats on the Hill say, “This is politically too risky”? How can Republicans on the Hill say, “We’re better off just blocking anything from happening.”

That can’t be the message that the American people are delivering. Yes, they’re nervous, they’re anxious, they’re in a tough time right now. The thing they want most are jobs. They really don’t like the process in Washington, the sausage-making. That part I understand. But I know that they don’t — but I know they don’t want to just offer nothing to the millions of people in America who are in the situation that that woman was in. That’s what we campaigned on. And we are going to keep on working to get it done -– with Democrats and I hope with Republicans and everybody else in between -– to bring down costs, to end the worst practices of the insurance industry, to finally give every American the chance to choose quality, affordable health care. We are going to keep on working to get it done.”

The President is right, we have come too far to quit. Melanie and the millions of Americans that cannot afford healthcare or are being denied access by greedy insurance companies deserve better. Congress and the White House should work around the clock to pass a bill that will extend coverage to the 31 million uninsured, put an end to some of the insurance industry’s worst and most abusive practices.

Democrats promised to deliver healthcare reform during the campaign cycle and now a year has passed. It is time to deliver on the promise – for all Americans, but particularly for our fallen friend Melanie. Let’s not let her work be in vain. Put pressure on our Federal representatives tell them not to back down, Melanie didn’t.

As Documentary Premieres at Sundance, New Website Reveals Congressman Blunt and Jack Abramoff Connection

Go Behind the Scenes with Two of the Biggest Players in Washington’s Shell Game of Corruption, Insider Deals and Pay To Play Politics

St. Louis, MO – Today the St. Louis Democratic Party revealed a new Web site at www.BluntAndAbramoff.com to expose the connections between Congressman Roy Blunt and lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff who was the focus of a new documentary that premiered this past weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. (link )  Abramoff was sentenced to prison for conspiring to corrupt numerous public officials with gifts, meals, trips and campaign donations in what became one of the most infamous corruption scandals in history.

“During his 13 years in Washington, Congressman Blunt has become the ultimate Washington insider by wheeling and dealing with individuals like disgraced Majority Leader Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) and lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff,” said Jack Coatar, Executive Director of the St. Louis Democratic Central Committee.  “Finally Missourians can see the clear connections between Congressman Blunt and the Washington insiders like Jack Abramoff who led our country down the wrong path through backdoor special deals, out of control spending and failure to hold Wall street accountable.”

Visit www.BluntAndAbramoff.com to see more about the Blunt/Abramoff world of Washington insider deals.

Congressman Blunt is running against State Senator Chuck Purgason and Kansas City auto consultant Mark Memoly in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.