Health Care??
The Trump Administration and the Republican Party failed again last week to pass any version of its healthcare “plan” in the Senate. Their idea of democracy is apparently to try to pass a repeal of Obamacare or a repeal-and-replace bill ... that would leave 16 million more Americans without health insurance, that only 17 percent of voters support, and trying to do so time and time again without public hearings or consultation with Democrats.
This was a bill that the American Medical Association called a “toxic prescription,” which would. by eliminating the individual mandate, "lead to adverse selection, triggering higher premiums and further destabilizing the individual market.” John Meigs, President of the American Association of Family Doctors, called the plan “something that is going to devastate our patients.”
Let us not forget that their legislative process was about something that touches many voters’ lives in a direct way, and affects a sector that accounts for almost 20 percent of our economy. And just because they ran up against defeat last week in the Senate does not mean they will stop trying, despite the wishes of the American people.
The Mooch and the Boy Scouts
The same week, the tone of the Administration’s messaging continued to raise eyebrows with the appointment of a new Communications Director who managed to communicate with us early on using a degree of profanity rarely heard. He didn’t last. And we’ve known it before, but the President often seems to lack a sense of decorum and what is “comme il faut.” These qualities were wanting to the point where the President’ partisan riff at a Boy Scout Jamboree so trampled on the organization’s non-partisan traditions, that the Boy Scouts issued an apology.
Events around the County
Around the County, there are many positive activities going on. At the beginning of the month, I was delighted to attend the Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Conejo Valley Democrats July 4 picnic, held on July 8th. Though it was a sweltering day, the event was well-attended and attracted quite a crowd, including luminaries, elected officials and candidates. Environmentalist Tom Steyer, Treasurer John Chiang, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Senator Henry Stern, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, and Delaine Eastin, to name a few. It was great to see three Ventura County Democratic Clubs cooperating to put on such a terrific event.
Activism was much in evidence during the July 26-27 hearings about the Oxnard Power Plant with Tom Steyer, Hannah Beth Jackson, and groups like CAUSE showing up in opposition. The month ended with the Keep-It-Blue event hosted by the Democratic Club of Ventura in the magnificent 103-year-old city hall building. CDP Chair Eric Bauman emceed in his inimitable style, and the event was headlined by Representatives Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal, and attended by many other Democratic elected officials around the county.
Our Club joined in the festivities during the Camarillo Fiesta on July 14-16. It was an enjoyable and helpful event, giving us the opportunity to do outreach, register voters, and share greetings from passers-by. We received $267 in donations for our broad selection of pins, including my personal favorite, “Fight Truth Decay.” Thank you, Jim, and all of our enthusiastic volunteers! The well of enthusiasm remains strong, because we also have a full slate of volunteers for our August 9th turn at staffing the Ventura County Democratic booth at the County Fair.
Autumn is fast approaching and the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee is already organizing what promises to be an outstanding Kennedy Legacy Dinner program on September 24 ... so mark your calendars and purchase early-bird tickets.
Our Club
Our official tally of members in good standing for the Club dropped back to 148, when we went through the exercise of checking who has paid their dues. We were required to do this to determine our official membership to figure out how many voting members our club will be allocated to serve on Party pre-endorsement committee.
I look forward to seeing you this Thursday and joining you in listening to Jim Hines, Conservation Chair of the Sierra Club, Los Padres Chapter. He will be speaking about the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which is being threatened by the Trump Administration.
This was a bill that the American Medical Association called a “toxic prescription,” which would. by eliminating the individual mandate, "lead to adverse selection, triggering higher premiums and further destabilizing the individual market.” John Meigs, President of the American Association of Family Doctors, called the plan “something that is going to devastate our patients.”
Let us not forget that their legislative process was about something that touches many voters’ lives in a direct way, and affects a sector that accounts for almost 20 percent of our economy. And just because they ran up against defeat last week in the Senate does not mean they will stop trying, despite the wishes of the American people.
The Mooch and the Boy Scouts
The same week, the tone of the Administration’s messaging continued to raise eyebrows with the appointment of a new Communications Director who managed to communicate with us early on using a degree of profanity rarely heard. He didn’t last. And we’ve known it before, but the President often seems to lack a sense of decorum and what is “comme il faut.” These qualities were wanting to the point where the President’ partisan riff at a Boy Scout Jamboree so trampled on the organization’s non-partisan traditions, that the Boy Scouts issued an apology.
Events around the County
Around the County, there are many positive activities going on. At the beginning of the month, I was delighted to attend the Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Conejo Valley Democrats July 4 picnic, held on July 8th. Though it was a sweltering day, the event was well-attended and attracted quite a crowd, including luminaries, elected officials and candidates. Environmentalist Tom Steyer, Treasurer John Chiang, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Senator Henry Stern, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, and Delaine Eastin, to name a few. It was great to see three Ventura County Democratic Clubs cooperating to put on such a terrific event.
Activism was much in evidence during the July 26-27 hearings about the Oxnard Power Plant with Tom Steyer, Hannah Beth Jackson, and groups like CAUSE showing up in opposition. The month ended with the Keep-It-Blue event hosted by the Democratic Club of Ventura in the magnificent 103-year-old city hall building. CDP Chair Eric Bauman emceed in his inimitable style, and the event was headlined by Representatives Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal, and attended by many other Democratic elected officials around the county.
Our Club joined in the festivities during the Camarillo Fiesta on July 14-16. It was an enjoyable and helpful event, giving us the opportunity to do outreach, register voters, and share greetings from passers-by. We received $267 in donations for our broad selection of pins, including my personal favorite, “Fight Truth Decay.” Thank you, Jim, and all of our enthusiastic volunteers! The well of enthusiasm remains strong, because we also have a full slate of volunteers for our August 9th turn at staffing the Ventura County Democratic booth at the County Fair.
Autumn is fast approaching and the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee is already organizing what promises to be an outstanding Kennedy Legacy Dinner program on September 24 ... so mark your calendars and purchase early-bird tickets.
Our Club
Our official tally of members in good standing for the Club dropped back to 148, when we went through the exercise of checking who has paid their dues. We were required to do this to determine our official membership to figure out how many voting members our club will be allocated to serve on Party pre-endorsement committee.
I look forward to seeing you this Thursday and joining you in listening to Jim Hines, Conservation Chair of the Sierra Club, Los Padres Chapter. He will be speaking about the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which is being threatened by the Trump Administration.
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