Kerry "connects" with an Iowa voter....

[sfecap]

"I just returned from listening to Senator Kerry speak....whew......every sentence was littered with I..I...I... Someone should send the guy to Dale Carnegie to learn that a person should always refer to the other person twice as often as themselves. If my count was correct Kerry referred to himself over 100 times and to we the people less then a dozen. Someone is his campaign should send him Carnegie's book..."How to influence People"

The main reason for my post is that I was able to speak with him one on one afterwards. I told him I was HIV+ and wanted to know what he was doing to avert the crisis as a result of the Senate voting down additional funding for the ADAP Article of the Ryan White Act (this is the program that provides meds for the poor). He barely listened to me explain to him that people were dying that were on the ADPA waiting list. I about barfed when he put his arm on my shoulder and he told me he was sorry I was sick.....while avoiding anwering my questions. Hell, I am not a baby to be kissed for the cameras.

OMG......he had no idea what ADAP is! He attempted to placate me by saying he sponsored the AIDS legislation two years ago. Gawd, how dumb does he think I am.......every democrat was a co-sponsor of that.....and half the republicans.

I then told him that I didn't like the way he and Gephart were beating up on Dean. Rather then respond to that issue he went off on a tangent telling me how Dean and Gephart were going to raise taxes on the middle class.

Our toe to toe interchange lasted over five minutes and one could say it got a bit charged. I could see his handlers were just cringing on the edges of the crowd of about 100 that was around us. (hey, they shouldn't have invited me if they wanted people who wouldn't ask tough questions)

Anyway, later I was grabbed by the reporter from the New York Times and interviewed quite extensively."

www.blogforamerica.com

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. So some Dean supporter criticizes Kerry in the Dean blog. Big Deal.

[XanaDUer]

2. Is that what that is?

I thought it was the poster's personal experience with Kerry at a meet-up or town hall.

Big deal is right.

[dsc]

3. It is both

The person is clearly a Dean supporter, clearly it was posted on the blog, but it also was a first hand account of his experience and presumedly he is truthful when saying he is an Iowa voter.

[paulk]

29. was it on the blog?

I couldn't find it. What day?

[displacedtexan]

4. that's what it looks like until you notice the quotation marks.

if this story shows up in print tomorrow, i'll be surprised.

[Trajan]

5. I like Kerry .... I like Dean .....

I think some DUers are cheap shot artists ....

[sandnsea]

6. What an ass

Kerry co-sponsored the first Ryan White CARE Act and didn't just sponsor the HIV vaccine program, he introduced it, as well as ETHA and the Global Aids legislation that led to the funding for Africa. He has been a leader in Congress on AIDS and this guy really showed how much he doesn't know by slamming the very Senator who got him most of the AIDS health care he receives.

[dsc]

7. He isn't the very Senator

he is one of several. Metzenbalm did heroic work on this as well to mention one. And, unlke Kerry, he came from a state where that wasn't very popular.

[Pez]

8. so it's only commendable to do things if it's unpopular with voters?

that kerry wasn't the only one to introduce it is not a reason to trash him. that he didn't come from a place where it was unpopular is not a reason to trash kerry. he has a history of introducing legislation to help AIDS patients, and you are going to say it doesn't mean anything because he wasn't the only one and he wasn't unpopular for it? wha--?

bush is unpopular with voters; maybe we should commend him for his valiant efforts to do what he thinks is right in the face of so much opposition from the american people.

[dsc]

11. Excuse me but where did I trash Kerry

All I said is that Senator Metzenbalm also deserved credit. And yes I do think doing the right thing when it is unpopular is better than doing it when it is popular though in both cases it is good. But it was sandandsea who took credit away not I.

[beyurslf]

12. This may be considered un PC

but if we can provide health care to those with HIV/AIDS here, then why can't we provide it to the rest of Americans without health insurance? DO you know how expensive those meds are? 1100 a MONTH! That is more than 12,000 a year just for the meds!!
Why is this disease treated regardless of insurance and no other disease is?

I say this as a person who has benefited directly from the Ryan White program while unemployed. I am very grateful for it. But, afterwards, it made me think. My dad is unemployed and without health insurance. If he got cancer, he would get no treatment. Why was my disease more important and treatable to the government than one he might get?

(And fyi in case anyone was planning to: please don't say "I'm sorry you're sick" to someone with HIV. I am not sick. I am very healthy (healthier than many adults). I just happen to have a treatable, long term illness.)

[dsc]

14. two things

One Both Kerry and Metzenbalm favored expanding health care coverage to the uninsured throught their careers. Two, your dad would get covered after he got sick via getting on SSI. Where the AIDS thing came in and where his losing coverage would come in is upon getting better and not disabled anymore.

[loyalsister]

26. You usually have to get POOR first

I have experience with this. If a person has a disease or disability, they have to get poor to be eligible for medicaide first. I had some trouble with seizures, and there was concern that I may have a brain tumor. I needed an MRI, and I was an uninsured student at the time. I was making too much $$ at my part time job to be eligible for medicaide. I was having a lot of seizures, they thought I might have a brain tumor, and I couldn't get assistance- until I had my boss cut my hours so that I was poorer. Finally got it, fortunately. I was lucky I was able to figure out how to work it out.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

32. They really need to raise the threshold for medicaid

It is ridiculous how poor you have to be to qualify. There are people who make way too much to qualify for medicaid but way too little to afford their own health insurance.

Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope

[sandnsea]

15. Prescription Drugs

Alot of insurance doesn't cover medication anyway. In addition, federally funding these medications keeps them out of any insurance pool which likely helps keep premiums down. As well as keeping state medical costs down, Medicare too in some cases I would imagine.

Depending on your dad's unemployment benefits, he might qualify for Medicaid if he got cancer. At some point it would likely qualify him for disability and then he could get Medicare. The waiting periods are ridiculous on this at times though. Really, that should be the FIRST thing that's done on health care, creating quicker disability access for things like cancer. There's no doubt our health care system is screwed up.

On a side note, Kerry does have a 60% or 70% subsidy for health care premiums for people on unemployment. That would help, provided it's distributed on a monthly basis, like EIC, which I'm not totally sure of.

[dsc]

16. Is Kerry's credit refundable at all?

I honestly don't know and would really like to know since that is the difference between it helping me and not helping me.

[sandnsea]

20. I don't know

"There are approximately 8 million unemployed people in the United States today. John Kerry believes that losing a job should not mean losing health care. That is why he is proposing a 75 percent tax
credit to assure workers can keep their health insurance when they are between jobs."

I don't know exactly what your situation is, but I'm thinking this would be a 75% tax credit to be applied against insurance premiums. I can see what you're saying, if you pay no/little taxes because unemployment creates a low income, there's no benefit. In addition, even if the 75% credit offset the premiums directly, if it doesn't come until you file your tax return, it does no good either. I'll see if I can't get somebody from the campaign to be more specific on this.

[dsc]

21. thanks

it would be good to know.

[Demobrat]

22. This is what drives me nuts whenever any politician

says the words "tax credit". In order to deduct an expense from your taxes, you have to first pay the expense. If you can't pay it you can't pay it, and being told that you will get part of it back later in the form of a tax refund is so far from your reality that it's no wonder people are cynical and don't bother to vote.

[sandnsea]

13. Kerry has always been key in AIDS legislation

Certainly he isn't the ONLY Senator, but smearing Kerry on AIDS treatment is definitely biting the hand that feeds you. The guy must have learned it from Howard who does the exact same thing; on health care too, coincidentally.

[Andromeda]

27. Why did you call the poster an "ass"?

Sounds like a personal attack to me. Of course, it's not called a personal attack if you are a Kerry supporter I guess.

You don't treat any Dean supporter with respect then you whine about people who pick on poor little Kerry. Why can't you accept the fact that where Kerry is concerned there is no there, there. Not everybody is in agreement that Kerry walks on water.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

31. Why do you have to resort to insulting the poster

Attack what they said, don't call other posters names. Sorry, but it's really childish. I am probably one of the youngest posters here but I sure do not feel like it. :eyes:

Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope

[Octafish]

9. Hey, moran! Is it ADAP or ADPA?

No wonder Sen. Kerry sounded confused. The guy can't keep his own shit straight.

So, how much is Joe Trippi paying the guy?

[UnapologeticLiberal]

33. Maybe you ought to address your question to the poster

Instead of talking about someone as if he or she is not here.

[LuminousX]

10. I was hoping this was about Kerry hitting someone

nothing to see here.

[DrFunkenstein]

17. Anecdotal Evidence Is The Best Evidence

"I about barfed when he put his arm on my shoulder and he told me he was sorry I was sick.....while avoiding anwering my questions. Hell, I am not a baby to be kissed for the cameras."

Does the Dean blog really carry stuff like this?

[dsc]

18. For better or worse

that is what blogs do. The carry every little thing. I guarentee you I can find something equally ancedoatal at the Kerry blog if I so chose. I don't due to not really being into that in any case. Of all Dean's inovations the blog is something that true be told I could do without.

[w4rma]

19. It's a comment, presumably written by a Dean supporter.

sfecap didn't link to the comment, only to the blog, in general.

[DrFunkenstein]

23. Ok, Sorry - I Was Confused

I thought this was a section started by the official bloggers. I didn't realize that this was just some knucklehead writing a post on the blog.

Is that really allowed at DU? It seems a little against the spirit of the forums (starting threads on posts from campaign blogs).

[Feanorcurufinwe]

24. No rules against it.

Just weak, that's all.

[LuminousX]

25. gives a new name to 'spurious'

I'd prefer sourced material myself. Some random blog post just doesn't seem to hold much water. And even in this case, I actually don't see how this makes Kerry look bad. What, is every representative supposed to know everything about every piece of legislation, ever?

"I can't believe Kerry didn't know what was in section 12, paragraph 5 of the 2002 Perverted Arts Bill."

[blm]

28. No one would know what ADAP is. They would know ADPA.

.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

30. I feel kind of stupid

But what is the ADAP? I agree that if it is part of a bill that passed Congress then Kerry ought to know what it is, but I am just a college freshman and I don't, so can you tell me? I hope I am not insulting you.

Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope

[UnapologeticLiberal]

34. Do you have a link to the exact thread or comment

I could not find this on the blog. I am guessing it was in the comments section...does not seem like something that they would post as an entry.

Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope