I Don’t Hate America!

Notwithstanding the Bush administration’s bull-headed ideology (maybe just blindness to the issue), the Democrat-led Congress is trying again to extend children’s health benefits.

Earlier this week, Rep. John Kline, R, MN-2, came out with a column full of gloom and doom scenarios about the bill. It didn’t take long for Rep. Tim Walz, DFL, MN-1, to answer with a column of his own shedding daylight on Kline’s rhetoric such as a claim that S-CHIP legislation provides give-aways to illegal immigrants. What is really sad about this whole state of affairs is that Bush, Kline and others shouldn’t even need a Democrat to tell them they’re wrong; GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa, has blamed false gloom and doom comments like those from Kline on “intellectual dishonesty.” Wow; that’s brutal.

A letter to the Red Wing Republican Eagle by Cannon Falls’ Joy Jacques shows frustration with Kline’s priorities:

Can someone tell me why we continue to throw an unlimited amount of money into Iraq, but we can’t help American kids get health insurance?

Republicans failed us yet again when they refused to override Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

It’s obvious that Republicans like John Kline will approve endless sums of taxpayer money to conduct war, and for their own pet projects, yet claim that funding SCHIP is too costly.

These Republicans say nothing about the social costs of denying millions of children access to insurance. They say nothing as they spend $12 billion a month in Iraq. They say nothing when their colleagues spend millions on pork-barrel projects.

They spend and spend, but they won’t fund our kids and help our families.

Does your family have job and health insurance security? Many middle-class families are one catastrophe away from losing what they have worked so hard to achieve.

Our family experienced this. After a costly surgery my husband was laid off by the company that had employed him for 10 years. Our family faced his lost income yet we could continue our insurance for $800 per month.

That’s a lot of money for after you’ve just lost your job.

Policy makers seem more afraid of “socialized medicine” and “Hillarycare” than in dealing with a broken system. All we hear are scare tactics from the Republicans and insurance companies.

It’s long past time we stopped giving these people the benefit of the doubt. Republicans in Washington like John Kline have stopped representing their constituents.

They continue to support a president and an administration that have done nothing but lead our country closer and closer to bankruptcy and ruin.

Let’s send them a clear message. American families should be their first priority.

Reading this letter coupled with the news that Tim Walz plans to hold another town hall meeting with constituents makes me wonder when and if Kline ever intends to hold one.

At the meeting in Winona last weekend, Walz made it clear to the attendees that that type of gathering is one of the most fundamental principles of democracy.

“I would argue it’s a requirement of our citizenship to engage in these discussions,” Walz told the crowd. “I would also argue that it’s a requirment of the job in representing you. It’s critically important that I provide a forum that has as easy and unrestricted access as possible to air your points of view and your concerns.”

Kline’s record of constituent outreach is anything but “easy” or “unrestricted” to constituents. When Kline does invite citizen input the medium is usually a “tele-townhall meeting” which is by its nature restricted. If Walz is able to provide stellar constituent service after fewer than 11 months in office, why does Kline continue to lack in that department?

The voters of the Second Congressional District have sent John Kline to Washington three times. I would certainly think that after five consecutive years of service to the district he ought to feel comfortable enough to have an open and honest conversation with constituents. Or is he comfortable?

Come on, John, how does avoiding open and honest discussion with the public give us a reason to not replace you with Steve Sarvi next November?

You’re suffering from chest pain. You know you don’t have health insurance and can’t afford to get it checked out. It’s difficult to tell if the pain is severe enough to visit the ED or if it will go away on its own. Your wife forces you to go to the ED, worried that you might be having a heart attack. Reluctantly, you get a ride from her and go to the hospital. As soon as you get there, you’re hooked up to monitors, given a couple meds, and talking treatment options with the healthcare team. They decide you must go in for an angiogram, a common procedure done to see if any coronary vessels are occluded. Throughout the entire event, you keep thinking, “do we have to?” They rush you into the cath lab knowing there’s not much time before your heart will lose all circulation. They found you were having a heart attack and a vessel is 100% occluded. The MD, much like an artist creating their masterpiece, inserts a catheter through your femoral artery to access your heart, and swiftly inserts a stent in the occluded vessel. The team sighs in relief that they were able to prevent more damage from happening. Further tests will confirm the extent of the damage, but for now, you survived. Thank God. Oh wait, you don’t have health insurance.

I tell this real-life story because of an experience I had this week with a patient. He was your typical middle-aged family man holding two jobs. His concern interested me since… what DO you do? How do you tell someone that we saved their life while at the same time, handing them an invoice? With the stent he received, he needs to be on a medication called Plavix. This drug is extremely important to take daily for two years. Numerous studies have shown that not taking Plavix after insertion of a drug eluting stent (DES) can result in an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, re-stenosis, and death. The typical cost for Plavix is ~$4 a day. $4 A DAY! That equates to roughly $1,460 a year, or $2,920 for the total two years he NEEDS to be on it. In his case, that is approximately 10% of his yearly income that needs to be spent to literally stay alive.

A generic equivalent of clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix) has been created, but Bristol-Myers Squibb has been fighting legal battles to make sure their name-brand drug is the only one available to patients. From AARP:

In the case of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plavix, an antiplatelet, what began as a dispute with the generic manufacturer over patent infringement has become a proposed settlement that will keep the generic version off the market until 2011. Plavix racked up huge sales in 2005—$3.8 billion in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales of nearly $6 billion.

Thankfully, many of us have health insurance to cover these costs. Just think though, how many patients like mine have been paying 10% of their annual income on the drug Plavix for Bristol-Myers Squibb to rack up $6 billion?

At my hospital, a social worker and financial advisor will work with patients in situations like these. However, I strongly believe in a healthcare system that will allow anyone that needs life-saving drugs such as Plavix to get them at little to no-cost. I am hoping that when Tim Walz is re-elected and Steve Sarvi kicks John Kline out, they will continue believing in the mission of universal healthcare. I am predicting that in 2008, there will be a DFL controlled Senate, House, and President. If so, we will see dramatic changes in our healthcare system.

Maybe if the above story happens to you, there will be no need to ask, “do we have to?”

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I am starting my Master’s program at the end of the month. My plan is to receive my Master’s in Science of Nursing (M.S.N) with an education focus. Eventually, I would like to be a professor at a local community college. If anyone has some connections with a college that needs adjunct nursing professors, please forward any information along.

Also, continuing with my belief that everyone should have access to free healthcare, I just accepted a position at Planned Parenthood as a volunteer clinic nurse. If you are looking at donating to a great organization, look no further than Planned Parenthood. Here’s a link to their donation page.

This statement was forwarded to my inbox today:

Watertown, MN (October 4, 2007) Iraq war veteran and former Watertown mayor Steve Sarvi filed his campaign committee today with the Federal Election Commission, paving the way for a challenge to three-term Republican United States Representative John Kline. Sarvi said that Minnesotans are ready for a change in course both at home and abroad.

 

“As a veteran of the Iraq war, I’ve seen first-hand that we need to change strategy in Iraq and change strategy here at home,” said Sarvi, a married father of three school-age children.

 

“Minnesotans want a representative in Washington who listens to their concerns, knows how to bring people together to solve the many challenges we face at home and abroad, and will fight every day to get things done for our state. I have fought for our nation on many battlefields, and now I’m ready to fight for our district, our state and our nation in Congress,” Sarvi said.

 

Sarvi, who is the city administrator of the City of Victoria, returned in July after serving 16 months in Iraq, the longest any state’s unit has served in the war. Sarvi stepped aside as mayor in order to volunteer to go to Iraq with the National Guardsmen he trained for deployment. While in Iraq, he worked on civil reconstruction in the war-torn country. Sarvi also previously served a peace-keeping tour of duty in Kosovo in 2004.

 

“We in the Second District deserve a representative that isn’t afraid to talk to their constituents, and has real-world experience bringing people together to get things done,” said Charlie Thomas, a resident of Burnsville and supporter of Sarvi. “I’m supporting Steve Sarvi for Congress because we need change, plain and simple, and he’s the person who knows how to make change work.”

 

Sarvi said his direct war experience influenced his decision to run for Congress, but he added that America needs a new course at home as well, particularly when it comes to ensuring the health and security of our families with good jobs, access to affordable health care and a safe transportation infrastructure.

 

“The future of our communities, our state and our country directly depend on the choices we make in Washington,” said Sarvi. “Whether I’ve been on the job in Iraq or on the job in our local government, I’ve  always put Minnesota values first. In Congress, I will fight for the good jobs, affordable health care and quality transportation we must have in order to change the direction of our state and our country.”

Sarvi noted that given his service in Iraq,  his perspective is unique — his strong support for American troops is matched with equally strong dissatisfaction with the president’s failed policies.

 

“I am very proud to have served my country in Iraq,” said Sarvi. “Our district deserves a representative in Congress who will put the safety of our troops and the well-being of our families ahead of blind party loyalty. I want to provide the new leadership and courage that we need in Congress to change course in Iraq and make our sure our district becomes a safer and fairer place for our families at home.

The Pioneer Press has also picked up on the story:

Democrat and Iraqi war veteran Steve Sarvi today announced his intention to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline for Congress in 2008.

Sarvi, a former Watertown mayor, had long been talked about as a possible candidate but he has been constrained in his political activity until he was released from his federal military duty.

Like 2,600 other Minnesotans, Sarvi returned from 16 months of combat duty in Iraq this summer.

“Whether I’ve been on the job in Iraq or on the job in our local government, I’ve always put Minnesota values first,” Sarvi said in a statement about his candidacy.

He said he strongly supports the military troops but that “is matched with equally strong dissatisfaction with the president’s failed policies.”

Kline is a two-term Congressman in the 2nd District, which covers the southern metro area of the Twin Cities, including most of Dakota County. Kline has made military affairs a key part of his profile and his work in Congress. He spent much of his career in the Marines and carried the “nuclear football” for several presidents.

From The Hill:

Minnesota

Iraq veteran and former Watertown Mayor Steve Sarvi will file for the Democratic primary to take on Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) this week, Sarvi told The Hill on Wednesday.

“I’ve always had a process with this thing of taking it sort of step by step and seeing how it goes,” Sarvi said. “So the next step for us is to raise money and see what the reception’s like.”

Democrats are bullish about Sarvi, who said he would file either Wednesday or Thursday. They say his military background will help him cut into a major base of Kline’s support.

Kline is a retired Marine colonel who served as an aide to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He has carved out a reputation built on veterans’ issues.

Despite being a Democratic target, he has survived reelection bids with relative ease the last two cycles, winning both by 56-40 margins.

I finally had the opportunity to meet Sarvi a couple of weeks ago at a SD 35 DFL picnic. We will continue to follow this race closely here at IDHA.

A day after the AP made the decision to finally shed light on challengers to Michele Bachmann (sixth district) and John Kline (second district), as opposed to the exclusive focus on the crowd of GOP folks trying to take on Tim Walz in the first, a mainstream media source is finally putting the spotlight on one of them.

Today, the Star Tribune introduces readers to Steve Sarvi.

In what could be an intriguing political matchup next year, a National Guardsman with 20 years in the service under his belt is likely to take on Second District GOP Rep. John Kline, a three-term incumbent whose 25 year career in the Marines has been central to his political profile.

Sgt. 1st Class Steve Sarvi, who is demobilizing at Fort McCoy, Wis., this week after serving with the Minnesota Guard in Iraq, is leaning toward making the bid, according to his father, Al Sarvi.

“There’s nothing official yet, but we’re all pretty excited about it,” the elder Sarvi said Wednesday. “Because he’s still in the service, he can’t file, collect money or look for support yet.”

Working in Iraq since April 2006 on the Army’s reconstruction efforts, Sarvi, 42, is due to arrive home in Victoria on Friday and will be released from the service in a month, his father said.

Already, the comparison to Walz is being established, and John Kline responds:

If Sarvi jumps into the race, he would represent a continuation of the Democrats’ 2006 strategy of running veterans against Republicans they deem vulnerable, a tactic that paid off in Minnesota’s First District, where Rep. Tim Walz, a retired Guard member, pulled off a surprise victory.

“We’ve been talking with the DFL about it, so they know we’re looking at this,” Al Sarvi said.

DFL spokeswoman Kelly Schwinghammer was noncommittal about Sarvi’s potential candidacy, saying, “It’s a fluid field out there. We’re definitely grateful for his service to the country.”

In a prepared statement, Kline said, “I welcome him home, thank him for his service in Iraq and wish him the best as he re-integrates into civilian life. I look forward to the political contest next year, with whomever the DFL candidate might be.”

One advantage Kline supporters have always held on their mantles is his military service. With Sarvi’s experience in Iraq coupled with (what I hope will be!) a continuation of the very successful grassroots formula that helped send Walz to Washington, Kline will likely not be able to sleep easy this election cycle.

Stay tuned; we will have you covered here at IDHA on these developments.

Hot on the heels of my previous post on Walz, breaking news regarding a possible newcomer to the second district DFL congressional candidates could not be ignored.

National Guardsman and Sergeant First Class Steve Sarvi is returning home this Friday after a 15 month tour in Iraq. Mike McIntee (Inside Minnesota Politics) has been doing a great job covering Sarvi news with his podcast interview and post today about his return.

I am anxiously looking forward to seeing what Steve has in store for us in the second district. His service to our country could add a much needed dimension to a campaign, giving another military man, John Kline a run for his money. Unfortunately, he has not announced, nor has his intentions been publicly addressed. The second district could use a “Walz-like” character here, but only time will tell if we will have Steve as a newcomer.

As speculation can only persist, we can still recognize Sarvi for his accomplishments and service to our country. From Inside Minnesota Politics, “Sarvi won the Bronze Star for his work in helping build local governments in Iraq.” Mike McIntee also reports:

Just before he left Iraq, the Army presented him the Bronze Star which is given out for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service”. Not only is the Bronze Star a capstone for a very distinguished 20-year military career, but the award recognizes a strength that could serve Sarvi and Minnesota well in the coming years.

The impact that IDHA bloggers had on the ‘06 Walz campaign can be questionable, but what everyone did in the first district together was phenomenal. Expect no less from us if Steve Sarvi decides to throw his military hat in the race. We will be covering the second district with as much compassion and energy as needed to oust John Kline from office.

*UPDATE: News networks are catching on to the story. Associated Press is reporting on KXMC:

Sergeant First Class Steve Sarvi is a Democrat demobilizing this week in Wisconsin. He’s considering a Second District matchup with G-O-P Representative John Kline, a retired Marine colonel.

West Central Tribune is also stating:

MILITARY FACEOFF? GOP Rep. John Kline, a Vietnam veteran, might get a challenge from Iraq war veteran Steve Sarvi, who is considering a run as a Democrat as he returns from his deployment.

More as it comes in!

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