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August 20, 2009 08:27 PM UTC

Markey Toes Precarious Line on Health Care--Pretty Well, Actually

  • 14 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Rep. Betsy Markey is a freshman Democrat who represents a congressional district rated by the Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) as “R+6”–meaning a district that demographically leans Republican. As a supporter–with caveats–of the health care reform bills making their way through Congress, she would be considered on a short list of Democrats targeted by conservative protesters during the August recess.

But her events haven’t devolved into the free-for-all shouting matches seen in many other districts, as the Greeley Tribune reports:

About 150 people attended Wednesday’s session, the second of 12 Congress on your Corner meetings hosted by Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo., through Sept. 3. They filed into Ed Beaty Hall for the two-hour forum at Aims Community College.

Groups of about 20 people met with Markey for 15 to 20 minutes each. She answered questions and updated constituents about the fluid proposals being added to the national health care debate. One such offering is the idea of substituting a public insurance plan with an option to join nonprofit health care cooperatives.

Unlike other recent Congress member-hosted sessions that have flared into shout-downs about various aspects of reform, the discussions at Aims were calm and orderly. A group of about 15 people holding signs saying “No socialized medicine” and the like stood outside the hall in a “free speech zone” set up in the lawn…

Markey’s format of meeting with smaller groups over the course of several hours is what prompted Weld County commissioners to dubiously reject her requested use of county facilities for her events there–they demanded she allow whatever space she used to “fill to capacity,” even though that was never a condition before the recent spate of townhall mobbings by Republican-aligned protesters. And we mentioned that all Weld County Commissioners are Republicans, didn’t we?

But funny how much better everyone’s experience is when 10% of the attendees can’t shout down the other 90%? Doesn’t make for Republican-pleasing headlines about congresspeople being “chased out” of meetings, but it works out better for those who show up interested in actual communication.

Turning to the pitched battle over the “public option,” a focal point of both support and opposition to the plans being debated in Congress, Markey–though still deferring to concerns about the expense of reform in general–isn’t “backing off.” The Tribune continues:

Markey said the U.S. will probably end up with a “hybrid” approach to health care, but not a nationalized system.

“I do not believe that is the intent of the president to do away with private health care,” she said. “I think [Obama’s] been very clear on the fact that if you like what you have (in health coverage) you can keep it. We will fight for that, and I know there are people in this room that don’t believe that. But I think that’s a basic tenet of health care reform. If I thought we were going to a nationalized system, if I thought that was the intent of this, I would not support it.”

…There will always be a role for private insurers in American health care, said Markey, adding that government will never be able to serve everyone’s needs. In fact, she said, more private insurance companies are popping up in countries with nationalized health care.

“The idea is to bring some competition to a field that really there isn’t a lot of competition,” she said. “I think the top three insurance companies control the overwhelming majority of the market, and that (competition) is the goal of the public option.”

For all the hand-wringing from some on the left about Markey, we know a lot of liberals who could only dream of laying out the case for the public option so succinctly. Markey is in a very different situation politically from, for example, fellow freshman Jared “Insert Foot Here” Polis, and has to painstakingly craft each public statement on the major issues lest she alienate various parts of her fickle electorate. All Polis had to do was make sure his “I support reform” quote got in the paper more than his “your grandpa’s tax and spend Democrats” quote–he couldn’t even manage that, Markey’s job is much more nuanced.

And where Polis stumbled representing his safe liberal district, we think Markey is threading the needle in her battleground district very nicely.

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14 thoughts on “Markey Toes Precarious Line on Health Care–Pretty Well, Actually”

  1. I don’t see anywhere where she made any point in favor of the public option other than in creating “competition.”  But even that falls well short of actually laying out the details.  

    In any case, I don’t think this bill will make much of a difference in the midterm election.  Her votes on the stimulus package and cap-and-trade already sunk her hopes of reelection.

    1. it’s far too complicated an issue, most people don’t even know what it is, and the people who would get upset about it probably wouldn’t vote for Markey anyway so her vote on that bill isn’t going to sway them out of doing so.

      The stimulus vote I’ll give you, but right now she’s doing such a good job that this race is still her’s to lose.

      Plus Cory Gardner can’t just say “Yes, the president is a US citizen.” That’s a much easier thing to understand than trading carbon credits.

      1. …trading emissions licenses, etc… is beyond the realm of understanding for most voters.  But they do understand what it means when the price of electricity “necessarily skyrockets.”  Just tell them their utility bills will increase and they wont be too happy about it.

      2. Your boys at Berkshire feel that the base provisions of Cap N Tax will hammer every residence $120/month in pass through taxes.  That’s before all the pass through taxes for any good or service we buy drive their own massive inflationary pressures.

        Carter = Stagflation = Obama-Pelosi = Equal Allocation = More Jobless = Bankrupt Theories

        So, why are we doing this????

        1. That’s just a lie, and you know it.

          You could try posting a source for such ridiculous nonsense, but since you’re you I’m not holding my breath.

  2. I think we’ll see a 10 point margin for her again in ’10. And when she does the GOP will have a second district where they should own it – but it’s ours as long as that candidate stays in the job.

    1. I give you that she hasn’t made too many mistakes casting her votes, but the PR effort surrounding the recess is abysmal.  She let the GOP get in front of her and frame her as afraid to meet with constituents, and then she reinforced it by waiting until more than a week into the break to announce events.

      She’s also hemorrhaging the tried-and-true liberal supporters she is going to need to donate and knock doors, with her waffling on health care.

      Six weeks ago, I would have agreed with you, but I am beginning to think that we, in CD-4, are going to have to count on the kindness of strangers (R’s) to get her re-elected.

      But that’s working alright so far.

    2. but the thing is, Markey listens.  Period.  She listens to people peddling their pet projects, she listens to people who want to thank her, and she listens to people who want her out of office.  With the last category, she is neither dismissive nor haughty.  True, she is learning to be a bit dodgy, but she won’t survive if she wears her heart on her sleeve ALL the time.  In the end, what most voters want is to be heard.  Even if they’re not entirely sure what she’s saying on health care now, they know she’s heard them.

      You know, sooner or later other politicians might catch on, but until they do, Markey is around to stay.

  3. I just got back from the town hall meeting at Longmont.  I attended two full meetings, they started off doing the 15-20 model, then later did a meeting in gymnasium because there was such a high turnout of hundreds of people.  

    I definitely preferred the smaller meeting where everyone could be heard clearly and a small group couldn’t parade as a large group by being noisy.  

    Both meetings were civil, but the larger one was very slightly unruly.  There was a straw poll of who favors health care reform in general vs. who wants to do nothing and leave it as is… From my view it looked like about 75-80% for reform vs. 25-20% do nothing.  

    She did come out in support for a public option in the meetings, and said she hadn’t made any decisions on “co-op” type plans because she hasn’t seen any wording at all yet.  

    Her main issue was with funding Medicaid, from what I could tell, and it seems like if they could settle that issue then she’s in support of the bill.

    It was a pretty informative meeting and gave me a pretty good idea of where she stands on this issue.  

    Some pretty insulting signs though:  One guy had a sign that called Pelosi a dog, another said if you cut Markey she’s red inside… presumably because she’s a commie, not because she’s human?  I guess?  

  4. while Gardner is running around with a tinfoil hat on questioning the President of the United State’s citizenship?

    Where does the republican party find these people? Gardner’s not even on Both Ways Bob’s level yet and he think he’s can run for Congress.

    Boy this is going to be fun. The Republicans are over playing their hand and they don’t even know it.  

      1. We’ve been saying the Republican party is losing time and time again because they’re moving too far to the right – and yet they continue to move further from the mainstream and no longer just embrace bad policy ideas by now they’re literally embracing conspiracy theories to appease the nut-jobs who have taken over the Republican party.

        They’re no longer a legitimate party of opposition – they’re a mob of morons running around with tinfoil hats yelling that they sky is falling – chicken little should be their party logo.  

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