Emilie Aries

No out-of-network doctors.
No premiums hikes for switching groups.
No need to pre-authorize surgery.

Think this sounds like a healthcare fantasy? Actually, it’s not. In nations around the world, these are realities for citizens with healthcare choices that include government-provided health insurance.

Sunday’s Washington Post featured an article by T.R. Reid that tours the healthcare solutions implemented by foreign nations. Reid debunks 5 myths of healthcare systems abroad that pervade the American political dialogue.

I highly recommend reading the entire article, but if you’re pressed for time, here’s a run-down of the rumors Reid dispels:

Myth #1 It’s all socialized medicine out there

In fact, with most of our nation’s seniors on Medicare, some argue that we have a larger percentage of government-funded healthcare recipients than Britain, New Zealand, Cuba, Canada and Taiwan! Those nations provide healthcare in government hospitals without footing the bills!

Myth #2 Overseas, care is rationed through limited choices or long lines

Normally, no. In a more regulated system, consumer choice grows because it’s hard for insurance companies to penalize recipients for changing plans. While yes, some nations are plagued by long lines, studies still show that Germany, Britain, and Austria beat out the U.S. in waiting times for appointments and elective surgeries.

Myth #3 Foreign health-care systems are inefficient, bloated bureaucracies

Simply put, “all the other payment systems are more efficient than ours.” This section of Reid’s article is especially telling. For all the free-market enthusiasts out there who cannot fathom a government healthcare program with lower costs than a private insurer, consider this: “U.S. health insurance companies have the highest administrative costs in the world; they spend roughly 20 cents of every dollar for nonmedical costs, such as paperwork, reviewing claims and marketing. France’s health insurance industry, in contrast, covers everybody and spends about 4 percent on administration.”

Myth #4 Cost controls stifle innovation

Not true. Many medical breakthroughs, from hip and knee replacements to deep-brain stimulation technology to Viagra were invented overseas. In fact, strict cost controls drive innovation abroad.

Myth #5 Health insurance has to be cruel

Americans have come to accept the idea of insurance companies refusing to cover patients with “preexisting conditions” — precisely those who need healthcare the most. Adjusters are paid to deny claims and big insurance companies use every layer of red tape to avoid covering the expenses they promised. As it turns out, “The United States is the only developed country that lets insurance companies profit from basic health coverage.”

Foreign healthcare isn’t all that foriegn to the United States, Reid argues. Our mixed-up system takes on roles similar to Britain, Germany and Canada depending on the constituency group. But for the tens of millions of uninsured Americans, we compare to Burundi or Burma: “In the world’s poor nations, sick people pay out of pocket for medical care; those who can’t pay stay sick or die.”

If you still don’t think the United State healthcare system is all that bad, check out this New York Times Op-Ed from earlier in the month.  The author expanded upon recent studies that ranked the American healthcare system far behind other developed nations.

It’s time we catch up to the rest of the world. We must reform our broken healthcare system and bring it into the 21st century. For a nation known for innovation, enterprise and a life of opportunity for our citizens, we’ve turned a blind eye on the healthcare system for far too long.

We can’t bring about change without the support and participation of the American people – that means YOU!

Organizing for America provides an easy-to-use Health Care Action Center where you decide how to help make healthcare reform a reality.

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is also stocked with informational resources and ways to get involved. Be sure to check out their Action Center as well, which details ways to add your voice to the health care debate NOW!

BREAKING: Check out how OFA and HCAN are teaming up to run a coordinated campaign for healthcare reform as soon as Congress is back in session. It’s never been a more critical time for you to get involved in the fight to fix our broken healthcare system!

Just got back from my first Netroots Nation conference – Pittsburgh edition! Before I get into the main lessons I learned from this incredible experience, here’s a quick video to explain what we were up to.

1. Passing healthcare reform is more important than passing health care reform.

Angry mobs.  Screaming Glen Beck.  Members of Congress who suggest the President is not an American citizen.

If the Democratic party is unable to come together and pass substantive health care reform – despite having a supermajority in Congress – our failure will give legitimacy to the ridiculous realities described above.

Passing healthcare, beyond being an absolute necessity for our nation, is a test of the Democratic party’s devotion to the American public.  Will our representatives react in fear of losing their own seat?  Will they cave to the incredibly wealthy health care lobbyists and screaming town hall protestors, who try to convince elected officials that their voices matter more?

I hope not.  At Netroots Nation, we all seemed to agree that passing meaningful health care legislation will be a critical test of Obama’s leadership and the principles of his administration.  “We have already compromised,” Governor Howard Dean told us.  “The only piece of reform left worth doing is the public option.”

What happens on health care will become a larger statement about which voices matter in our democracy.  Passing inclusive health care reform with a public option would communicate that our Congress represents the people who voted for it – the middle class, everyday families who might not have millions of dollars for government lobbying, but whose votes keep their elected officials in office.

2. Progressives’ Got Talent!

Ever heard of a good song about being Republican?  How about a Republican comedy video that went viral on YouTube?  Or maybe a celebrity Republican graphic designer and DJ?

I didn’t think so.  One thing that Netroots Nation ‘09 made clear was that progressives have a valuable asset when it comes to the arts.  As it turns out, really talented, funny and artistic people often possess progressive political minds as well.  And our party is ready and willing to take them seriously!

Netroots Nation featured two stand-out panels that were among some of my favorites of the entire weekend: Mixtapes to Myspace: How Hip Hop Builds Movements and Comedy, Video & Activism.  Both demonstrated the power that good-old activism gains with the addition of cutting-edge, compelling art.  They were absolutely incredible.

This message was hammered home at my favorite party of the conference sponsored by none other than MoveOn.org, which featured the artwork of Shepard Fairey!  The artist himself joined us to spin some vinyl for our dancing delight (note: while we seem to have “art” down, dancing is absolutely not included under this category.)

3. Don’t forget the youth!

Another panel I found incredibly powerful was the first I attended, Getting Ish Done: The Youth Movement Moves Beyond Voting.  As a member of “the youth” myself, I found it all too easy to be cynical about my fellow young voters.  After all, I see what kind of garbage some 18-to-24-year-olds post on Facebook (because…I’m friends with them, shh!)

This panel taught me that the nay-sayers who think that the recent enthusiasm of youth voters was a flash in the pan and will fade into the past like your Tamagotchi collection, are simply wrong.

We millenials have different ideas about civic engagement.  The 2008 election was transformative for my generation.  We have gained a fundamentally different concept of what it means to be part of a community and a nation: we understand that political issues have real impact on our lives.  And with the Internet helping to make it easier than ever to connect, share and learn from each other, we’re ready and willing to organize around those issues.

I was especially moved by Erica L. Williams, the director of policy and advocacy for Campus Progress, a project of the Center of American Progress.  She provided me with my new favorite youth vote selling point: more votes were cast by people under 30 years old than over 60 years old – for the first time ever. (While I love this theory – I have yet to find any data backing it up! If anyone can verify this, please let me know!)

4. Progressives must use muscle in Congress.

A common thread throughout many panels is best summed up by Christopher Beam who wrote yesterday on Slate.com, “If there was an overarching theme, it was How do we hold Obama to his campaign promises?”

This raises some questions about our Congressional fortitude as progressives – a minority within the Democratic majority.  At Netroots Nation, everyone agreed it’s time to fight tactically, strategically and as a united coalition of voters.  While I’m no Congressional expert, I’m curious to see if the energy of our conference will be mirrored in the behavior of our representatives.

I’m worried that it’s all too easy for members of the House and Senate in the Congressional Progressive Caucus to fall back into the role of the all-too-compassionate Democrat, compromising away what we most believe in.  I’m further disheartened by the fact that the numbers simply aren’t on our side – there’s only 83 House representatives and 2 senators in the caucus right now. In the House that adds up to just over 30% of Democrats – which, if voting in a block, can do some powerful things.  But it’s no wonder the health care bill is having trouble in the Senate – progressive caucus members Sens. Sanders and Udall won’t be able to accomplish much on their own.

Progressive Democrats have to keep it together, act (ideally in conjunction with all Democrats) as a cohesive voting block, and yes – hold President Obama to his campaign promises in the legislative branch.

5. There ain’t no party like a Progressive Party.

This was both my favorite and most painful lesson learned this weekend. The video below highlights just a small sample of the late-night fun we Netroots Nation attendees got into.  Needless to say, I had an absolute blast…until I had to get up for the morning sessions the next day!

All in all, I had an absolute blast at my first-ever Netroots Nation and cannot wait for next years’ conference – in VEGAS, baby!

It’s official, privacy is dead – but that’s not such a bad thing after all.

Somehow, I thought that by keeping this “blog” less about my actual thoughts and more of a resume addendum, I was preventing potential employers from being offended by something I do or say. When I first set up this site, for example, I had one potential boss chastise me for calling the tea-baggers “whack jobs.” Apparently, that’s not very professional. Point taken.

But I should have known better than to withhold my thoughts and personality here – politics is the business of opinion!

In a more recent interview I was asked who I could “bring in” to the company with me. Who are my people? Who do I influence? Who listens to me?

I came up short. This whole time I’d been trying to keep my online presence a clean slate, my Twitter feed private, my Facebook profile on total lockdown. What an amateur mistake!

I suppose it’s about time I get with it and kiss goodbye my ideas of keeping a low profile in the 21st century. After all, the merits of relationship-building online were hammered into me at NOI’s BootCamp – and no good relationship can begin without open, honest and authentic people on every side of the exchange. What’s most ironic is that for anyone who knows me, in personal exchanges I’ve never been one to keep my opinion to myself!

If for no other reason, I am inspired to start taking blogging more seriously now that I’m on my way to Netroots Nation, the biggest gathering of bloggers and online junkies in the world. For four years now, the people behind DailyKos have organized this conference, where progressive activists gather to learn from one another, find out what’s new on the ‘net and discuss how to effect the political landscape using the tools provided by the Internet.

It’s my first time attending NN and I can barely contain my excitement, which is continuously inflamed by the enthusiasm of others who have already gone and remain jubilant. After spending two summers in Washington, DC hanging out with progressive netroots activists, I’m looking forward to meeting other interesting online personalities live and in living color!

That’s what’s so fabulous about shedding one’s anonymity online and expressing your opinions and beliefs in a public way – the possibility of connecting with others and creating meaningful, fruitful relationships is exponentially greater than doing so off-line, where time and space can be limiting.

The people behind Netroots Nation clearly understand this: they’re hosting a mirror conference online in real time using Second Life (the online community of avatars interacting in a “Sims”-like environment that I still don’t completely understand) and are encouraging online interaction from those who couldn’t make the trek to Pittsburgh or pay the entry fee. My final hat tip to Netroots Nation is for the $50 student entry fee, an opportunity that made it possible for me to be joining everyone today.

I’ll check back in after the conference to let you know if Netroots Nation turned out to be everything I’m hoping for.

For now, I’m simply happy to say, I’m here and I’m ready to get my blog on.

During an intense week-long training program put on by the New Organizing Institute (NOI) last week, my Wonder Woman campaign team took out the competition in our mock election for Mayor of DC! Throughout the week, camp attendees worked on building buzz for our DC comic candidates online while we learned from experts in the industry on messaging, field plans, data, online outreach, and getting out the vote (GOTV).

By the end of the week, we campers were not only well-trained in all things new media, but inspired to use our training to help further the progressive movement. NOI did an incredible job of combining hands-on practical training with big-picture discussions. For instance, we worked with experts to draft a comprehensive field plan one day and heard from Harvard Professor Marshall Ganz on “Organzing and Social Movements” another. Overall, this combination made for a transformative and enlightening week.

The Wonder Woman campaign earned a total of 1,188 unique votes to win the election and in total, the 8 campaigns at BootCamp garnered over 6,000 votes! That’s the population of Wasilla, Alaska, where Sarah Palin only earned 909 votes in her incumbent mayoral race. And to think – our campaigns only had 5 days – it’s pretty insane.

Some other interesting Wonder Woman factoids:

• in 5 days, our email list grew to 424 subscribers.
• we attracted 366 supporters on Facebook.
• we created two campaign advertisements – the one I made, “Lasso of Truth,” has currently been viewed 794 times on YouTube!
• NOI was taking footage the whole time and captured one of our team discussions on film.
• there’s also this hilarious example of how the Super Man team employed a flawed Get Out the Vote strategy and how awesome our website was at attracting people to vote for us! A must-see!
• Our campaign and the whole NOI BootCamp program received press mentions (thanks to our own outreach to bloggers and the news media) on DailyKos, Epolitics, NPR, Femeniste, Fire Dog Lake (FDL), Greater Greater Washington, Huffington Post, Wonkette, RI Future, and countless others!

I had an incredible experience and must thank my wonderful, bright Wonder Woman teammates, without whom this would never have happened: Erin Mazursky, Mohit Shewaramani, Josh Bolotsky, Awais Khaleel, Dan Borntrager, and Stephanie Chin. You can read more about all the BootCamp attendees here.

Finally, if you didn’t get a chance to check out our website during the campaign, visit www.WonderWomanforDC.com to see our work! Many thanks to the good people at the New Organizing Institute (NOI) who put on our fabulous BootCamp program, which I recommend anyone interested in learning about incorporating online strategy into progressive/activist campaigns apply for. The absolute best part of this week of training was that it was absolutely FREE!

SavetheRich.com is a website that’s calling out Fox News and other right-wing corporate powers for promoting this past Tax Day’s “Tea Party” demonstrations accros the country. They’re also highlighting the protesters that actually attended this fringe right event. Providence’s ABC 6 news did this report on it – and I said a few words on behalf of the SavetheRich.com people. Check it out.

No offense to ABC6, but I seem to recall another, much more popular video that featured the very same demographic of rich, out-of-touch, right-wingers throwing a tea party – or was it “partay?” While this time around the tea party-goers claimed to be making a historical reference (although, you can read here about how misguided their sense of history is) it seems this group just really likes their tea parties…

Last Tuesday, John Edwards spoke here at Brown University.  It was his third public appearance since the Reille Hunter story broke – the first time he took unscreened questions from the audience.

I just couldn’t NOT ask J. Eddy about the way his campaign went up in flames!  In my defense, I wasn’t trying to air out anyone’s dirty laundry.  I wanted to take an academic approach to what had happened.  At least it would break the silence on the issue – nobody in the audience (or the media, over the course of the past 6 months, for that matter) would address the huge, blonde, video-recording elephant in the room!  As a student of media and politics, I felt I had the right to ask what the candidate himself thought about the public’s relationship with the media on issues like this.

I went up to the mic and said this:

“I just want to first identify myself as someone who was organizing for you here on campus.  And I did go knock on doors for you in New Hampshire.

As someone who believed in you, I wanted to afford you the opportunity to speak on something that I think Joe Trippi, your former campaign manager, explains pretty well toward the end of his book, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. In there, he says something about the American public judging candidates on a higher moral standard than we would judge normal people in our daily lives. And I’m wondering if you would say that this is a fair metric, if this is a just metric that we, the American public — with the help of the mainstream media, of course — should hold our public officials to?  Even at our own detriment, when we lose out on a candidate’s good policies because he or she may not be able to run for public office again.”

You should have heard the way that auditorium went deathly quiet at the word “moral,” it was like some one had been shot.  After I finished the question there was a collective holding-of-breath as everyone’s attention shifted to the podium.

Needless to say, Edwards gave a politicians non-answer answer, saying that he’s no one to say what’s just or fair and that he’ll keep his private beliefs on the matter to himself.  Not fantastic.  Not even satisfactory.  But I figured that pushing him on the matter would only backfire and make me look like a complete grouch.

I find it really interesting how the media took my question and ran with it (see links below.)  I was portrayed in a variety of ways: as the bitter former campaign volunteer demanding an apology, the holier-than-thou Ms. Prim scolding the sinner who lost his way, or my personal favorite: the naive college student that learned a tough life lesson about politics.  In reality, these are all caricatures.  Believe it or not, I’m actually very interested in media, politics and the bizarre nature of the collective American psyche.

While yes, my question reflects my longing for an upfront acknowledgment from John Edwards about what happened, I’m also curious whether he thought we, the Ameican public, do ourselves harm or good for tossing out candidates based on their sex lives.  If JFK were campaigning today, would he have made it to the White House without the media exposing his extra-exciting social life?  Doubtful.

Unfortunately, this isn’t really the dialogue that was carried through by the media.

The ProJo put out two pieces on the incident:

Form presidential candidate John Edwards speaks at Brown

Scandal over affair with his campaign worker clouds Edwards’ poverty message

I was also interviewed for a story on The Daily Beast, but judging by the comments left underneath the story by dailybeast.com readers, I think my message was misconstrued.  I was a HUGE John Edwards supporter – and still am!  I was just disappointed!  You can read it here:

John Edwards Ducks Reille Hunter

What I was not so thrilled about was the way the right wing used my question as fodder for hate-on-John-Edwards pieces.   I’m not sure whether I was happy or concerned to learn that Economist.com took some of what I said to the Daily Beast reporter and used it as their “quote of the day.”

March 11, 2009 Quote of the Day