Thom Hartmann: And welcome back, Thom Hartmann here with you at the Health Action 2010 conference in Washington DC. And for those of you watching on Free Speech TV on Dish Network, and our webstream, the face you’re seeing right now is congresswoman Donna Edwards who is sitting here with me. She is the vice chair of the House progressive caucus and on the healthcare task force of the House progressive caucus. Congresswoman Edwards, welcome to the show.
Donna Edwards: Thom, it’s great to be with you and especially after a rousing speech last night from the President.
Thom Hartmann: He did a great job, he did a great job. The proof is gonna be in the pudding, as the old terrible cliché goes. Your thoughts on, I mean the Republicans just sat there stone faced. Even when he said we gave tax cuts, we gave everybody tax cuts. And they sat there, you know, like somebody had superglued their butts to their chairs. You know, what, we're going forward, what’s gonna happen?
Donna Edwards: Well, can you believe that nobody cheered on the fact that 95% of the American public actually received tax cuts last year? Anyway. Look, what we’re gonna do going forward is to make sure that we deliver on what we promised the American people when they voted for change in 2008. That means creating jobs, making sure that this economy is stable and is growing. And getting the job done on healthcare reform. I was really glad to hear the President say, you know what, forget the politics of Massachusetts, our job is to get this done for the American people.
Thom Hartmann: Absolutely. Let’s pick up some phone calls. Unless there are any major points that you want to make before we do it, can we pick up some phone calls from our listeners?
Donna Edwards: I want to hear from people.
Thom Hartmann: Great, okay, let’s do it. 866-987-THOM our telephone number. Mitch in Atlanta Georgia, listening on Sirius XM. Mitch you’re on the air with me and Congresswoman Donna Edwards.
Mitch: Yes, Thom I like your show, I agree with about 5% of what you say, ‘cause I’m a…
Thom Hartmann: Only five percent?
Mitch: Yeah I’m a conservative but I like to listen to you because you’re passionate about what you do. And I’m surprised Obama didn’t talk about the back door deal he made with Ben Nelson and Landrieu since he wanted to change Washington as well as the Union.
Thom Hartmann: Mitch he actually did say that and congresswoman Edwards, he acknowledged that people were rather sickened, I don’t think that that was the phrase he used, but by the perception that the whole healthcare process had been, well, you...
Donna Edwards: Well it’s true and I think many of us actually agree with that too and I think it’s really clear that as we approach the finish line on healthcare there will not be those back door deals. I mean a lot of us were saying well, you know, why Nebraska and why not Maryland but that’s not the way, we should be getting this done for the American people, it should be a transparent process. I think it has been up until now and now it’s time for us to do like the President said, take this over the finish line, get it signed into law, and then we can talk about what we’re doing for the American people and not to them.
Thom Hartmann: Right. The part that wasn’t transparent that people are upset about, you know, the 80 billion dollar deal with pharma and stuff like that, I mean…
Donna Edwards: And we have a right to be upset about those things. I mean the pharmaceutical industry has taken the American consumer to the bank. And I think that there are a number of things that we’ve got to fix as we move to bring the House and the Senate bills together, but we are going to do this for people.
Thom Hartmann: Good, good. If the, just a real quick question and then we’ll go back to our callers. If the Senate were to pass reconciliation right now, even though the House hasn’t voted on the Senate bill, if they were to reconcile that bill to conform with things that would make it agreeable to the progressives in the house, and then toss it back to the House so the House now has two things to vote on, the original Senate bill and the reconciliation. Even though it’s all out of order, it doesn’t matter, the only order that matters is the order in which the President signs them, is that a strategy that, as vice chair of the House progressive caucus, you think would work and that the caucus is behind?
Donna Edwards: Well, and I think there’s some key things. I mean we want to make sure, substance is really important. And so we can make sure that we really do fix true problems with the Senate bill, you know, at the end of the day, no one’s ever gonna ask you once they have healthcare how you did it. They’re just gonna be glad that it’s done. And so I’m actually fairly agnostic as long as there is a process that can be created that sort of fits with moving this forward so that it gets a presidential signature at the end of the day, I’m right there. And I think most progressives are too and I know that’s what I hear in my district.
Thom Hartmann: Absolutely. Jeff in South Salem New York. You’re on the air with me and congresswoman Donna Edwards, the vice chair of the House progressive caucus.
Jeff: Hi Thom, it’s really good to talk to you. I’m just really curious, I know that from listening to you, you have questioned the President’s motives in a lot of cases, as far as the progressive agenda.
Thom Hartmann: I’ve never questioned his motives, I’ve questioned his effectiveness.
Jeff: Well, okay. Well I guess, I’ve questioned his motives.
Thom Hartmann: OK.
Jeff: Heard a lot of others question whether he’s really pushing a progressive agenda or giving lip service. And when you played the clip from the speech which he told the Democrats that they have the largest majority that they’ve had in decades, I didn’t understand why he hasn’t been saying that publicly and calling them out to use that majority and why we’re still stuck in this mode of not being able to move forward in the Senate because of this fear of filibuster.
Thom Hartmann: Excellent point, Jeff. Congresswoman Edwards, the last time the Republican Party had 60 votes in the United States Senate was 1923. And they have not failed to pass legislation. Controversial legislation, dropping the top marginal tax rate on millionaires and billionaires during the Reagan era from 74% down to 29%, you know, wars, they’ve done all kinds of things. Why have the Democrats been, I lack a word but you know what I’m talking about. Dithering is a little too soft and impotent is too sexist. But why have the Democrats not been, why haven’t they done anything here? We’ve got a year, it seems like a year has been wasted.
Donna Edwards: Well, I was glad actually last night that the President actually put it out there and said, you know what, forget this notion of super majorities. We have a majority in the House, a majority in the Senate, and we have the White House and I was glad to hear, frankly, that it’s time for us as Democrats to hold our shoulders up, hold our heads up, say we know that we brought this country from the brink of financial disaster. We had to do some things that all of us had to hold our noses on and did them anyway, we’re gonna create jobs, we’re gonna pass healthcare reform, and we’re gonna do it in the way that the old fashioned democratic way, little d democracy, and that is majorities are gonna pass these things and get it done for the American people. I thought it was high time that the President frankly acknowledged that and put it out there on the line for those of us as Democrats.
Thom Hartmann: But why hasn’t he been saying that for six months?
Donna Edwards: I can’t explain that but I’m glad he’s saying it now.
Thom Hartmann: Okay, I’m with ya on that . And let’s hope he follows through legislatively and that you know Rahm Emanuel who was famous for taking names and kicking butt will actually start doing it.
Donna Edwards: Well, it’s time. And I, let’s hold ourselves accountable. I mean, it is true that Republicans have been obstructing and getting in the way and being the party of no, that’s fine. But that doesn’t take away the responsibility that we have as Democrats on these things, this kind of change that we actually did promise the American people in 2008.
Thom Hartmann: Yeah. We’re talking with congresswoman Donna Edwards, she represents the 4th district of Maryland and she’s also the vice chair of the House progressive caucus. And Catherine in Mukolito, Washington, do I have that right, Catherine? Listening on TALK 1090 I’m assuming?
Catherine: Pretty close, it’s actually Mukilteo.
Thom Hartmann: Okay, your question for me or for the congresswoman or both?
Catherine: I just wanted to ?? and I totally support you and agree with more than 5% of what you say……
Thom Hartmann: Catherine I’m sorry your phone is fading in and out, we’ve got a bad a cell phone. You’ll have to call back from a landline. We’ll try another call here. Jim in Farmington Hills Michigan, listening on WDTW in Detroit, hey Jim, you’re on the air with me and congresswoman Donna Edwards.
Jim: Afternoon. I am a county commissioner from Michigan and we’ve talked before. I am pushing something that I want everybody to at least consider. I’d like to send you it too by email, it’s a one page thing talking about a constitutional amendment I’m proposing. Simple, this is it. Corporations are not persons under the laws. They do not possess the rights of natural persons independent of their officers, owners and employees. Corporations are legal contracts between individuals registered and regulated by the state imparting significant benefits and certain…
Thom Hartmann: Amen Jim and we don’t allow reading on the show, but amen and congresswoman Edwards, last night Sam Alito had his, what’s his name, what was the guy who yelled “You lie!”
Donna Edwards: Joe Wilson from South Carolina.
Thom Hartmann: Joe Wilson, yeah. See I have a mental block on his name, that was so offensive. And Sam Alito did the same thing last night in a Supreme Court fashion in which he said “Not true,” he mouthed it. And something that just never happens, the Supreme Court comments on what the president is saying, but it is true. The Supreme Court decision and the dissent makes it very clear. This Supreme Court decision will now allow Toyota to hire basically or fire somebody like yourself, a member of the US House of Representatives. What are you all gonna do about it?
Donna Edwards: Well I’m glad that you brought this up because I am really troubled by the Supreme Court’s decision and I think the Supreme Court obliterated 100 years of settled law. You know, we had a court that came in and said we’re gonna pay attention to precedent and then they just threw it out the window. So I’ve actually, I actually have joined with the chairman of the judiciary committee, John Conyers, to introduce, we’ll be dropping it actually on Tuesday, a constitutional amendment that says corporations are not allowed to expend their money on political speech, just that simple.
Thom Hartmann: That is absolutely great. I wrote a book on this 10 years ago called "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and Theft of Human Rights". And it was all about the 1886 decision and everything that’s happened since then. I’m updating it right now and it’s gonna be back in print, well it is in print now, but the new edition will be out in May and we’re doing a nationwide roll out. If you could get that amendment to me right away I’ll make sure it gets in the book.
Donna Edwards: I’m gonna get it to you right away because I think that what the court has done here is they’ve said corporations will be allowed to buy and sell elected officials. This is unacceptable and we have to make sure that democracy really works, especially in our elections and I think the court has left us actually no choice but to change the constitution.
Thom Hartmann: Yeah. Absolutely. And do you think that, you know, ¾ of the Senate, or ¾ of the states and 2/3 of the House and Senate will go along with that?
Donna Edwards: Well I think if all of your listeners and people across this country say what an outrage it is, call your members of Congress, say get on this, on this bill, get it out of the Senate, and get it into the state legislatures. We don’t have a choice here. Otherwise our elections are up for grabs by any corporation who wants.
Thom Hartmann: You’re absolutely right. The bad news, 29,000 amendments have been proposed, we’ve got 27 I think. The good news, things like ending prohibition, the 18 year old right to vote, done just like that.
Donna Edwards: This is about elections.
Thom Hartmann: When people are behind it, they can do it. Congresswoman Donna Edwards, thanks so much for being with us.
Donna Edwards: Thank you.
Thom Hartmann: And for the great work you’re doing.
Transcribed by Suzanne Roberts, Portland Psychology Clinic.
