By: tlsa98 on 8/23/09
Bart Gordon is rated as MORE LIBERAL than Barney Frank, Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi ect... He will most assuredly vote for whatever ridiculous so called healthcare bill Pelosi sends to the floor. This guy needs to go in 2010! Who's with me?

By: Geana on 8/23/09
Gordon: H.R. 3200 has to be deficit neutral, reduce costs moving forward and make health care more affordable for everyone, or I am not voting for it.

"He will most assuredly vote for whatever ridiculous so called healthcare bill Pelosi sends to the floor."

Put your crystal ball away, tlsa98.

By: tlsa98 on 8/23/09
Geana, his prior voting record speaks for itself. I don't need a crystal ball to see what he will do, just my eyes and my brain.

By: 5t5 on 8/23/09
tlsa98: I'm with you & I would guess 85-90% of the people of the 6th district are too. Apparently Bart takes his orders from NANCY no matter how "STUPIDLY" they may be!

By: ritajones on 8/23/09
I think we can all agree that going to the doctor is just too expensive. That having health insurance cost $300, $400 a month is unspeakable for most of us. Because we cannot afford it, we don't go to the doctor unless we are think we are dying. What is the right way for Mr. Gorgon to represent us, keep Americans with freedom of choice and not have the US Government run health care? We have to do something, but the thought of Socialized Health Care frightens me very much. Thoughts?

By: Alaskadave on 8/23/09
tlsa98,

I am with you!

It is my mission to defeat Bart Gordon in 2010. Were you at the Courthouse on Saturday?

I will be at the Town Hall on Monday.

I have two of my employees standing in line for tickets starting at 0800 hours.

By 3PM we will be grilling out hot dogs and blasting the best of Mark Levin waiting for the party.

Stop by and join in...


Don't let them get away with the destruction of our values and our children's future.

By: Alaskadave on 8/23/09
rita,

The majority of the people without health insurance are illegals, should we pay for them under this plan? Many of the others without insurance walk around with cell phones and buy lottery tickets every week. Is it my responsibility to fund their poor choices? $300-$400 a month for health insurance is a small price to pay. These people simply need to get their priorities put in the proper order. Mc. Donald's, Cell Phones. lottery tickets and new cars simply have to wait until they have enough cash to get them. If they care so little for themselves and their families that they are unwilling to sacrifice those aforementioned luxuries so they can afford health insurance, why in the hell should I be forced to pay it for them and carry their dead weight?

By: Geana on 8/23/09
tlsa98: Prior voting on "what?" Be more specific. There were other instances someone suggested to check his voting record on abortion for instance, and when I went to check, the person's hearsay turned out to be untrue.

I don't mind facts. You say he's been rated, then you tell me to check voting records? Which is it?

By: tlsa98 on 8/23/09
Geana, here are some of ratings,
National Taxpayers Union,

In 2007 Bart Gordon had a rating of 7%, an F. (100% being the most conservative). His ranking was more liberal than Dennis Kucinich.

Citizens Against Government Waste,

In 2007 Bart Gordon had a rating of 5% (100% being the most conservative). His ranking was more liberal than Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank.

Club for Growth,

In 2007 Bart Gordon had a rating of 12% (100% being the most conservative). This was more liberal than Rahm Emanuel and Henry Waxman.

Read ‘em and weep. Literally. The 6th District is represented by one of the most liberal representatives in America. Bart can’t run from him record. Pass this info onto your friends and family.

By: tlsa98 on 8/23/09
Geana, here is just one example of a really stupid vote by Gordon regarding socialized healtcare,
"Opposed a committee amendment to prevent illegal aliens from accessing taxpayer-funded health care in 2009
Rep. Gordon opposed the Deal amendment to H.R. 3200 (the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009) in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Deal amendment would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving free taxpayer-funded health care. The amendment failed 28-29. By opposing this amendment Rep. Gordon supported the right of illegal aliens to receive health care intended for U.S. citizens and authorized legal aliens."
I'll give you many, many more examples of this type of vote if you like.

By: publius on 8/23/09
1.Illegals already access our health care system. Hospitals can not turn away any one due to insurance or lack of funds. I am my brothers keeper?
2.By opposing this amendment he protected people with out insurance or the right insurance form being turned away. Get your facts straight.

By: Catman411 on 8/23/09
Alaskadave, I hate to say it but we are already paying for those people who don't have health insurance whether they are legal or illegal everytime they use the ER for their primary care needs. Who do you think is paying the medical bill when they don't?? We are... In the form of higher insurance premiums; longer waiting times in the ER ( because they use the ER for routine care instead of going to a medical office); less nursing staff is available because hospitals have to cut costs ( by cutting staff) to pay for those not paying their ER/ hospital bills...If you have insurance or ever seek medical care, then you are already paying for the uninsured! While the insurance companies keep getting richer raising your premiums while decreasing your coverage. Reforming medical care may actually save you some money in the long run. And may help improve care.

By: Geana on 8/23/09
Tlsa98, thank you for your references. I checked and I have a slight problem already. The ratings are supposedly issued in a non-partisan manner regarding wasteful spending. I believe every state qualifies for wasteful spending, some more than others. Among all the states, where does TN rank in terms of most and least wasteful? Where does Dist. 6 rank in terms of wasteful spending amongst the other TN districts? WHERE did this ranking in all three come from: (100% being the most conservative). Bush has been accused of wasteful spending. Did that make Bush "liberal?"

As a citizen I am very against illegals receiving any type of "free anything."

The House Energy and Commerce Committee endorsed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio)(H.R. 3200). The amendment’s language REAFFIRMS CURRENT LAW, WHICH PROHIBITS ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM APPLYING FOR STATE MEDICAID AND CHILD HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS.

The amendment offered by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) would have required states to verify an individual's citizenship status before automatically enrolling them.

That amendment was defeated by one vote.

No one is automatically enrolled. We are all already required to prove our "citizenship" in the form of birth certificates, SS cards and numbers, proof of residency, for starters.

Did the wording in Deal's proposed amendment specifically refer "only" to green card holders? Even so, does it belong "only" in the HR 3200, or should it be broadly applied everywhere in every program? If illegal green cards are getting past the state systems, even perhaps in driver licensing, then there is something wrong with cross-checking systems. Fix those first.

By: Alaskadave on 8/23/09
What business does the Federal Government have in healthcare?

Why do we want to invite them into our lives?

Do you think this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they sat down and wrote the Constitution?

Do you think they would have envisioned a Country where the Government confiscates 50% of our income, then distributes it to the undeserving of our society?

Now some us want to give them even more control. Are we crazy? Would you put the future of you and your family in the hands of a man like Bart Gordon, a career politician and Attorney? Or in the hands of a man like Barney Frank, a perverted ... I can't even go there.. How about Chris Dodd, Henry Waxman, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, John Murtha, John Kerry, Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, the list could go on and on and on...

These guys are all Bart Gordon's buddies.

By: barrettbear on 8/23/09
The Federal Government is already a part of our lives.

Known to many Americans as federal assistance,federal aid,federal benefits(federal funds).

Assitance comes to assist or benefit the American public in the areas of education,health,public safety,public welfare and public works.

The federally funded assistance can reach to over $400 billion dollars annually.

The assistance is provided and administered by government agencies.
such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, through special programs to recipients.

There roughly 12 federal Assistance Programs available. One such program would be Nutrition AssistanceFor Puerto Rico.

Next the American public has Federal Grants and Awards available which can be used for assistance.

There are 5 different types of grants and awards to choose from. For instance, Earmark Grants. In the FY2006, the Congressional Research Service found 12,852 earmarks totalling $64billion dollars.

Next we have recipients for the services which are available through the Federal Government. There are 6 different types of recipients. Included are the Indian Tribal Governments.

Pass-through entities and sub-recipients, financial type assistance, non-finacial type assistanceavailable.

Hard to imagine why so many people who live in the Sixth Congressional District of Murfreesboro,Tn are now complaining about heathcare.

By: Alaskadave on 8/23/09
No argument here on those points Barrettbear.
Our Government is far to oppressive in many areas.

Healthcare just happens to be a very public and in your face power grab.

When the majority of people depend on the government for their benefits then we will end up with a Congress like we have today and a Commander In Chief with the Virtues of the current occupant in to the foreseeable future.

By: Dave42 on 8/24/09
I hate to disagree with you folks but noone is more liberal than Princess Nancy, or that Court Jester Barney Frank.

By: Geana on 8/24/09
That's fine Dave42. Quite obviously, the Democratic Party is more liberal than the Conservative Republicans. Obviously, the Conservative Democrats are less liberal than liberal Democrats.

What you all should be refocusing your liberal tags on, is those Republicans who voted "in favor of." Consider that the representatives who voted against the Deal Amendment to H.R. 3200 did so because they saw it's potential to interfere with both the states' and the peoples' rights, not because they want illegals' to be entitled.
They saw the potential of allowing the amendment to H.R. 3200 as giving the government control exactly where you are all not wanting the government to control.

I agree wholeheartedly a much more secure and accurate system to check green card status to ensure illegals do not pass through. But I believe it should be implemented as a whole for all U.S. departments, not in isolation.

This may sound far-fetched to some but I had at some point wondered how a DNA match database system would work in to isolate and identify legal immigrants from illegal aliens. Once they're sworn in as citizens, they can be removed from the database. Does immigration have even a fingerprint system? I don't know. Green cards can be easily counterfeited.

By: docsbm on 8/24/09
i just want to know if the bartman really has a clue...i am certain he didnt read the $800 bailout bill, as no other democrats did either...how can we have faith in our representatives when they blindly vote for the largest government expenditure in history WITHOUT even reading the bill? he is totally out of faith with his constituents...make congress pay for their own health insurance like most americans are forced to do, and i bet there would be some real action taken.

By: docsbm on 8/24/09
totally out of TOUCH with his constituents, sorry

By: SocEtTuem on 8/24/09
Look at these questions and tell me they were not prescribed and filtered. What a pile of softball fluff! Nobody thought to ask, hey Bart, why did you vote against an amendment that SPECIFICALLY prohibited illegals from having us pay for their health care? Why didn't the media (or you for that matter) think to mention it when you voted against it? Why just the fluff? What an absolute crock of BS. This is so staged and so soft ball it's enough to make you want to horf. Only a dimwit could buy into this "town hall" as anything even remotely resembling legitimate. I have voted for this mope in the last three elections. Not the next time. I'm voting for "change" and hoping we get it. Anybody but this guy.

By: life_is_short on 8/25/09
Alaskadave, I'll tell you what business the government has in our health care. My sister was dying of liver cancer. She couldn't work. Couldn't pay the high cost of her insurance. Nobody else would insure her because she was already sick. After years of fighting it, she finally had to go on disability. She wanted to work, but she couldn't. Because of the government sticking there nose into my health care, my sister was able to receive a liver transplant. One that MY tax dollars helped pay for. I was the donor. The government paid for my part too. If they hadn't, the company I work for would not have been able to renew their insurance for the rest of the employees. I would have probably been terminated to remove me as a high risk and driving up the cost of insurance. Today, my company still can provide health care for the staff. My sister was finally able to get of of disability. But only because she went to work for a large enough company that the pre-existing rule did not exist. Had she gone to work for a small company, she would not have been able to afford the thousands of dollars every month it cost to keep her alive.

I'm not saying this health care bill is the answer, but I'll tell you what....stand in my shoes, watch someone you love dying because they can't afford the treatment they need, or watch someone you love lose their home because of the cost of medical care. Then tell me the government has no business helping us. But first, be willing to give up any and all government assistance you take benefit from. I would rather pay higher taxes than watch people I love continue to lose coverage. I am my brothers keeper. I am my sisters keeper. And because I believe in looking out for people that can't look out for themselves, my sister is still alive and doing remarkably well, thank you very much.

By: Geana on 8/25/09
If only life_is_short could hear me applaud.

By: LuckyDog on 8/26/09
barrettbear: Goverment programs are great when someone else is paying the bills. Just ask our seniors. They love the new prescription drug program they were given a few years ago, which added $7.9 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities to the government's balance sheet. Add that to unfunded Medicare, Social Security, etc., and the overall unfunded liabilities of the federal government are $56.4 trillion. That works out to about $483,000 for every American household. Keep in mind that's the average household. Many of those folks can't pay their own mortgage, and they sure aren't going to contribute much to repaying the national debt. The rest of us will just need to pay more.

Do we really want another expensive government run program? I sure don't. We can have health care reform without a federal run plan. And please, don't believe the bull that this is going to be deficit neutral. TennCare is bringing Tennessee to its knees, and the proposed plan will do the same thing for the federal goverment. Plus, once you give people a taste of "free" goods, they just can't get enough. We see that in the prescription drug plan I mentioned earlier. Already, the Democrats are lobbying to increase the prescription benefit by closing the "donut hole". Heck? Why not? With a weight of $483,000 on our backs, whose going to notice another $50,000 or so?

By: barrettbear on 8/26/09
First of all luckydog, I admire your response. With taste and courteous.

I can agree.

Realize that our senior citizens today had jobs,paid taxes and am positive they had hard times paying bills as well.

I could imagine that the ones who worked felt the same way about the way their tax dollars were used.

Because they are now retired or disabled, we do not help them?

Tax dollars are wasted everyday. Tax dollars help some who are too lazy to work, have children that are cared for with tax dollars, and immigrants.

The programs that are used by these recipients have been available for years. Every single politician has let the abuse and misuse of these programs go on for years.

We all have different views, opinions and differences of how the government affects our life, understandable.

Like every other Federal Government Program, there comes a price tag.

If I, after twenty-two years of working, become disabled, I would expect to be taken care of. No matter what the cost.

If that help is unavailable, then the government should stop all federal government funded programs.