TPU Radio and a bit of news....

Posted by Jason Easley on 05.13.2007

Today I have some campaign news on Hillary Clinton and Sam Brownback, plus a look at this week's TPU Radio show.

This week's TPU Radio show

This week's radio show covered a number of different topics including Mitt Romney, Michael Moore, Al Sharpton, and the Fort Dix 6. It was a pretty good show, and definitely worth a listen, so please check it out.


Clinton calls for better kids' health care

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton marked Mother's Day by calling on the U.S. Senate to pass her Children's Health First Act. "Nothing keeps mothers up at night more than worrying whether their children will have the health care they need if they get sick," Clinton said. "We have a moral obligation to our children to give them a healthy start in life." Her proposed legislation allows states to expand their children's health insurance programs to cover families who are 400% over the federal poverty line. This would mean that a family of three could earn up to $70,000 and their children could still qualify for coverage. Her bill also offers states higher federal payments so that they can expand their coverage to include more children.

Her legislation also would help identify uninsured children, who already qualify for coverage, and allow families and employers to buy health insurance coverage from the state children's health insurance programs. Children's health insurance is one of the less expensive programs to offer. Kids are obviously healthier than adults and they require preventive care more than treatment for chronic conditions. The health care debate in general is one that is very contentious and divisive between Democrats and Republicans, but it seems obvious that both sides should be able to agree that it is critical to provide the 9 million uninsured kids in this nation with coverage. In this case, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Brownback's Packerland gaffe

Friday night while addressing the Wisconsin Republican Party Convention, Sam Brownback drew boos and jeers for a the specific quarterback that he used in a football analogy while talking about families. He started off OK by saying, "This is fundamental blocking and tackling," he said. "This is your line in football." Things went really wrong when he followed it up with, "If you don't have a line, how many passes can Peyton Manning complete? Greatest quarterback, maybe, in NFL history."

Saying that Peyton Manning might be the greatest quarterback in NFL history in the backyard of Brett Farve, in a state that is football crazy like Wisconsin is a big boo-boo. The crowd met this remark with boos and groans, and then Brownback said, "That's really bad. That will go down in history. I apologize." He tried to makeup with the restless crowd by saying, "Let's take Favre then, the Packers are great. I'm sorry. How many passes does he complete without a line?" The crowd wasn't buying it, so Brownback wisely changed the subject, "I'm not sure how I recover from this," Brownback said. "My point is we've got to rebuild the family. I'll get off this."

This is Politics 101. When stump speaking a candidate should not insult the local sports fans, Brownback's comments would have been met with the same reaction if he would have said them in New England, Pittsburgh, or Denver too. Along with Green Bay, each of these cities or areas has/had quarterbacks who are icons. Now before anyone takes this too seriously, most of the jeers and boos was probably the good natured tongue in cheek kind, but this still isn't good political judgment, Brownback should have known better. These are the types of little mistakes that make any candidate the butt of jokes, but more seriously could also reinforce the idea that a guy like Brownback isn't ready for the big stage.

I'll be back on Tuesday with a full news report, so Happy Mother's Day, and I'll see you soon.