Pat Powers isn't blogging anymore, but he still sends me more interesting news than than his old stomping grounds. Powers e-mails a press release from Secretary of State Gant announcing that Barb Lindberg of the Rapid City Tea Party (well, one of the RCTPs) has taken out petitions to refer Senate Bills 38 and 43 to a public vote. These two bills, requested by Governor Dennis Daugaard himself, brought South Dakota into compliance with the dreaded Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, even as South Dakota continues to sue the federal government to block PPACA.
Rep. Lance Russell (R-30/Hot Springs) made himself useful by helping the Teabaggers draft their referral petition... not that there's much to draft: you just say, "We the undersigned... petition to refer... [insert bill here]." But someone had to sharpen the crayons....
Secretary Gant sternly reminds the petitioners that they, like the nice people referring Governor Daugaard's corporate handouts to a public vote, have until Monday, June 27, 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time, to submit 15,855 valid signatures to place SB 38 and SB 43 on the 2012 general election ballot.
In other news, a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finds that just one provision of the federal legislation Lindberg et al. so despise has saved South Dakota seniors three million dollars:
The data shows that nearly $3 million was put back into the pockets of retired South Dakotans through one key provision of the legislation that helps seniors close the gap between their prescription drug coverage limit and their "catastrophic coverage" threshold—or the "doughnut hole."
"Anyone who falls into the doughnut hole will now receive a 50-percent discount on any brand-name prescription that they are filling, and a seven-percent discount on any generic drug prescription that they are filling."Sam Wilson with AARP South Dakota said.
Under the legislation, the discount will gradually increase until the doughnut hole closes in 2020.
According to Wilson seniors will see even more ongoing benefits from health care reform.
"[T]he benefits will actually be far greater in 2011," he said [emphasis mine; staff, "Health Care Relief for Seniors," The Independent Local, 2011.04.11].
Hmm, let's see, Tea Partiers in South Dakota and in Congress trying to take away health benefits from senior citizens. Really, wingnuts? You can't be serious. Do you want President Obama and Anybody But Kristi to win by 60% next year? Just keep those hits coming.
Related: The South Dakota Democrats and all South Dakotans with parents and grandparents are wondering when Congresswoman Kristi Noem will repudiate her colleague Congressman Paul Ryan's plan to destroy Medicare. So far our purportedly powerful freshwoman member of the GOP leadership is playing coy (oh! always the tease!), saying only that she thinks ending Medicare and Medicaid constitute the only "realistic budget plan" in Washington. I'm not sure who should be more afraid: senior citizens, future senior citizens, or the lawmakers who vote to cut them off.
Hmmm...PP just feeding the hamsters to spin the wheel?
No, he spun the wheel the same way when Nesselhuf filed the HB 1230 referral papers. I think he's just being a good flunky on this one, keeping the public informed.
Whatever, PP realizes the significance of Blogs. That is more than can be said for a few dozen other government and business public information and education officers.
Who really needs to be afraid is someone like my friend Liz, who was paralyzed by polio at the age of 3. She is living on SSI/Medicaid. She cannot work. She has no living family. No private insurance company would ever touch her. Thanks to the wingnuts in Washington, it appears she's going to get to starve to death on a street corner. It appears that Ms. Palin had the death panels right, she just had the wrong party launching them.