Once again, John Cornyn demonstrates his cruel and coldhearted contempt for the children of struggling families. The last time Senator Cornyn voted against The State Children's Health Insurance Program, he said he did so because W. would have vetoed the bill. This time there is no excuse for Senator Scrooge's vote. Cornyn continues to serve as a lackey to the country's absolute worst President's ideologies that took us straight to hell.
Predictably, Cornyn voted with his soul mates in the Senate who also refuse to work for the best interests and well being of their constituents. People who belong in the Right Wing Extremists' Gallery of Rogues such as Senators McConnell, Barrasso, Chambliss, Crapo, Enzi, Ensign, Graham, Vitter, Sessions, Thune and Kyle.
Fortunately, despite the efforts of these goons, the SCHIP Bill passed.
According to an article in today's The Washington Post lawmakers voted 66 to 32 to renew the bill and to spend an additional $32.8 billion to expand coverage to four million more children. Cornyn has a problem with this?
The State Children's Health Insurance Program, which is aimed at families earning too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance, currently covers close to 7 million youngsters at a cost of $25 billion.
Lawmakers voted 66 to 32, largely along party lines, to renew the joint state-federal program and spend an additional $32.8 billion to expand coverage to 4 million more children. The expansion would be paid for by raising the cigarette tax from 39 cents a pack to $1.
Because of today's dire financial conditions leaders in the business communities, governors and children's advocacy groups across the U.S. urged the Senate to pass this bill.
Governors, business executives and consumer advocates lobbied for the expansion, arguing that more and more families have sought the assistance in this weakened economy.
"During this economic turmoil, it is critical that we maintain and strengthen this important lifeline to our nation's children and that we help financially strapped states respond to the growing need for affordable health-care coverage," said Cindy Mann, executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families.
Hard-Hearted John Cornyn completely disregarded the pleas from these groups. Why?
Not all Republicans voted against SCHIP. Those who are deeply concerned about the well-being of children voted for the bill. According to the Washington Post article:
"We could have had 95 votes," Hatch said. "That would have sent a tremendous, tremendous message that hasn't been sent around here for a long time."
Both sides had hoped, and even predicted, that early bipartisan action on children's coverage would demonstrate that Washington's elected officials can cooperate on critical issues such as health care.
"This is on something for which there is so much agreement and something that almost no one argues about," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which represents 300 large employers. "For the tough things like real national health-care reform, it unfortunately portends a really rocky road."
Compared to the daunting task of overhauling the entire U.S. health system, the debate on the children's health program should have been easy, said Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine).
"You would have thought this issue would have been clear sailing on both sides," she said
Sorry to disappoint you Ms. Snowe, but your Party's southern wing has some pretty mean-spirited members who are solely committed to the interests of their wealthy donors.
As I mentioned in two previous diaries Senator Jackass has embarrassed us by obstructing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder's confirmation hearing. Cornyn believes in torture despite the fact that such is illegal and 58% of Americans believe we should never, no way practice, until hell freezes over, practice torture. Cornyn is completely out of touch with the wishes and desires of everyday voters.
Voters must ask themselves why they pulled the lever for Senator Scrooge. Did they not realize that his record clearly proves his cold and cynical contempt for most of them?
We are stuck with Senator Jackass/Scrooge for the next six years. But this does not mean we should lie down and accept his abusive voting pathology. Write, call or email every time Cornyn does something to threaten our financial well-being or embarrass us. We must also empower ourselves by working 24/7 in 2010 or 2012 to bring some balance to the representation for Texans. Senator Cornyn obviously works for his Sugar Daddies. We need a Senator who will work for us.
As diarist Al Stanley at The Burnt Orange Report wrote of his U.S. Representative, Mike McCaul's vote on the Stimulus Package:
Like locking the Titanic's steerage passengers below decks while she sank
...
Al could not have stated it better. There is no way we should let our elected officials lock us in steerage of any sinking ships. Give them hell, folks, with all its wrath and fury. Light up the phone lines, jam the email and paper inboxes and run the fax machines out paper.
Once again, contact information for John Cornyn's office:
