At convention, Baldwin gets her health care message across
DENVER -- Tammy Baldwin got a tough break.
She had to deliver her address to the Democratic National Convention when everyone in the hall was waiting for Hillary Clinton to speak.
No one -- not keynote speaker Mark Warner, a former Virginia governor who is now seeking a U.S. Senate seat, not Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, not even Kennedy White House aide Ted Sorenson -- was going to win out against the anticipation of the Clinton speech.
But Baldwin delivered a message that is close to her heart -- and central to her political journey -- to a convention that greeted her enthusiastically.
Recalling that when she spoke four years ago to the Democratic National Convention, the United States had 45.8 million people without health care insurance and millions more who were under-insured, Baldwin told the delegates, "Today, the number of uninsured has risen to 47 million people. If you add up the entire population of Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and my home state of Wisconsin, you have roughly the number of uninsured people in this country. That includes more than 9 million American children with millions more who are under-insured and afraid to seek medical care because of high co-pays or limited coverage."
What pleased Baldwin most about her speaking slot was the opportunity to humanize the message with the story of one of her constituents in Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District.
"For millions of hard-working Americans, many of them women, illness also means crushing debt. Half of all personal bankruptcies in this country are caused by catastrophic medical bills. That is what happened to Sue from Beloit, Wisconsin.
"She told me, 'My husband was diagnosed with lung cancer. After treatment began, we found out that the insurance company had a small loophole. Under our insurance, they have a $13,000 limit per year on radiation and chemotherapy. That amount did not even cover the first treatment of either radiation or chemo.' Sue said, 'I was not going to have my husband die for lack of treatment, so we started to use our savings and available credit to pay for medical expenses. My husband later died. After having completely depleted our savings and facing insurmountable credit card debt,' she told me, 'I had no choice but to file bankruptcy last year.'
"Sue's story is common all across the country. For eight long years, we've had a president more concerned about the health of insurance companies than the health of the American people."
But this being a partisan convention, Baldwin needed to deliver a partisan message on behalf of Barack Obama.
"For eight long years, we've had a president more concerned about the health of insurance companies than the health of the American people. John McCain is more of the same. But we have a choice in this election," Baldwin explained. "Barack Obama recognizes that good health care is as necessary to a productive society as a good education. Barack Obama understands that investing in people restores the American dream. And Barack Obama believes we can create a safer, stronger, healthier society."
The endorsement of Obama was no surprise at a convention that, ultimately, will nominate the senator from Illinois.
But Baldwin says the most important part of the address was the telling of Sue's story.
"So much political rhetoric, especially in Washington, is about legislation and policies," explained Baldwin after she spoke. "But when we tell stories about real people facing real traumas, that helps other people to connect to the issues and to understand why it matters to be politically active."
Ron Edmonds
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Tuesday.
