Guess The Governor? Bet'cha Can't!

[MannyGoldstein]

Can you guess the identities of Governors A and B?

Governor A:

"But on matters of health policy, (Governor A’s) efforts to forge bipartisan consensus have rarely succeeded. (Governor A) recently observed that the greatest frustration of (Governor A’s) six years in office had been (his or her) inability to persuade lawmakers to raise tobacco taxes for a modest expansion of government health coverage." - Today's NY Times


"(Governor A) is said to have a wonkish understanding of health policy, but (he or she) has failed to make significant improvements in health coverage or costs during (his or her) two terms as governor. Although the proportion of (residents of Governor B's state) who are uninsured remains well below the national average — 12.7 percent versus 15.3 percent — it has grown seven times as fast in the state than in the nation during tenure, according to census figures." - Today's NY Times


Now Governor B:

* 96% of (children in Governor B's state) have health insurance and 99% are eligible for coverage under (Governor B's]) Dr. Dynasaur program.

* More than a third of Medicare recipients in (Governor B's state) receive state help in paying for prescription drugs.

* (Governor B's state) was ranked the "Healthiest State" in the U.S. in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (when B was Governor) by the Morgan Quinto Press

* In 1997, (Governor B) signed a law requiring insurance companies in (Governor B's state) to provide the same coverage for mental illness and substance-abuse treatment that they provide for physical conditions.

* As a result of early intervention programs established by (Governor B), 89% of pregnant women in (Governor B's state) enter prenatal care in their first trimester and 91% of families with newborns receive a voluntary home visit.

* (Governor B's state) has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in the country-- teen pregnancies decreased 49% during tenure.

* Child abuse dropped 45% under (Governor B). (Governor B's state) was the first state to institute a statewide protocol for abuse investigations.

* (Governor B's state) ranks second in the nation in child immunizations-- 81% of children are fully immunized by age 2 and 97% are immunized before kindergarten.

[Burma Jones]

1. Sebelius and Dean..........

[MadBadger]

2. I'm gonna guess A is Sebelius and B is Dean

[MadBadger]

3. If Sebelius was Governor of Vermont, her job would be a helluva lot easier

Considering she is the Governor of Kansas, not being able to make significant improvement in health coverage should be expected.

[Occam Bandage]

4. If Kansas were comparable to Vermont, that might mean something. nt

[iamthebandfanman]

5. it would seem to me her being unable to get bi-partison support

would be a negative thing.

call me crazy.

[MadBadger]

7. There are 31 Repukes and 9 Dems in the Kansas Senate...76 to 49 in the House,

Do you think anybody could get any kind of real health care reform with those numbers?

[Occam Bandage]

11. When her party is outnumbered 3-1, it's expected. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

6. While We Have Evidence That Dean Can Move Things Forward

We have no such evidence for Sibelius. The only evidence, so far, is the opposite.

[MadBadger]

8. Read Post 7 to see the odds that not even a miracle worker could work with

[MannyGoldstein]

9. It Does Not Change The Evidence We Have to Date

It's *possible* that Sibelius could do a better job in more favorable circumstances - perhaps even a better job than Dr. Dean. But we have no evidence that this is true.

[Occam Bandage]

12. Right. It is possible that she could do a better job than Dean in VT, and possible

that she could have done worse. It is possible that Dean could have done a better job in Kansas, and possible that he could have done worse. We have no idea. None whatsoever. There's simply no comparing a governor in the bluest of blue states with a legislature to match, and a governor in a strong red state with a Republican-dominated legislatrue.

[FLAprogressive]

14. you think a DLCer would ever even try to get single payer healthcare passed?

Fat chance.

[Occam Bandage]

15. If Dean were appointed, he wouldn't try to get single-payer either.

Obama isn't for single-payer healthcare, and Obama sets the policy. If you have a problem with that, and you should, write your Representative, Senators, and the White House. Swapping out one apparatchik for another doesn't change the math.

[Occam Bandage]

13. We have evidence that Dean can move things forward, when

there is no effective opposition party. So could any moron. We have evidence that Sebelius cannot when the opposition party controls both houses of the legislature with overwhelming numbers. No politician could.

[FLAprogressive]

10. (A) Kathleen DLC Sebelius (B) Howard Dean

I pick B.