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As Schwarzenegger looks to health care fix, he once again looks to Davis veterans
Capitol Weekly ^ | September 29th, 2006 | John Howard

Posted on 10/05/2006 3:20:12 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan

As Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger looks toward a second term, he has vowed to make access to health care a top priority. Schwarzenegger intends to unveil a major health-care plan in January, if re-elected. In preparation, Schwarzenegger has hired a top-level staff to actually write the proposal that includes ranking health-care experts from former Gov. Gray Davis' administration.

Richard Figueroa, a veteran health-care consultant and go-to person for health issues on Davis' executive staff, is joining Schwarzenegger's team next week, according to Capitol and private sources with direct knowledge of Figueroa's new position. They confirmed that Schwarzenegger intends to release his proposal in his 2007 State of the State address.

Just days ago, Schwarzenegger vetoed universal-health-care legislation authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, which would have established a government-run program to provide health care for all Californians, regardless of income.

The governor has not said what his own proposal will include, although Capitol sources say it is likely to entail some form of public-private partnership, in which workers and employers both bear a portion of the costs.

After his veto of Keuhl's bill, Schwarzenegger penned an op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Affordability is the key to making our system work for everyone, and affordability is exactly what we are dedicating ourselves to," he wrote, dismissing Kuehl's bill as "socialized medicine."

Schwarzenegger's new health-care team already has begun meeting with major stakeholders in the health-care world, including business, medical and insurance groups. All have indicated the governor is serious about making health care a focus of his second term.

Health-care advocates hope Schwarzenegger's plan will include preventive care, and programs to deal with chronic afflictions and the costly care that often is required near the end of life.

"From the patient standpoint, it should allow two things, preventive care and chronic-disease management, because they address both quality and cost. The percentages are huge, 60-to-80 percent of the cost. I don't mean you can eliminate them, but you can address them and reduce them," said Bob Gore, a spokesman for Californians for Patient Care.

Figueroa, who declined to discuss his new job with Capitol Weekly, serves as a member of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which regulates HMOs. He is a health-insurance expert in the Department of Insurance under Commissioner John Garamendi, and earlier served as a health-insurance consultant in the Assembly. During his years in the Davis administration, he participated in major studies of state health-policy options.

"He would be incredibly valuable to the administration in trying to put an insurance-reform package together and expanding insurance in such a massive way. I think the governor would be wise to heavily rely on him. He has the technical knowledge of the insurance market to put it together," said Dustin Corcoran, the California Medical Association's top lobbyist.

Other newly hired members of Schwarzenegger's include John Ramey, a Republican and member of former Gov. George Deukmejian's administration. Ramey served as a consultant to the California Chamber of Commerce in its campaign against Proposition 72, which called for voters to decide whether to establish a health-care system heavily financed by employers.

Another member is Herb Schultz, an expert in HMO issues who served in the Davis administration and who helped write the legislation that voters rejected at the polls in Proposition 72.

The fourth member is Ruth Liu, a former analyst at Kaiser Permanente who now serves as a health-policy expert in the Schwarzenegger administration.

John Howard is Managing Editor of Capitol Weekly


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: arnold; arnoldonhealthcare; arnoldtheliberal; braceyourself; calappointment; california; davidzingale; davis; fix; graydavis; healthcare; herbschultz; johnramey; moredens; richardfigueroa; rino; ruthliu; schwarzenegger; veterans; whatnoqualifiedreps; zingale
I guess there were no qualified Republicans out of 35 million people in California, so he had to go back to Gray Davis hacks.

Someone tell me again why we had the Recall?

1 posted on 10/05/2006 3:20:13 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan
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To: ElkGroveDan

Just terrible!


2 posted on 10/05/2006 3:20:50 PM PDT by MonkeyButt (Evolution Revolution)
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To: calcowgirl; SierraWasp; NormsRevenge; Amerigomag

Why-am-I-surprised-? PING


3 posted on 10/05/2006 3:21:11 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (The California Republican Party needs Arnold the way a drowning man needs an anvil.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

Just makes you want to puke!!


4 posted on 10/05/2006 3:21:15 PM PDT by aquila48
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To: ElkGroveDan

Arnold has proven he is just a RINO. He is proving it over and over again.


5 posted on 10/05/2006 3:24:40 PM PDT by Nachum
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To: ElkGroveDan; FairOpinion
You forgot to ping FaithlessOperative.

FO will warn us that Angelides' will institute socialized medicine!!!

Oh, wait...

6 posted on 10/05/2006 3:28:49 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: Carry_Okie

She'll slither in eventually. I get so sick of her third-grade taunts that I prefer to put it off as long as possible.


7 posted on 10/05/2006 3:30:36 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (The California Republican Party needs Arnold the way a drowning man needs an anvil.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

You need to read the rest of the article, Dan. He's got two market-based experts in John Ramey and Ruth Liu, balanced out by the "headline" guy Richard Figueroa, and former Davis staffer Herb Schultz. The plan here is to have these four duke it out and hammer out a proposal that can have broad support, to expand care for those who lack insurance, and yet not destroy the commercial market. To Arnold's credit, he's already come out against the dreaded single-payer scheme of the Kuehl bill. The rumor is that Arnold will propose something like Massachusetts enacted earlier this year, but the Mass. approach probably won't fly in California. As an aside, I know Herb Schultz. He used to work for the Amer. Association of Health Plans, an HMO advocacy organization. While he came out from DC to work in Calif., and took a job with the new Dept. of Managed Health Care when it was created during Davis' tenure, Herb understands the issues, and comes at them from the perspective of the marketplace. He's not that bad a guy.


8 posted on 10/05/2006 3:36:06 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: My2Cents
He's got two market-based experts in John Ramey and Ruth Liu, balanced out by the "headline" guy Richard Figueroa, and former Davis staffer Herb Schultz.

You're missing the point. It's an allegedly Republican adminsistration. They don't need ANY democrat liberals.

9 posted on 10/05/2006 3:40:19 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (The California Republican Party needs Arnold the way a drowning man needs an anvil.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

Is there any chance that McClintock wins the Lt Governorship?


10 posted on 10/05/2006 3:40:40 PM PDT by Aetius
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To: ElkGroveDan
I get so sick of her third-grade taunts that I prefer to put it off as long as possible.

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Whenever FO is notified that Arnold's come out of the closet AGAIN, it ends up a very quiet thread. If not, there's a lot of activity that gets the lurkers to read it.

11 posted on 10/05/2006 3:42:36 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

La Raza--appointments secretary. UGH.

http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/4265/

10/03/2006 GAAS:733:06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the following appointments:

(Snip)

Alberto Roldan, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy appointments secretary in the Office of the Governor. Since 1992, he has served as a deputy district attorney with the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, where he specialized in the prosecution of vehicular manslaughters, prison crimes, officer-involved shootings, domestic violence, financial crimes against the elderly and career criminals. Roldan is a past President of the La Raza Lawyers Association of Sacramento. He has also been a Visiting and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law since 1995 and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $99,500. Roldan is a Democrat.


12 posted on 10/05/2006 3:45:25 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: Aetius
Is there any chance that McClintock wins the Lt Governorship?

As a matter of fact there is. This is the only bright hope in this election in CA. From Tom's website:
Two new polls released this week show John Garamendi losing support in the race for Lt. Governor. On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Tom McClintock had a one-point lead 42% to 41%. The prestigious Field Poll released today shows Garamendi has “lost traction with voters while support for McClintock…has held steady.”

13 posted on 10/05/2006 3:45:25 PM PDT by atomic_dog
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To: calcowgirl
Good catch.

meanwhile....

<FO>"I see you are campaigning for Angelides again by publicizing more of Arnold's dirty liberal secrets. Well Angelides would have made this guy Chief of Staff. At least Arnold is holding him down as Deputy Appointments Secretary where he can do far less damage " </FO>

14 posted on 10/05/2006 4:06:14 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (The California Republican Party needs Arnold the way a drowning man needs an anvil.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

Arnold stopped being a "Republican" at least a year ago. I've given up expecting anything from Arnold. But I will say that by bringing together a diverse group of advisors, he's trying to anticipate all the angles of the debate next year. That's his rationale, and he's not turned over the whole issue to ex-Davis staffers, as most of the commenters on this thread assume.


15 posted on 10/05/2006 4:09:19 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: calcowgirl

The "La Raza Lawyers Assoc." is a non-descript organization of Mexican-American (Latino) attorneys. It is not the radical "La Raza" group.


16 posted on 10/05/2006 4:13:33 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: My2Cents

Bet you these "market-based" experts won't tackle the illegals using CA's healthcare.


17 posted on 10/05/2006 4:16:07 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: calcowgirl
Here's a picture of the Santa Clara chapter of the La Raza Attorney's Association --

A real mean looking group of revolutionaries.

18 posted on 10/05/2006 4:17:33 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Probably not. But maybe. Who knows? Are you privy to their mandate?


19 posted on 10/05/2006 4:18:22 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: My2Cents

There are links to La Raza, LULAC, and MALDEF on most of their websites.
http://larazalawyers-santaclara.com/_wsn/page5.html

That's good enough for me.


20 posted on 10/05/2006 4:19:13 PM PDT by sheana
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To: sheana
Not to mention the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Santa Clara University. Real scary stuff.

Grow up, people. Your kneejerk and ignorant response to news items like this is embarrassing.

21 posted on 10/05/2006 4:21:30 PM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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To: My2Cents

pfffttttt
rose colored glasses never suited me


22 posted on 10/05/2006 4:24:10 PM PDT by sheana
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To: My2Cents
Arnold stopped being a "Republican" at least a year ago

Some confusion here I'd say.

It is accurate to say that Arnold has:

1) Never been a conservative.
2) Never been a fiscal conservative
3) Never been a social conservative
4) Always supported California's economic engine
5) Always believed in the role of a strong central government
6) Always believed that a powerful, central government is necessary
7) Always believed that local government is subservient to a central government

All those statements are accurate but to contend that Arnold is not a Republican is false. Arnold is a registered Republican and his actions define the Republican Party in California.

That Arnold does not reflect the values of an average Republican in California is also accurate. But in this case, the California Republican Party has left its base, traditions and principles in the wings to achieve victory, rather than the reciprocal.

The spirit of the old Republican Party is still alive and well in the base and the state legislators they elect. It is however, stone cold dead, in the new CaGOP leadership and the Central Committees which support them.

Yes, Arnold is a Republican but it's not your father's party anymore.

23 posted on 10/05/2006 4:38:57 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: My2Cents
Grow up, people. Your kneejerk and ignorant response to news items like this is embarrassing.

Why, thank you for your opinion. /s

24 posted on 10/05/2006 5:00:38 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: My2Cents

You know, you can alter the size of photos.

Now I'll have to wait for a days worth of pings to rid "my comments" window of this oversized monstrosity and be able to view the "sidebar."


25 posted on 10/05/2006 5:03:39 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: My2Cents
The "La Raza Lawyers Assoc." is a non-descript organization of Mexican-American (Latino) attorneys....

Has the My2Cents account even bothered to do a cursory background check of the group. It been around for over 30 years and has a well know track record.

Non-descript indeed. Sort of like saying that B'nai B'rith is a non-descript organization. The appearance of non-English words in the group's moniker might have been the first hint of an agenda.

26 posted on 10/05/2006 5:21:40 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: calcowgirl
I've asked the mods to delete the link. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sidescrolling is a real pain.

The other option is to use the Opera browser over the next few days which will automatically resize the image to fit your monitor.

27 posted on 10/05/2006 5:33:37 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: My2Cents
The "La Raza Lawyers Assoc." is a non-descript organization of Mexican-American (Latino) attorneys. It is not the radical "La Raza" group.

It was founded by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund). Enough said.

28 posted on 10/05/2006 5:34:29 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: Amerigomag

I can live with it... I only mentioned it as a learning experience for anyone reading.
It's obnoxious, but I guess I can just post more to purge it from my browser window.

I've tried other browsers, but always find something that isn't compatible (e.g. virus protection, etc.). I have little tolerance for doing the whole set-up process again.


29 posted on 10/05/2006 5:37:36 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: ElkGroveDan

I saw a couple of small Arnoid yard signs today. They were hard to see because of the camouflage colors of Pea Soup Green and brown...


30 posted on 10/05/2006 5:42:48 PM PDT by tubebender (Growing old is mandatory...Growing up is optional)
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To: calcowgirl
Tinkering is not for everyone.

But ... if you run Linux you can have:

1) 4 separate desktops typically standard
2) A different browser on every desktop (including IE6/7).
3) Little need for virus protection, even for the virtual, M$ desktop.
4) Some economic relief since most Linux distributions and VMware Server are free and the virtual XP machine does not need to be based on a authentic copy of Windoz.

31 posted on 10/05/2006 5:55:58 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: ElkGroveDan; All
This A____ H____ is just one continuous MALOX MOMENT!!!

My utter contempt for the CAGOP is growing by leaps and bounds!!!

32 posted on 10/05/2006 6:13:33 PM PDT by SierraWasp (To be fair, Bill Clinton did more than any other President to protect us from the Branch Davidians!)
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To: Amerigomag

Tinkering is not my specialty.

You have any suggestions why I can't get this video to play?
It keeps telling me I don't have Flash player, but I do. :-(

http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_278135154.html


33 posted on 10/05/2006 6:58:54 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: ElkGroveDan
Arnold IS a liberal. His Chief Of Staff is a Democrat.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

34 posted on 10/05/2006 7:03:05 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: calcowgirl
As if there were no qualified Republicans he could have chosen for his inner circle!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

35 posted on 10/05/2006 7:04:22 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Amerigomag
Arnold is to the CAGOP what David Cameron is to the UK Conservatives. If you gotta move to the Left to win - move Left!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

36 posted on 10/05/2006 7:06:09 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: SierraWasp
There many ways to stop the devolution of the CAGOP.

Participate! Attend the local Central Committe meeting and raise hell.

Participate! Vote regularly but not for Republican candidates which have turned to the dark side.

Participate! Raise your public voice in public places.

Assertively express your personal displease with the current trend in the CAGOP. Illustrate your displeasure with real circumstances that effect you personally. Urge your fellow Republicans to financially support the candidate of their choice but not the CAGOP.

37 posted on 10/05/2006 7:09:16 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: goldstategop
If you gotta move to the Left to win - move Left!

Absolutely! That is the nature of a political party.

What is frustrating is the common confusion between wining and victory among some California Republican partisans.

From their perspective, the two terms are synonymous.

38 posted on 10/05/2006 7:20:16 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: calcowgirl
A Flash player is typically a plugin, a module added to the browser, and its characteristics (abilities) are dependent on the series number (Flash 6, Flash 7, Flash 8 etc.). Your browser may not have the latest plugin (Flash 9, which was a significant change from 8) and the active x controls on the video stream may not be compatible with that plugin. If you are using Firefox, go to Firefox Central (mozilla.com/products/firefox/central) and check for plugin upgrades.

If you are using a stand alone Flash Player from Adobe as the default player under IE 6/7, make sure you have the latest version installed on your computer. Upgrading is usually automatic if directed. Open up Adobe Flash Player along the Start >> All Programs >> Adobe >> Flash path and look in its top menu bar for "update" and then follow the instructions.

If your default, streaming video player is the Windows Media Player, just figure that Poochigian and Gates don't agree politically and Bill won't let Chuck advertise on M$. OR ... check that you have the latest version of Media Player (10) and that the active X controls on your IE browser are, well, activated.

39 posted on 10/05/2006 7:53:09 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag

Thanks! I finally got it to work. I had to download some new 'uninstaller' and then reinstall while letting absolutely everything run (active x, pop-ups, etc). I finally got the new version 9 to download and the videos show up in the main window.

I think it's a Gates/CBS conspiracy that wouldn't let one of the other video players work--it had to be Flash.

Like I said... I have little patience for tinkering! LOL.


40 posted on 10/05/2006 8:14:01 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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