Colorado Progressive

UPDATE: In my haste, I neglected to mention a few simple facts. A) The event was by invitation, with a turnout of 55 people or so. B) I was present on account of a family connection (the hosts are my in-laws). C) While the crowd was mostly made up of Democrats, a few confirmed Republicans attended, and I’m curious to hear their impressions of Markey and her observations. Original post below the break.

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Betsy Markey in Loveland

“If Sarah Palin is targeting me, I must be doing something right!”

So said Betsy Markey this afternoon at a fundraiser in Loveland. The congresswoman arrived in high spirits and was happy to disabuse supporters of the notion that her vote in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was politically challenging, despite reports to the contrary.  ”It made sense to me,” she said.

Markey spoke for about 15 minutes and took questions for another 20 or so. She echoed her statements from Saturday, recorded in the Denver Post, that it was time to get out and tell people what’s in the health care bill.

On the topic of paying for it, Markey pointed out that the Senate bill she voted for pays for itself in part with taxes on medical devices and top-tier insurance plans, and not on the backs of small business owners, a big reason for her switch from a no vote on the House bill to her yes vote last week.

When asked about abortion concessions made to get the Stupak bloc on board, Markey acknowledged that the current bill is messy. “It’s not good,” she said. “It goes too far. If you want health insurance and you want abortion coverage, you have to write two checks.” Markey expressed optimism, however, that the concessions were fixable through future resolutions. She went on to point out that the bill funnels money to Planned Parenthood and community clinics for health services–and pro-choice Democrats love to point out that greater health services access for women reduces abortions–and it forces insurance companies to quit treating womanhood as a preexisting condition.

Markey was similarly optimistic that future resolutions will allow for an evolving public option, whether through the public insurance exchanges established in the bill or through a Medicare buy-in act along the lines of the bill introduced by Florida Democrat Alan Grayson.

The talk was not all health care, however. Looking ahead, Markey pointed to major legislation pending on financial regulation and energy, and she also mentioned her reelection campaign. Here she trumpeted the party meme that if Republicans want to run on repealing health care, let ‘em. She thinks that by November, voters will be more interested in jobs and the economy, and they’ll have had a chance to see some good from the health care bill. In the end, she believes, those factors will determine the outcome of congressional races, not health care alone.