My name is Eric Pearson, and I'm a Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Congress in the 5th district, Tennessee. As such, I do not agree with President Obama and our Democratic Party representatives in Washington.

Many of us are now ashamed to be Democrats. More than that, we have come to fear our own Democratic Party. Hatred and corruption - the roots of socialism - are on the march as they have never been before, and leading this march is our Democratic Party. Increasingly, mainstream Democrats are uncomfortable with what they are seeing in our party. All the more, we know it is dangerous.

We as Democrats are marching in a parade with people Harry Truman or even Jack Kennedy would not recognize - socialist (also know as progressives). Strangely, without meaning to, we the mainstream Democrats find ourselves representing this socialist movement. However, for the socialist within our Democratic Party, there is nothing so strange about it. Socialists have always sought to leverage corruption for the sake of power.

Without doubt a large majority of our Democratic Party representatives in Washington are tainted by corruption, and the liberals among us are supporting the ideologies of progressives with their agendas based on moving our Nation deeper into a socialist form of government. This is a real threat to everything we hold sacred in America, and they are gaining evermore control over our Democratic Party, our Nation, and the American people.

As a result, our Democratic Party has already lost the equivalent of every member we have acquired over the past seven years or more, and many of them are now supporting the tea party. More importantly, a recent Newsweek cover declared, "We are all socialists now."

Meanwhile our middle-class families are looking for more than empty promises. They want to go back to work. And they want our Democratic Party representatives who run Washington to stop pursuing a big government, big spending agenda that includes a government takeover of health care, stimulus bills, a new national energy tax and taxpayer-funded bailouts.

In spite of everything our Democratic Party representatives in Washington will borrow $1.6 trillion this year, or about $15,000 for every household in the country. Over the next 10 years our federal government is expected to borrow an additional $8.5 trillion, and this is on top of the 12 trillion we currently owe. These figures are beyond being enormous, especially since we already pay one in seven dollars in interest.

Thank you, and God bless America.

Eric Pearson, Democratic Party candidate for US Congress in the 5th district, Tennessee.

Site: http://www.democraticreformparty.com

"Sebelius didn't bother with the facade. Good for her -- with the industry poised to drop another $1 million in attack ads, the insurers don't deserve the niceties."

Ah, so they don't deserve niceties but they do deserve 50-70 billion dollars a year dumped in their lap? Do I have that reasoning right?

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to make your point if you were simultaneously arguing that these people are scum and that they should also get a huge and never ending handout from the government?

Thank god - it's about time someone went into their house and called them on the carpet.

There is no reason to be nice and polite to either the insurance industry OR the financial industry.

Tlaloc, it's not a handout - yes, they'll get more customers, but they'll have to provide an actual service for those premiums.

If it was an actual handout they'd be running ads supporting the bill. Try to use a little common sense.

"Today's industry profits must be used to destroy anything that might interfere with tomorrow's industry profits."

If I had a million dollars, and I gave you one, then I would only have $999,999.

And then, in no time at all, I would be a pennyless jerk, just like you. . .

Oh, and Eric, take a hike. The only place hatred and corruption are marching is in the republican party.

Thanks for playing though.

"If it was an actual handout they'd be running ads supporting the bill. Try to use a little common sense."

Are you serious? If AHIP started running ads supporting this "reform," people might figure out that something was wrong.

Where are the attack ads? AHIP's latest round is just PR for Insurers, there are no attacks on reform in them?

The amount of any handout will be determined in large part by the quality of the product provided by private insurance to previously uninsured customers that are required by law to purchase policies (many of which will be partially subsidized by the government).

If HRC brings about real regulatory oversight, then people will get what they bargained for. However, if many new insured citizens get crappy policies and/or service, then whatever amount the mandated premiums exceed the value of the product should be considered a handout.

Of course, if the GOP becomes the majority, then regulatory heads will be selected from within the industry, which will promptely run amok. That's why structural changes are needed to the system.

This is for Eric Pearson..

I don't believe you're really paying attention to what the Dems and President Obama have accomplished in Washington since they won after 8 years of the abuse by bush&cheney.

Most of them are trying their best in a toxic republicon/dino atmosphere.

I think you are grandstanding and I do not respect that.

bush was left with a giant surplus and Pres Obama was left with a trillion dollar deficit. Why aren't you taking the whole picture in to account to make your case? You sound like the republicons.

Where's the proof the Dems in Washington are tainted by corruption? Again..an ad from the republicons. You're not fooling me, Eric Pearson.

"Tlaloc, it's not a handout - yes, they'll get more customers, but they'll have to provide an actual service for those premiums."

And what EXACTLY requires them to provide an actual service?

The bill contains regulation, most of which has loopholes (recssion still allowed for "fraud" which means they haven't even tried to stop it) and none of it has enforcement.

Supporters of the bill seem to believe that saying "recission isn't allowed" makes it suddenly not happen. I suppose it must be comforting to believe we no longer have drugs or speeding since after all we outlawed both.

Health Insurance is not the same thing as health care.

If you're a healthy insurance company, why should you care about the health or the healthcare of those
who must spend obscene sums on insuring care?

It's not just insurance practices, but the way care is covered, how monies are distributed.

If large sums are being spent on advertising, then maybe, just maybe, the insurance companies are panicing, feverishly trying to tip the debate more in their favor.

Sebelius stands tall...

It looks to me like Sebelius walked into the lair of the worst mass-murderers in this country, as the representative of the government that allows them with little regulation to go about their murderous business, and iussed to them a tete á tete "sternly worded letter."

Not much "tallness" to the Obama admin. when it comes to the reality of health care in this country.

Eric Pearson is pretty cute with his republican banter disguised at liberal rhetoric, either you are an idiot or a fraud and since there is a donation tab on your site, I suspect fraud.

If you hate the Democratic party so deeply, quit claiming to be a member.

"Dear customers, sorry we had to jack up your premiums, but we needed your money to finance our campaign to destroy the reform package that would help you more than us."

If people understood this simple truth about the health insurance industry, we'd have single-payer by Christmas.

Eric Pearson, I'm a Republican running for office in Virginia who believes:

1] that church and state should be completely separate

2] that gays should be allowed to marry and have all the rights of married couples

3] that we need to raise taxes on the rich and on corporations

4] that socialized medicine is the only way to save our healthcare system

5] that deficit spending on our infrastructure will ultimately improve our economy and stymie unemployment

6] that Obama and the Democrats are doing their very best to save our nation after the greedy Republicans nearly destroyed it, and

7] that all other Republicans are secret Nazi racists who want to be filthy rich just in time for The Rapture.

See? I can do it too.

Holy crap, isn't there a max words to this stuff here? I figured I'd hit it once or twice as I'm a little long of the wind, but I've never gone more than three graphs. Dude, this is a comments post, not a term paper offload soapbox.

You know, you sure don't sound like a Democrat. Oh wait, I see, ah ... Tennessee. So that's what passes for a Democrat there? Holy crap.

Many of us are now ashamed to be Democrats with a black president. More than that, we have come to fear our own Democratic Party and black guys. Hatred and corruption - the roots of socialism - are on the march as they have never been before, and leading this march is our Democratic Party headed by the black guy. Increasingly, mainstream Democrats are uncomfortable with the minority faces they are seeing in our party. All the more, we know black people, especially men, are dangerous.

We as Democrats are marching in a parade with brown faces Harry Truman or even Jack Kennedy would not recognize - Black Panther socialists (also know as progressives). Strangely, without meaning to, we the mainstream Democrats find ourselves representing people who are not pink. However, for the blacks within our Democratic Party, there is nothing so strange about it. Non-white people have always sought to leverage corruption for the sake of power.

Sebelius tells them that they shoudn't gripe because she's serving them the fatted calf on a silver platter with mandates and government subsidies and no public option. Tells me all I need to know about who didn't get a seat at the table.

To Eric Pearson: Where is your off button? What a buffoon!

Eric Pearson: Obama is well to the right of Jack Kennedy or Harry Truman on issue after issue. Were he transported back in time, he'd basically be a Rockefeller Republican, much more willing to do business's bidding than either JFK or Truman, much more wedded to the economic ideas of people like Milton Friedman. Like the Rockefeller Republicans, he does believe in moderation and civil rights, some role for government regulation and has a sense of noblesse oblige. But most of today's Democrats are quite cautious and conservative.

It's really tough for the insurance corporations.

One of two things is going to happen.

Either they kill health care reform outright, and go on making ever more obscene profits, using their corporate death panels to deny their customers the medical care that their premiums have paid for ...

Or, the Obama / Senate bill passes, and they go on making ever more obscene profits, with the American people required by law to guarantee and subsidize their profits in return for some very modest and likely ineffective regulation of their most heinous and murderous practices.

What's a poor corporation to do.

Oh, and Eric Pearson? You are an idiot.

RE: Benen's remark about the "single most disliked institution" with reference to the health insurance companies. A click on the link "most disliked" reveals a Gallup poll showing that those polled by Gallup had the least amount of confidence in recommendations for health care reform in those recommendations provided by the health insurance companies. Understandable... but... "Least amount of confidence" is quite a bit different than "most disliked". I have little confidence in my dog's choice in food, but I love him just the same. Try to be a little more honest.

I am not real familiar with Tennessee election procedures but Eric Pearson's characterizing himself as the candidate of the Democratic Party seems strange to me. First, the 5th Congressional District is already represented by a Democrat, a Blue Dog at that, James Cooper, who has his own campaign site. This probably means he intends to run again. Second it looks to me like Pearson happens to be a Democrat who is a self-proclaimed candidate but not the candidate of the Democratic Party, along with about five Republicans, an Independent and whatnot. His letter has distortions (Government run health care) and, if my assessment of his candidacy is correct, he lied about who he is. He sounds like the kind of guy who should join the Tea Party and leave us rational thinking Democrats alone.