I voted for Lynn Howe last go round.

Please help me understand how democrats in Oregon have made healthcare more affordable by increasing mandated treatments of $500/year for health insurance plans. How did adding an excise tax to hospitals make healthcare more affordable to Oregonians? How did mandating a 1% tax on existing health insurance and any insurance plan with a health care component make healthcare more affordable for Oregonians?

I certainly agree that Salem would benefit from more independent leaders in Oregon. Please tell us all how any democrat, especially Lynn Howe is independent of the current democrat lead malaise in Salem.

How did national democrats forcing adult children up to age 26 onto mommy and daddy's health insurance plans make healthcare more affordable for Oregonians? How did the Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker kickback and the Medicaire crumble to providers make healthcare more affordable to Oregonians? How did ramming federal backed student loan changes that will put Oregonians with private bank jobs out of work make healthcare more affordable for Oregonians?

"...current democrat lead malaise in Salem."

Oh right Kurt. Oh do please define "malaise" using the wildly successful Snodgrass-Minnis-Campbell era as a baseline.

And only you would rather have 26% interest rates on student loans if you thought that would lead to 1 or 2 loan officers keeping their jobs.

But then again if you actually "thought", you would know that was a false premise to begin with.

Lynn Howe is a democrat Kari, and democrats in Congress just rammed through a bill that will increase costs of healthcare in Oregon, not lower them. So, that is what it has to do with a local rep race. If Lynn Howe claims to be an independent thinker then she needs to show why she is in contrast to federal democrats. Kari that is WTH it makes a difference in a local race.

The democrats in Salem spent all of the tobacco setttlemtn money and then mandated up to $500/year in smoking cessation treatment on healthcare plans - that raises the cost of healthcare insurance rather than lowering it.

And taking federally backed loans away from private banks and giving it all to the federal government affects Key Bank, Umpqua Bank and Chase to name three with offices in Oregon. They all had employees in Oregon who initiated and handled these loans.

Scott, maybe if you knew what the hell you were tlaking about you could make a cogent debate rebuttal. Federally back student loans have federally set interest rates.

Those rates are nowehre near your hyperbole riddled assertion of 26%. However the last time the rates did rise it was due to democrats in Washington DC, back in 2007 or 2008.

"Federally back student loans have federally set interest rates."

False - Wells Fargo has variable rates set has high has 11%. That doesn't include loan origination fees of $2,000 to $4,000 per loan (i.e. you need another loan to get through your senior year, you get nailed with another LOF), a rollover fee, or a collection fee if you're late one month. Yes, when all added together you get abusive rates in excessive of 25% if you add it all together.

And if you knew what the hell you were "tlaking" about you would know the measure ends subsidies for private lenders - it doesn't end the ability for banks to make private student loans. It also boosts Pell Grants for needy students and creates grant programs to improve community colleges and college graduation rates, among other things.

Naturally the vote was was 253-171 in favor with republicans siding with for-profit banks. Gee, if he had any say in the matter, I wonder how Sal Esquivel would have voted?

Still waitin' on that malaise ....

Well, Kurt, in your lovely sneering comments about kids remaining on their parents' health plans, you conveniently overlook kids with chronic health conditions not bad enough for disability but bad enough to require consistent health care coverage, who are having problems finding a job with health care benefits as well as go to college at the same time, while dealing with the chronic health conditions.

But, of course, they're just weaklings you can sneer at, so you can ignore that little fact of life, hmmm?

Blow it out your ear. I know enough kids who fit into that particular category that your snide aside about that one is enough to dismiss the rest of your self-centered, arrogant blather.

Blue Oregon Editors -

I don't mean any disrespect toward Paulie Brading, but I question her use of this website. Since February 19, she posted seven columns. Five of the seven have been about Lynn Howe or her campaign.

None of the five columns have been "newsworthy" - rather, each reads like an excerpt from a Lynn Howe campaign newsletter.

There are approximately 100 Democratic candidates for the Oregon Legislature this cycle. For the sake of fairness and consistency, I recommend that supporters of all 100 Democratic candidates are allowed to post frequent newsletter-style columns on, a la Paulie Brading, or the practice is discontinued altogether.

I enjoy reading Blue Oregon because the type of material that Kari, Carla, Charlie, Jesse, etc. publish. Insubstantial updates from legislative candidates should remain in my junk folder. Thanks.

• Loyal Blue Oregon Reader

On second thought, 100 is an exaggeration. It's probably something more like 75. But my point still stands.

OK Scott, for the sake of discussion 11% is a far, far cry from 26% I assume that you ascede the tag of hyperbole on that one. It also is not a federally backed (i.e guaranteed) loan.

I happen to know what I'm tlaking about Scott, and thanks for your snide application of my typinging skills. The federally backed loans as issued by private banks have the "subsidy" because otherwise private banks wouldn't have gone to the trouble of dealing with them. Face it, student loans are given on a wing and a prayer with absolutley no collateral or proof of ability to pay back. They also used to carry about a 28% default rate. The recently passed law ends private banks access to loans that are federally back, guaranteed, insured by the feds. It effectively closes out that end of the market.

As to malaise; I would call blowing the tobacco settlement, adding endless fees, taxes and other costs on Oregonians, failure to address state legacy costs, failure to deal with the $revenue/cost equation malaise. A bigger bloated, more expensive state government meets that definition also.

JRW - adult children have no business being on their parents plans without additional cost to the family. It will drive up costs and plan experience without any additional revenue. The few adult children with chronic conditions who are unable to get coverage or a job with coverage can always go into the Oregon highRisk Pool. By law all carriers in Oregon have to participate and the rates are community experienced based rather than individually rated. you see I know because I happen to have an adult child with a chronic condition. So I was not sneering, merely pointing out that this additional entitlement will not work and will doom many medium sized employer plans. It also will defintely not make health care more affordable.

Finally paulie I applaud your tireless campaigning for Lynn. As I stated at the beginning I voted for her last time around. I am no Sal Esquival fan, but Lynn is a democrat and therefor will not get my vote this November.

Gee, Kari....I guess that if not one GOP congressman voted to repeal those special deals for Nebraska and Louisiana, that MUST mean they approved of them to begin with, right?

Or at least that's what you try to make it sound like.

Pretty pathetic. Even for you.

Seems to me, Paulie exists on Blue Oregon as one of very few voices letting us know what's going on in Jackson County, an important swing county that used to be solid Republican. And, except for maybe some county-level positions, HD-6 is likely to be the only hotly contested race in Jackson County this cycle. Howe represents a GREAT opportunity to expand the Democratic legislative majority or neutralize a loss elsewhere, and I welcome news on it. Paulie's doing just fine.

@Kurt - To claify for readers and to help you understand: The $500 benefit put into place by the 2009 Legislature asks commercial insurers to include tobacco/smoking cessation as a core benefit, instead of as a rider. There is no shortage of evidence how employees and individuals who quit smoking save money and health resources. So, it's a small pence paid to save a pound.

You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about an hour. We should be sincere with our customer: To deliver what you want we need more time/money. In this time/money we can deliver this!! I am a newbee and your success is very much an inspiration for me. Feel free to check out my site [url=http://editingwritingservices.org/editing.php]editing services[/url] when you got time.

DDS, to clarify back and help you understand - the democrats in salem took several hundred million in tobacco settlement moeny and spent it elswhere. One of the over riding cases made at the time of joining the suit and then settling was the need for smoking cessation programs. They spent the money elswhere.

The democrats in Salem then made it mandatory that all health plans written and issued in Oregon have as a component up to $500 in smoking cessation. That mandated coverage adds to the base cost of every insurance plan BEFORE any group or regional experience is factored in. Less than 45% of the population in Oregon smokes, yet 100% of those purchasing health insurance must pay for this mandated benefit.

It would appear that I have a very clear understanding of what the democrats in Salem did. They took money for one purpose, spent it on other purposes and then mandated that the rest of us pay for the original purpose. Brilliant!

Kurt: How did adding an excise tax to hospitals make healthcare more affordable to Oregonians?

<h2>I think the idea here is that the hospital tax is applied as matching funds for federal Medicare/Medicaid dollars. Hospitals get more new business than they pay on the tax. It also brings some of the money Oregonians send to the feds back into the state reducing that imbalance.</h2>

Kurt: How did adding an excise tax to hospitals make healthcare more affordable to Oregonians?

I think the idea here is that the hospital tax is applied as matching funds for federal Medicare/Medicaid dollars. Hospitals get more new business than they pay on the tax. It also brings some of the money Oregonians send to the feds back into the state reducing that imbalance.