This Monday night...DL21C presents a first-of-its kind event - a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, featuring two of the nation's most outspoken individuals in the health care reform debate. Politico's Ben Smith will moderate and the debate will be livestreamed at www.politico.com.
Have a question for the speakers? Submit your questions online at http://www.dl21c.org to be answered Monday night.
Don't forget to RSVP, and see you Monday night!
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A Debate on Healthcare Reform: What Works and What Should be Changed?
featuring
Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-Queens, Brooklyn)
and
Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D., Health Policy Expert, Patient Advocate and former Lieutenant Governor of New York (1995-1998)
moderated by Ben Smith, Senior Political Writer, Politico
Supporting organizations include New York Young Republicans (www.nyyrc.org), Young Invincibles (www.younginvincibles.org), and NYU Law Dems.
Doors Open at 6:30pm
Debate begins promptly at 7pm
Cocktail reception to follow at 8:30pm at Mercury Lounge (416 3rd Avenue, at 33rd Street)
RSVP "yes" on Facebook or at www.dl21c.org
$5/non-members, free for Annual Members (exact change preferred to expedite entry)
Media inquiries and more information, email contact-dl21c@dl21c.org.
About Congressman Weiner:
The son of a public school teacher, and the product of our public schools, Anthony worked for then-Congressman Charles Schumer after college, and shortly thereafer became the youngest person ever elected to the New York City Council. In 1998, after a door-to-door grassroots campaign, Anthony Weiner went to Washington. as the US Congressman representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
Anthony Weiner currently sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the largest jurisdiction in the U.S. House, overseeing telecommunications, public health, air quality and environmental protection, the nation's energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee and as a part of the Democratic leadership team.
Anthony has been an outspoken voice in the health care debate, and a strong supporter of a "public option" to compete with private health insurance plans He has also been involved in other issues: the National Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) praised him for his vigilant efforts on behalf of a woman's right to choose. He has won perfect scores from our nation's largest environmental groups. And Congressman Weiner was given the "honor" of a grade of "F" from the National Rifle Association. New York Magazine called him "an ascendant force in New York politics." The Daily News named him one of the "Leaders of the Twenty-First Century." PoliticsNY.Com gave him their highest rating and judged him "among the best the Empire State sends to Congress...no one out-works Weiner."
About Dr. McCaughey:
Betsy McCaughey is a health policy expert, a patient advocate and former Lt. Governor of New York State. She is the author of over one hundred scholarly and popular articles. In 2004, she launched a national campaign to protect patients from hospital infections, the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, her major mission today.
From 1995 to 1998, Dr. McCaughey served as Lt. Governor of New York State. During those years, she battled HMO abuses and pushed for legislation to stop drive-thru mastectomies and drive-thru childbirth. Her Patient Fair Appeals bill, which protected cancer patients from rejections for experimental treatment, became a model for state and federal legislation. Her 1994 analysis of the dangers of the Clinton health plan in the New Republic won a National Magazine Award for the best article in the nation on public policy. Her article on the dangers of "Dumbing Down Medical Care" won the National Media Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. She has taught at Vassar College and Columbia University, and has produced prize-winning
studies while at two think tanks, the Manhattan Institute and later the Hudson Institute.
About Ben Smith:
Ben Smith writes a blog about the national politics for POLITICO (www.politico.com), one of the nation's most prominent sources for national political news. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he covered the Democratic primary.
Before joining POLITICO, Ben was a political columnist for the New York Daily News and in 2005 and 2006 started three of New York City's leading political blogs, The Politicker, The Daily Politics and Room Eight, for which he still writes occasionally about the New York scene.