Forty five years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. From 1965 until this year’s passage of health reform amidst Republican opposition, the Democratic Party has made 45 years of progress on health care for the American people.

As DNC Chairman Tim Kaine explained in a POLITICO op-ed today, health reform strengthens Medicare by extending its solvency by nearly a decade, providing relief to seniors who fall in the prescription drug “donut hole” and providing free preventive care to seniors. Chairman Kaine described the lengthy fight for Medicare’s passage and what health care for seniors looked like before 1965:

POLITICO:

In March, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson vowed his administration would fight to pass a program of medical assistance for elderly Americans. “If not this week,” he pledged, “if not this month, if not this year, [then at] the earliest possible date.”

Nearly 20 years had passed since President Harry S. Truman first called for a national program to guarantee health coverage for all Americans. When Johnson finally signed the Medicare and Medicaid Bill on July 30, 1965 – 45 years ago today – he declared, “We marvel not simply at the passage of this bill, but that it took so many years.”

Yet despite the lengthy fight, the new program offered near-immediate benefits to elderly Americans. The year before Medicare became law, only about one in four seniors was fully covered in a hospital emergency or for other extensive medical treatment. Medicare changed that. For the first time in U.S. history, seniors could count on receiving all necessary treatment without worrying about burdening their children with massive medical bills.

This year, President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress built on Medicare’s promise of affordable, accessible medical care. With the Affordable Care Act, they extended to Americans of all ages the ability to receive needed care.

Read the full article.

While Americans are celebrating the anniversary of Medicare today, and as support for the Affordable Care Act continues to rise, Republican leaders have proposed to end Medicare as we know it and repeal the health reform law which is already helping young people, seniors and small businesses.

UPDATED: The events have now ended.

Over the coming week, President Obama will meet with auto workers and visit each of our country's three big auto makers. Today, he'll be speaking at Chrysler and GM about how some of the Administration's tough choices to rescue the auto industry have helped save a million jobs for American auto workers.

Listen live to the President's speak at GM at 12:15 p.m. ET, and his remarks at Chrysler at 1:40 p.m. ET:

Just over a year after President Obama made tough decisions to save Chrysler and GM, these companies are returning to profitability, hiring workers, and keeping plants open. And because of the steps the administration and Congress have taken with Cash for Clunkers and the Recovery Act, the industry overall is strengthening.

With August just around the corner, Democrats are coming out swinging with the launch of the new Republican Tea Party Contract on America. The new push highlights the Tea Party’s influence on the Republican Party, and challenges the GOP to side with--or denounce--some of the Tea Party’s most extreme positions. It’s been generating great buzz--check out a few of the highlights:

The Associated Press: Dems election strategy: Equate GOP and tea party:

The Democrats' national chairman on Wednesday trotted out his party's fall election strategy to limit potential GOP gains, claiming Republican goals are inseparable from the tea party's, from killing off Medicare to abolishing the departments of Education and Energy....

Kaine portrayed the November elections as a choice between his party, which under President Barack Obama has put into law a health care overhaul and tougher Wall Street rules, and a GOP-tea party combination that wants to roll back Democratic accomplishments.

"The Republican Party agenda has become the tea party agenda, and vice versa," Kaine said.
If the GOP were to retake the House and Senate, they would try to privatize Social Security, end Medicare and shutter those two federal agencies, he said.

Democrats cited tea party activists' statements and GOP support as they introduced a "Republican-Tea Party Contract On America," a send-up of the 1994 GOP Contract With America that helped Republicans win control of the House for the first time in four decades.

Kaine said the Republicans would repeal President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and the recent Wall Street regulations.

"We're determined to make sure Americans understand this," Kaine said.

The Hill “Democrats’ campaign strategy aims to link Republicans with Tea Party”

Democrats want to be on the offensive this summer as lawmakers head into the fall campaign season. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Wednesday that members will not shy away from town halls but plan to make the argument the GOP and Tea Party are one and the same. “You don’t know where the Republican Party ends and the Tea Party begins, and they have to own that,” she said. Wasserman Schultz said the Tea Party had some “disturbing elements” and noted, based on her own observation, “there are racist elements in the Tea Party.”

PBS News Hour “Democratic Party Chief Aims to Equate Republican Party With Tea Party”:

Democrats Wednesday tried to paint Republicans and tea party supporters as members of the same political party, with a common goal: to move the country backward. Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine, flanked by six congressional Democrats, ticked off a list, entitled "The Republican Tea Party Contract on America," at a press conference at DNC headquarters in Washington. A satirical take on the "Contract with America" Republicans used to help win control of the House of Representatives in 1994, the "Contract" lists ten agenda items Republicans would allegedly strive to do if they were to gain control of the Congress in the November midterm elections. As Chairman Kaine read the list aloud, a common theme quickly emerged, with seven of the ten points in the "Contract" beginning with the words "repeal," "end," or "abolish." On the Republican-tea party agenda, as crafted by the Democrats, are such items as privatizing Social Security and "ending Medicare as it presently exists." The Democrats have also included more obscure items that a couple of candidates have proposed in the past, such as abolishing the Department of Education, and attempt to attach it to every Republican running for office this year. "The Republicans can take a break and relax," Kaine joked, now that Democrats have provided them with a "handy blueprint" for the Fall. "The Republican agenda has become the tea party agenda and vice versa," he added.

The Caucus "Democrats to Talk Up the Tea Party":

Many Republicans have been very eager to associate themselves with Tea Party followers, hoping to tap into the movement’s deep enthusiasm. Now Democrats say they are more than willing to help Republicans do so. [...] Calculating that moderate and independent voters might be turned off by some of the more extreme positions postulated by Tea Party types and Republican conservatives, the Democratic National Committee and Congressional Democrats are trying to join the two in the minds of voters. [...] Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, said it is hard to tell where the Republican Party ends and the Tea Party begins [...]

With memories of last year's bitter town hall meetings still fresh, Democrats vowed on Wednesday to go on the offense during the August congressional recess and aggressively link Republicans with the conservative Tea Party movement. Democratic leaders said the Republican Party had moved out of the mainstream to adopt Tea Party goals like privatizing the Social Security retirement program, extending tax breaks for the rich and abolishing some federal agencies. They promised to paint November's election as a stark choice between moving ahead with a healthcare overhaul and tougher regulations on Wall Street, or backing a Republican Party that wants to repeal those initiatives. "The Republican Party agenda has become the Tea Party agenda, and vice versa," Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine told reporters. [...]

POLITICO 2010 "DNC's bet: Tea party a negative":

[...] At a press conference in Washington, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and other Democratic leaders unveiled a “Republican Tea Party Contract on America” – a document that highlights hard-line issue positions favored by some tea parties, such as abolishing the Departments of Education and Energy and repealing health care reform, and attributing them to the GOP. [...] Though both Republicans and tea party activists have insisted that there’s a difference between the GOP and the tea party, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz insisted at the event Wednesday that “you don’t know where the Republican Party begins and the tea party ends.” “They have to own that,” Wasserman-Schultz said.

MSNBC First Read "DNC attack: GOP = Tea Party":

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine and several Democratic House members today unveiled the new Democratic midterm attack plan against Republicans: GOP = Tea Party. In an effort to demonstrate what they see as the dangers of Republican Congressional control, Democrats will spend the next few months until Election Day trying to tie all Republicans to policies advocated by some members of the Tea Party, including repealing the health care and Wall Street reform laws, abolishing the Departments of Labor and Education and the EPA, and ending Medicare. Kaine said the DNC has an "aggressive" plan, along with the White House "to make sure the American people know what the Republicans really believe what their blueprint for governing is," tracking candidates' comments on the campaign trail, distributing research, and airing commercials nationwide. [...]

The Democratic National Committee today unveiled a new initiative to brand the Republican Party as synonymous with the Tea Party movement. A DNC document laid out what it says are the plans of the "Republican Tea Party," among them repealing the health care bill, privatizing Social Security, ending Medicare in its current form, extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and abolishing the Departments of Education and Energy. They call the ten-point platform the "Republican Tea Party Contract on America." DNC Chair Tim Kaine pushed the initiative at a press conference today, saying "the Republican Party agenda has become the tea party agenda, and vice versa." Democrats hope that by linking the Tea Party to the GOP they will convince moderate voters who might have considered voting Republican that the party is too extreme. [...]

Good morning.

President Barack Obama walks with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon from Air Force One to the nearby Smith Electric Vehicles at the Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, Mo., July 8, 2010. Photo by Pete Souza.

A new poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows increased public support for the health insurance reforms enacted by President Obama this spring and decreased public opposition to those reforms. Specifically, only 35 percent of respondents now oppose the Affordable Care Act reforms, down 9 percent from May, and 50 percent of respondents now view the law favorably, a 9 percent increase from May – an 18 point swing in favor of the Affordable Care Act in just 60 days. In response, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement:

“As this poll and others have shown, the more Americans learn about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, the more they embrace the historic changes enacted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats this spring. The number of Americans who support reform is growing, the number who oppose it is falling and since May nearly one in ten Americans have changed their mind about the law and now view it favorably. And there is every reason to believe the number of Americans who support reform will continue to grow as more businesses, workers, and families begin to realize the benefits of reform, and as it becomes increasingly obvious that the fear and myths spread by Republicans – from death panels to rationing – were simply not true.

“Instead, health insurance reform is conveying new benefits to millions of Americans. From young people who can now remain on their parents’ insurance as they look for work or complete their degree to older Americans who are receiving new help to purchase life-saving prescription medications to small business owners who may be eligible for a health care tax credit worth thousands of dollars to help cover the cost of insuring their employees, this law makes health insurance more available and affordable for Americans of all kinds. In addition, it ends the worst practices of the insurance industry and guarantees that no American need every worry again that their coverage will be revoked when they need it most or that they won’t be able to get coverage in the first place.

“Those changes are quite simply historic. It took nearly a century to enact comprehensive health insurance reform but, as this poll and others have shown, it will take far less time for the vast majority of Americans to embrace their new health care rights and benefits.”

Read the Washington Post story on the Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

DNC Executive Director Jen O'Malley Dillion sent the following message to supporters, asking them to volunteer and help fight the Republican special-interest agenda:

They just couldn't help themselves.

On Tuesday, 40 Republican senators blocked the passage of legislation that would counteract the growing influence of corporations in the wake of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

The DISCLOSE Act would have helped shed light on the hundreds of millions of dollars corporations and special interests plan to spend to influence our elections this fall -- and would have helped ordinary Americans to make their voices more clearly heard in campaigns across the country.

Republicans believe that killing the bill and strengthening corporate power gives them a tactical edge, allowing right-wing groups to raise more than ever to help their candidates win.

It's a stark reminder, both of what we're up against in November and the reason we all need to fight so hard to elect Democrats. Now more than ever, we need people like you on sidewalks and doorsteps, talking to your friends and neighbors about what meaningful reforms like these would mean in their lives -- and why it's so vital that they make their voices heard this fall.

Sign up now to volunteer for our Vote 2010 efforts and help fight the Republican special-interest agenda.

Despite the fact 80 percent of Americans disagreed with the Citizens United decision -- which eliminated limits on corporate spending in political campaigns -- obstructionist Republicans have sided with the special interests yet again. But that doesn't mean we can't hold them accountable for it.

Republicans believe the support of the big corporations and the special interests is all they need, but we have a different approach. We're building a new Democratic party -- one driven by the opinions and support of Americans around the country and focused on grassroots organizing.

That's something Republicans just don't have: supporters like you.

The obstruction of bills like DISCLOSE affects every voter in the country -- and we're all in this together. We need your help on the ground now, helping to make the case to friends and neighbors about the importance of their vote in November's elections. Please sign up to volunteer today:

http://my.democrats.org/DISCLOSEVolunteer

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Yesterday, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, DNC Vice Chairs Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Mike Honda, and other Democratic Members of Congress held a press conference announcing the release of the Republican Tea Party Contract on America, a compilation of ten extreme conservative Tea Party ideas that Republicans have adopted as part of their own platform.

The Contract includes, among other things, repealing health insurance reform and Wall Street reform, ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them, and extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while growing the federal deficit. Every single one of those positions has been advanced by Republican leaders in Congress or Republican candidates nationally, but even we would have supposed that at least a few Republicans would take issue with some of the most extreme positions. After all, could it really be true that there’s not a single Republican willing to stand against the dismantling of Social Security? At least for now, that seems to be the case.

As the Washington Post reported yesterday, a spokesman for the RNC “would not say whether the RNC disagrees with any of the 10 agenda items.”

And despite contacting the offices of multiple Republican leaders in Congress including Congressman Mike Pence, Congressman Eric Cantor, and Congressman Kevin McCarthy, CNN’s Political Ticker couldn’t find any Republicans who would disagree either.

In a statement to the Political Ticker, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, who also refused to disavow any of the extreme conservative policies highlighted in the Contract, said:

"Not only has this tired line of attack already been proven to be ineffective, it is offensive to voters.”

If the NRCC considers it an ‘attack’ simply to highlight some of their candidates’ most closely held positions, perhaps they should rethink the Republican Party’s support for unpopular policies like enabling insurance companies to once again raise rates unfairly and rescind Americans’ coverage when they get sick or empowering big Wall Street banks to once again gamble taxpayers’ money away.

In the meantime, voters are more likely to be offended by Republicans’ continued allegiance with big banks, big insurance, big oil and other special interests – to the detriment of the American Middle Class – than by those who are simply willing to point out those ongoing relationships.

Good morning.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the Israeli delegation prior to their working lunch with President Barack Obama in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 6, 2010. Photo by Pete Souza.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and Democratic members of Congress held a press conference today to highlight the real Republican agenda for America, unveiling "The Republican Tea Party Contract On America." For the better part of the past year, Republicans have tried to come up with a new agenda for the American people with mixed results. However, with the Tea Party now the most potent force in Republican politics, the Republican agenda has become clear.

Chairman Kaine summed up the Republican Tea Party Contract on America:

“We’re here to offer a helpful suggestion. Republicans and their Tea Party supporters can take a break from the town halls and relax because we have distilled their agenda for the American people into a handy ten point blue print for how they would govern that we are calling the ‘Republican Tea Party Contract on America.’ This wasn’t hard to come up with so were a little bit at a loss as to why this has been difficult for Republican leaders. We literally have just listened to what their leaders and candidates have been saying – people who have been increasingly influenced by the Tea Party.”

The Republican Tea Party Contract on America is a compilation of GOP leaders’ top priorities, providing Americans with a clear outline of just what the Republican Party will have to offer this fall. Republican leaders and Tea Party-supported Republican candidates from Nevada to Utah and Kentucky to Florida can now rally around the Republican Tea Party Contract on America.

As Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said at the press conference to launch the initiative, "The Republican Party is actually saying, put us back in the driver’s seat. The first thing that they will do is place that economic vehicle in reverse – that’s the only gear they know, because they’re guided by that view in the rearview mirror.”

Listen to the full audio of the press conference with Chairman Kaine, DNC Vice Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DNC Vice Chair Mike Honda, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, Congressman Keith Ellison and Congressman Frank Pallone.

To coincide with the launch, the DNC released a new web ad on the Republican Tea Party Contract on America, One and the Same:

Michelle Obama sent the following message to supporters asking them to join her in signing a card wishing the President a happy 49th birthday:

Every year, our family tries to come up with a fun way to wish Barack a happy birthday.

And this August 4th, when he turns 49, I have something new in mind.

This has been a big -- and hectic -- year for him. After signing the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform into law -- and completing his first year as president -- I think it's safe to say we will remember it for a long time.

And I know full well how much he credits this movement, and the work of supporters like you, for the change that we've accomplished.

So I'm putting together a birthday card that I would like you to sign. Together with other Organizing for America supporters -- and me, Malia, Sasha, and Bo -- we'll wish him a happy birthday and let him know that we're ready to take on the year ahead alongside him.

Will you wish Barack a happy birthday with me?

This year also brought a lot of surprises -- some good and some bad.

Supporters like you have helped him make the best of it -- by contacting Congress to help push stalled legislation forward, by re-engaging supporters in the political process, by giving back with service projects across the country, and so much more.

And while we can't know what the coming year will bring, all of us, working together, will continue pushing forward for change.

Will you help make this a memorable birthday for Barack and wish him a happy 49th?

http://my.democrats.org/birthday

Thanks so much,

Michelle Obama