Bush Vetoes Bill to Provide Healthcare for Uninsured Children; House Democrats Cannot Convince Republicans to Override Bush
Today House Democrats attempted to secure enough votes to override President Bush's veto on the bill expanding SCHIP, the program that provides health insurance to children whose families cannot afford coverage. Although the Senate already has the two-thirds majority needed, the House fell 13 votes short of overriding Bush. All of DAPAC's endorsed Congress members voted to expand the program and override Bush's veto.

Democrats seek to expand the program over five years to insure 10 million children. This expansion would cost $35 billion, and Democrats have proposed increasing taxes on cigarettes to fund the expansion. Bush and other Republicans have called the program too costly, but they find it all too easy to come up with funds for the war in Iraq – at least $150 billion has been allocated for 2008 alone. This shows just how skewed the Republicans' priorities are.

It seems that Americans are with the Democrats on this issue. In a CNN poll, 61% thought that Congress should override Bush, and only 35% thought that the veto should stand. House Democrats will continue to fight for SCHIP expansion, and have indicated that they are not willing to negotiate the size of the expansion. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the legislation is “not going away, because the children are not going away.”

New Numbers from the Presidential Race Indicate Democratic Promise
Democrats in the presidential field continue to outperform their Republican counterparts in both fundraising and polling. In a CNN poll released this week, respondents were first asked: Will you definitely/probably vote for a Democrat or a Republican in 2008? Democrats faired well, with 52% saying they would choose a Democrat, and 39% voting for a Republican. Another question in the poll used specific candidates to gauge the public support. The question asked respondents which candidate they thought is most likely to win the presidency in 2008, and the results were:

Clinton – 45%
Giuliani – 16%
Obama – 8%
Thompson – 5%
Edwards – 4%
McCain -- 4%

Also this week, fundraising numbers were released indicating that the top four Democrats (Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and Richardson) have a combined total of $104 million cash on hand, while the Republicans (Giuliani, Thompson, Romney, and McCain) have a comparatively-meager $36 million.

Together, these results show the promise of a Democratic president in 2008. It remains crucial not to forget Democratic candidates for Congress amid all the excitement over the presidential race, especially at this point in the election cycle. DAPAC already has strong progressive candidates running who will face early challenges in their primaries. We need your support now to ensure that the greatest number of progressives will be elected in 2008. Remember, even with a Democratic president, truly progressive legislation will only become law if Congress is committed to progressive values.