Gus Bilirakis Has Priorities

Got sleep apnea? Then Gus Bilirakis is YOUR representative!

As the sister-in-law of a man with severe sleep apnea, I'm very sympathetic to this serious health issue, but wouldn't Congressman Bilirakis' time be better spent making sure that people are actually able to see a doctor, no matter what the problem? We have 45 million Americans for whom routine healthcare is not available. THAT should be the priority, and not some pointless resolution.

Gus Bilirakis - Another Shameful Vote

Veterans and Greeks - Thumbs Up!
Poor Children and Gays - Thumbs Down!

First the S-CHIP bill (NO to healthcare for poor children), and now Gus Bilirakis joins the hateful, homophobic caucus and votes a big NO on H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007.

Something to ponder--
What would Gus say to a gay Greek veteran about government healthcare or employment discrimination?

Hmmm.....

Where's Gus Bilirakis?

From Greek News :

"Accompanied by US Regional Coordinator for SAE Theodore Spyropoulos, Tamvakis also met with US House of Representatives members John Sarbanes, Gus Bilirakis and Zachary Space to discuss the promotion of Greece's national issues in the US Congress and the strengthening of relations between the Greek expatriates and the motherland."

S-CHIP? Healthcare for poor children? Ending the war? Holding the Bush administration accountable for lies and incompetence?

Gus Bilirakis: No Healthcare for Poor Children

Gus Bilirakis shows his real values again. He'd rather spend American tax dollars on a pointless war in Iraq than on healthcare for poor children in our country. Gus Bilirakis voted "NO" on the bipartisan S-Chip bill when it came up for another vote.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=1009&chamber=H&congress=1101&tally=1

Will he have the political courage to change his vote and override a veto this time? Don't count on it.

Bilirakis aide's daughter gets government healthcare

Susan S made a trip to see Gus Bilirakis' aide today,Wed Oct 03, 2007:

Without even seeing that he was proving my point, an aide to Congressman Gus Bilirakis told me this morning that his own daughter gets government healthcare.

Here's the scenario: Democracy for America and the Democrats in NW Hillsborough County, FL, have collected healthcare stories from citizens around the state which we have delivered to our Congressional representatives. The delivery to Rep. Bilirakis' (FL-9) office was delayed because we wanted to give them to an aide during his monthly "Community Outreach" event. This morning, I took the stack of stories to the library where the event was held. The 40-something male aide was browsing the bookshelves when I got there.

We went into the private meeting room and I gave him the stories and asked that the Congressman sign on as a co-sponsor of HR 676 for single-payer healthcare. I also asked him to pass along the word that we would like to see Congressman Bilirakis vote to override George Bush's expected veto of the S-CHIP bill.

He then told me that the Congressman was against the bill because it would be giving healthcare to children whose families earn more than $80,000 dollars per year. I told him that had been taken out of the bill, but that it didn't matter, because ALL children, in fact, all Americans, deserve healthcare.

He then said "...children in this country are not denied healthcare. My own daughter, who is in her twenties and makes minimum wage, gets her healthcare at the County Health Department. So no one has to go without healthcare in this country."

My response was, "So your daughter gets government healthcare." He was a bit flustered.

"No," he said. "She goes to the health department and gets care."

"But that's government healthcare, paid for by the taxpayers."

I'm not sure if it ever registered that his daughter is taking advantage of a program exactly like S-CHIP. (Would you call that hypocrisy or stupidity?)

We talked in circles for awhile longer, but he was having none of it. There's no way that Gus Bilirakis (legacy congressman) will ever override this veto, despite the fact that his own aide's family can't afford healthcare. He follows White House marching orders and in the words of this morning's St. Pete Times editorial, "this is about ideology and politics, not money."

Crossposted on dailykos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/3/121949/040

Worth Mentioning Again (and Again and Again)

There is no clearer indication of Republican idiocy and immorality than Tuesday's vote against the SCHIPS bill. How on earth do you vote against health insurance for poor children? If there were ever any doubt about which is more important to Gus Bilirakis and his fellow GOP House members: continuing to follow White House marching orders or thinking about the needs of their constituents, then let's remove that doubt once and for all. Gus and his cronies have followed George Bush over the cliff.

Let's hope that Gus' Democratic opponent hammers him with this every single hour of every single day until November 2008. For this, Gus must pay dearly.

(Several Democrats, including Kathy Castor, also sold us out on this one. If they don't come around and vote to override Bush's promised veto, then let's make sure they suffer the same fate as the Republicans. If we can't count on their support for this, then what good are they?)

Gus Bilirakis: Poor Children Not Worth a Few Days of War in Iraq

We here at GusWatch have long questioned the priorities of Gus Bilirakis, but with his "nay" vote yesterday on expanding healthcare for poor children through the SCHIPS program, Gus has removed all doubt. His concern for the health and welfare of American citizens begins and ends with wounded and ailing veterans, a big voting block in District 9.

Gus, who heard "encouraging news" in the pathetic shilling of General Petraeus before Congress a couple of weeks ago, would rather continue pouring money down Bush's Iraqi shithole than take care of America's uninsured poor children. Has there ever been a more disgusting example of pandering: pandering to failed Republican policies on healthcare, to Bush's attempt to salvage his legacy, and to laughable claims of Republican fiscal responsibility?

From Congressman Rahm Emanuel:

"This week, the President asked for $200 billion more for the war in Iraq. In the same week, the White House said the bipartisan plan to give 10 million children health care included ‘excessive spending’ and threatened to veto the plan. For this President who helped rack up three trillion dollars in new debt, it is not about the spending, it is about priorities and the President has made his clear.”

Gus has shown us once again what his priorities are. He stands first and foremost with George Bush, and not with American families. Remember that on Election Day 2008.

Gus Bilirakis, Live and In Person

You gotta hand it to our boy Gus. He walked right into the lion's den on Monday when he made a brief appearance at the West Central Florida Labor Day Picnic at the fairgrounds. Take my word for it, labor is not crazy about Republicans these days.

I was working at the tri-county Democratic booth (Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough) when I looked up and there he was (only my second Gus sighting, btw). Of course, he was surrounded by handlers, including an older woman who might have been (and probably was) his mother. We've written of her before here at GusWatch. I'm too lazy to find the link, so trust me on this one.

Anyway, one of the handlers brought Gus over to meet us. I surprised myself when I immediately told him that I didn't want him to give Bush any more money for the war in Iraq, and that I wanted him to do what he could to bring our soldiers home from Iraq now. Gus tried to counter with the tired, "But what will happen if we pull out?" To which, I replied, "What will happen if we don't?" Gus was then left to convince me of how very seriously he takes the war in Iraq.

Before he moved on, I also told him that I hoped he would support House Resolution 676, which calls for single payer healthcare, and then I told him we would be delivering healthcare stories to his office in the very near future.

Here are my impressions:
(In my best southern accent) Bless his heart. He is so obviously in over his head. He can only talk in the vaguest of generalities, and he has the most pathetic and creepy handshake. Why did his family let him run for office? They won't be able to protect him from the vultures (us) forever.