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Rob Zerban

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Why I Will Defeat Paul Ryan

Posted: 06/07/11 08:42 PM ET

Choices have consequences.

Instead of taking on Big Oil and powerful Washington special interests, Paul Ryan chose to end Medicare. Plain and simple.

Ryan's budget increases the size of the deficit while driving up medical costs for everyone. That's right, everyone. Over 55? Don't let the talk of Medicare being preserved fool you. Ryan chose to re-open the Medicare "doughnut hole" for seniors that Ryan himself helped to create.

We've all seen the consequences of Ryan's bad budgeting. Voters in New York's 26th Congressional District who had never heard of Paul Ryan before rejected his plan to end Medicare.

Ryan is now trying to make the case in Wisconsin that his plan to end Medicare is unpopular simply because voters don't understand it. The fact is Ryan's plan is unpopular precisely because folks DO. If you also reject Paul Ryan's plan, I hope you'll join our campaign.

I know how important affordable, reliable health care is to seniors and working families. When I was building two successful businesses, I made the decision to provide my employees with health insurance because it was the right thing to do. The reality is -- without employer-sponsored health insurance plans -- it's really tough for ordinary families to get and afford health care insurance on their own. I made that choice because I felt deeply that it was the right thing to do, and part of my responsibility to the people who were working to help grow my business.

So, I'm making another choice. I decided to run for Congress because I believe Ryan needs to take his "Hands off My Grandma." I'm choosing to run because I believe we should save and strengthen Medicare. I believe Ryan must be stopped. His plan to end Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the very rich on the backs of our seniors and our most vulnerable is just plain wrong. The people of Wisconsin deserve a representative who has spent time in the working world and whose values mirror their own.

That's why I will defeat Paul Ryan in 2012.

I hope you'll join me.

 

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
62Tiger
05:27 PM on 07/11/2011
You are so right Mr. Zerban; we do not like Ryan's plan because, we do get it. We are tired of politicians Cow-Tow-ing to insurance, oil and overseas businesses!! Hands off any special needs medical !!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
bushguy
A plague on both your houses
04:17 PM on 06/13/2011
Good luck.
05:04 PM on 06/11/2011
Defeating rian in Wisconsin will be the easiest thing a politician EVER did. I really can't see a republican winning another election EVER. I believe this to be the end of the gop as we know it.. Once again..... GOOD RIDDANCE and better luck in the pakistan area.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sjcarl
10:59 PM on 06/10/2011
Go Rob, go!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Bubba10
02:21 PM on 06/08/2011
Please, please, please please.
12:08 PM on 06/08/2011
You sir, are just another unrealistic liberal. Ryan gets all the kudos for standing up and saying "this is not going to work" despite knowing it would be wildly unpopular. People never like to find out that they are going to lose anything. The fact is, you can love medicare until the cows come home, when the baby boomers hit in full, it will not be able to pay for their care, let alone you and I when we retire (which is what it is DESIGNED to be saving for). If you think people are mad at Ryan, watch what happens if medicare IS left as is and fails.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sjcarl
11:02 PM on 06/10/2011
Ryan just wants to stick it to seniors so he can give more tax cuts to the rich. NO, NO, NO!!!
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
myke3000
Facts are stubborn things...
11:17 AM on 06/08/2011
I'm wishing you the best of luck, Mr. Zerban, and will head over to your site to make a donation. Paul Ryan is not only bad for his state, he's bad for this country. I'm tired of his arrogant, know-it-all self, who actually has no basis in knowing it all. His proposed policies - which have been voted for and passed in the House, failed in the Senate - can be proven wrong FACTUALLY, and yet he and all Republicans - save 5 in the Senate - unanimously stand by these idiotic voodoo-economic policies.

You will win in 2012, Mr. Zerban.
11:08 AM on 06/08/2011
May the Force be with you, Mr. Zerban! I wish I lived in your district so that I could help you directly with a vote, but you have every bit of support I can give you.

" I made the decision to provide my employees with health insurance because it was the right thing to do. The reality is -- without employer-sponsored health insurance plans -- it's really tough for ordinary families to get and afford health care insurance on their own. I made that choice because I felt deeply that it was the right thing to do . . ."

I wish the last two small businesses I worked for had felt that way. It isn't just difficult, it's impossible to get individual private health insurance on a salary of $8.00 per hour. It's also impossible to save for healthcare in your retirement years on wages like that. Those jobs are more prevalent than you think, and people like us need help.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
CalmDawn
10:33 AM on 06/08/2011
Wishing you the best of luck.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tpondering
10:00 AM on 06/08/2011
Good luck. Shields up. The poop flingers will be coming for you. Don't be afraid to use truth in small words and plain English.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
booker52
avid reader
10:00 AM on 06/08/2011
Right now the spotlight is on Anthony Weiner and his scandal the better to distract the public from the crappy Voucher Care plan of Ryan.
09:13 AM on 06/08/2011
"it's really tough for ordinary families to get and afford healthcare insurance own their own." So we have to be beholden to our employers. Welcome to the company store of our age.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
CalmDawn
10:33 AM on 06/08/2011
Absolutely right. F/F. And not just beholden - virtually enslaved.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Scott Leland
10:37 AM on 06/08/2011
Yes, that is the problem with the way Health Care is funded for most Americans, it is linked to employment. There are only 110 millions Americans working full-time (55% of which receive partially paid-for insurance) out of the 308 million U.S. population.

I was curious about the profits the profits that the insurance companies make so I searched for the latest information. Here are the results for Florida:

http://www.flixya.com/blog/3022553/Health-Insurance-Choices
11:13 AM on 06/08/2011
Not just that -- it is (or was) linked to employment by an employer who is generous enough and able to provide it. My last two 'small business' jobs didn't, for whatever reason.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
kimbanyc
LIBERAL NY DEMOCRAT
09:08 AM on 06/08/2011
GO GET THAT **** ROB
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
errol44
Just in town for the GOP circus
08:45 AM on 06/08/2011
You will win, Rob, because people like me here in Texas and around the country will be supporting you. Godspeed.
08:38 AM on 06/08/2011
Mr. Zerban, thanks for your very valid comments. I hope you're successful. The last thing we need in this country is to turn a great program into just another attempt to pass on federal money to huge insurance companies. The day people started making money on providing for people's health was the day our costs for healthcare started to skyrocket. As long as healthcare continues to be a for-profit venture - traded on Wall Street, there really won't be any change. I for one (61 and getting close to qualification for Medicare - and I know I'm not alone) do not want to see Medicare turn into MediVoucher.

Keep up the good work and telling it like it is!