President Obama has kicked off the health care debate as he prepares to bring health care to every American by the end of the year.

This is going to be a spirited debate. A lot of people will call it “socialized medicine” and use scare tactics to make people believe it will ruin our health care system.

The truth is that the President’s plan is a well thought-out, well designed health care plan that will offer insurance to everyone. It allows people to continue on their current health insurance path, but it also provides and affordable system that will ensure everyone who does not have insurance.

This is a debate, and we look forward to speaking to facts, not scare tactics.

ETA: What follows is an email sent out by two Democrats on the coast who held a health care kick-off part over the weekend:

June 6, 2006

Hello everyone,

Renick Taylor and Jackie Washington of the Harrison County committee hosted President Obama’s Healthcare Reform initiative called Organizing for America this evening. The majority of Americans want Healthcare Reform that makes healthcare available to every American. The purpose of the meeting was to focus the attention of that majority on contacting their Congressional representatives to lobby them for meaningful healthcare reform.

We watched a video prepared for the event emphasizing President Obama’s objective to lower healthcare costs, allow patients to choose their coverage and doctors, and to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable healthcare. President Obama spoke about the fierce urgency of healthcare reform and said that it cannot wait another year.

The people attending then related their individual healthcare stories which only underscored the need for healthcare reform.

We then received a card entitled “This is It! Universal Healthcare Now!” asking everyone to contact our South Mississippi representatives and urge them to “support a public option for universal health care” so that we could have a choice of a public sector competitor in the private health insurance market. President Obama believes that a public option is the only way to guarantee healthcare for all Americans.

Please contact me at lfewkes@bellsouth.net or Renick Taylor at renicktaylor@yahoo.com for a supply of cards to hand out. The time to take action on this issue is now.

Thanks for all you do,

Louis Fuchs