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50 State Blog Network

Mike Johanns' Staff Calls Police On Health Care Reform Advocates

by: Kyle Michaelis

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 13:48:54 PM CDT

On the eve of our nation's Independence Day, it appears Sen. Mike Johanns and his staff aren't very interested in respecting the people of Nebraska's freedom of speech - especially if what they have to say is that they support health care reform that puts the interests of the American people before the insurance industry's profits.

The team at Change That Works-Nebraska reports:

One day before we celebrate the birth of our nation, Nebraskans gathered at a scheduled healthcare roundtable to call on Senator Johanns to support an American solution to our healthcare crisis. Instead of greeting the teachers from NSEA, veterans, and SEIU workers Senator Johanns' staff called the police, ordering the Nebraskans to leave the Medical Center grounds.
"Johanns' voters-- teachers, members of the armed forces, and SEIU members-- set up a table with apple pie and signs welcoming the Senator and urging him to support a uniquely American solution to healthcare reform," explained Jane Kleeb, SEIU State Director. "Instead of coming by and saying hello, the Senator walked right by us as we were surrounded by police, and the Senator said 'good luck with that.'"
SEIU received advanced permission from the Nebraska Medical Center to greet the Senator as he started his day of roundtables on healthcare reform. Instead of greeting the healthcare reform advocates at the table, the Senator's staff called the police.
Just as our founders realized the time for hard decisions was upon them, SEIU and our partners know we can not afford to wait any longer to reform our broken healthcare system....The future of our nation depends on the solutions being debated in DC. It is not a time to slowdown, it is a time to act.

Johanns is in today's Lincoln Journal-Star issuing another of his endless calls for delaying health care reform. He also puts his support behind a plan rooted in government hand-outs to private insurance companies. That's literally throwing money at the problem - offering no real reform and definitely no solutions to the health care crisis that has plagued our country for so many years.

The fundamental right to quality, affordable care can no longer be a dream deferred. On this Independence Day, let us all celebrate our freedom to be heard while continuing the fight for every Americans' freedom from the fear that comes with being one trip to the emergency room away from financial ruin.

Johanns may be able to hide behind the police to get to a meeting. But, he can't hide from the American people and their call for true health care reform. We have waited too long. Our time is now, and we will not be silenced or defeated.

Kyle Michaelis :: Mike Johanns' Staff Calls Police On Health Care Reform Advocates

Tags: Mike Johanns, Health Care, (All Tags)

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Mike Johanns' Staff Calls Police On Health Care Reform Advocates | 5 comments

Team Johanns Denies Report (0.00 / 0)

Talking Points Memo reports:

Johann's staff...portrays things rather differently. They contend that the organizers were confronted by hospital security and asked to move their protest off hospital grounds. They also deny complaining--either to the police, or to hospital security--about the protesters' presence, and say the roundtable proceeded, with Kleeb's participation, after the controversy was resolved....
Jane Kleeb...stuck to her version of events and provided more details. According to Kleeb, she and about 10 other advocates set up out front with two home made signs--one which read 'Sen. Johanns, we can't wait' and one which read 'Health care '09, we can't wait'. She says that soon thereafter four cars rolled up--both medical center security and Omaha police. According to Kleeb, the police waited in their cars while she spoke with hospital security officers, who told her that Johanns' staff had indeed called to complain about the protest.

by: Kyle Michaelis @ Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 14:12:32 PM CDT

Fremont Tribune Report (0.00 / 0)

I think it needs to noted the article posted on the Fremont Tribune site:

Neb. group accuses Johanns staff of calling police
By MARGERY A. GIBBS
Friday, Jul 03, 2009 - 05:46:21 pm CDT
OMAHA, Neb. - What was to have been a serious discussion Friday turned into a case of finger-pointing and accusations between a health care reform advocacy group and the staff of Republican Sen. Mike Johanns.
Officials with Change That Works Nebraska accused members of Johanns' staff of calling security guards to intimidate people set up outside a meeting to discuss health care _ a charge Johanns' office denies......
Both Johanns' communications director and a UNMC spokesman denied any members of Johanns' staff called security......
Mandy later called the allegation that Johanns staffers had called campus security "an assumption on my part."
"But I believe that it was because Johanns' staffers came out and kind of looked at us when we were setting up and gave us a dirty look, and about five minutes later, the security guards showed up," she said.

Maybe this needs some further clarification, if this reporter's story is correct.

by: Lisa Hannah @ Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 20:22:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

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Jane Kleeb Responds (0.00 / 0)

As written by Jane Kleeb earlier today on DailyKos:

We had 3 cops come--Omaha police, Nebraska Medical officers and the Sheriffs department.
The Nebraska Medical officers told us the Johanns' staff called them and said we were protesters and that we needed to leave the premises. We would not just assume that.
But really, thats not the big issue.
The issue is Senator Johanns saw this and did not stop to see if there was anything he could do and did not stop to talk to voters who were there to greet him about healthcare.
That was the thing that bothered us the most.

The plot thickens? By the way, Lisa, props for your very diplomatic editing choices.

by: Kyle Michaelis @ Sat Jul 04, 2009 at 00:26:45 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

SEIU (0.00 / 0)

Weren't you an employee of SEIU until you were fired very recently, Lisa? What happened there? There was quite a discussion about that here on NNN recently. Let's hear the whole story.

by: Ed @ Sat Jul 04, 2009 at 02:49:42 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

To clarify (0.00 / 0)

Meg, one of our staff, stated to the press that she did not speak with the officers--I was the one talking with them. Meg stated she made that assumption. The whole conversation was not reported on that she had with press.

I was told by the officers that they got a call from Johanns staff that said we were protesting and we needed to be removed from the premises.

We stand by our accounting of the story.

We also requested the security phone logs, but were told since we are not Medical Center staff we can not have access to the records.

by: janekleeb @ Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 11:00:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]