Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Saying Thanks To The Democrats Who Won't Give Up On Hope

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This was at 8:30; it's changed a bit

Last night Rachel Maddow kicked off her show with a talk about the collapse of ambition-- the Obama Administration and corporate Democrats throwing in the towel on health care reform. The video-- after the first minute or so-- is incredibly compelling and I recommend you watch it if you didn't see it yet. This morning several bloggers have kicked off an effort to thank the House Democrats who have drawn a line in the sand and say they will stand up against the corporate shills in the Senate and the Administration are defeat any bogus health care bill that doesn't include-- at the minimum-- a robust public option. You may remember that a few days ago I included all the names and phone numbers in a post and I want to encourage all DWT readers to call up congressmembers on the list and thank them. Thereisnospoon at Daily Kos explained the thinking behind whole campaign this morning. And Blue America is hosting an ActBlue page for people who would like to give any of the congressmembers who are standing up for the public option a dollar or two.

Goal Thermometer

Is your congressmember on the list? Is your favorite member of Congress? Take a look-- and make your voice heard-- with a dollar.

Washington is paying attention. The top story at Politico today is Liberals Revolt Over Public Option.
“A bill without a public option won’t pass the House,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), a member of Energy & Commerce Health subcommittee. “Not only are they weakening their proposal, but they are also weakening their hand. This is legislative subtraction by subtraction.”

Privately, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus sent the same message to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said Sunday that a public plan is “not the essential element” of comprehensive reform.

“To take the public option off the table would be a grave error; passage in the House of Representatives depends upon inclusion of it,” wrote Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in a letter to Sebelius Monday.

Along with their sharply worded letter, the three House members sent an attachment listing the “60 Members of Congress who are firm in their position that any legislation that moves forward through both chambers, and into a final proposal for the president's signature, MUST contain a public option.”

Even if top aides didn’t intend to do it, the White House got a glimpse of what may well happen-- a Democratic civil war-- if President Barack Obama does indeed give up on the public option.

...Democracy for America honed in on the 60 House members who have pledged not to vote for a bill without the public option, and asked supporters to remind them to hold firm. Health Care for America Now urged its network to contact senators. And the Progressive Change Campaign Committee promised a new round of TV ads targeting undecided senators and highlighting their contributions from health and insurance interests.

"There is zero retreat on the grassroots level for the public option. We are all in, and we're staying all in, because the public option is the compromise,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change committee, one of the most aggressive defenders of the public option.

“If Kathleen Sebelius, Rahm Emanuel, or anyone else thinks the grassroots will rally behind anything short of a strong public option, that would be a serious miscalculation,” Green said.

Although all the congressmembers have been getting contributions from appreciative blog readers, the dozen who had benefited most when I woke up this morning were Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Carolyn Maloney (NY), Barbara Lee (CA), Bill Delahunt (MA), Andre Carson (IN), Luis Gutierrez (IL), Donna Edwards (MD), Michael Capuano (MA), and Pete DeFazio (OR). Please make your voice heard too.

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5 Comments:

At 11:15 AM, Blogger www.democratz.org said...

sign these health care petitions

http://BIT.LY/HR676

http://BIT.LY/single_payer_ross

http://BIT.LY/drug_benefit

Read our blog

http://blog.democratz.org

 
At 2:08 PM, Anonymous paul_lukasiak said...

Howie --
Why is ActBlue "rewarding" congresscritters for supporting the "public option" when nobody knows what the "public option" looks like?

Seriously, all that these congresscritters have said is " I won't vote for the bill as long as there isn't a fig leaf labelled 'public option' contained in it."

Neither the "public option" in either HR3200 or the Senate HELP bill is worth squat -- they are both nothing but window dressing that will enroll (according to the CBO) less than 20% of the uninsured -- and won't even be available until 2013!

Is this really your idea of a 'profile in courage'? Or is this really just about Jane's failure to get behind single payer/Medicare for All... which is what real progressives should be supporting, instead of this 'public option' boondoggle.

 
At 8:57 PM, Anonymous cheap said...

Public option is must for Health care reform...

 
At 11:00 AM, Anonymous henry young said...

Why can't just those why pay taxes get health benefits...how b'out that Obama and the rest of the health care reform starters??? NO seriously, this I could be in favor of, but not just letting any old person that comes to America, even the illegal’s to get healthcare and our taxes go up the roof???? No, sure, I will cont. to fight this...

 
At 5:48 PM, Anonymous Balakirev said...

"NO seriously, this I could be in favor of, but not just letting any old person that comes to America, even the illegal’s to get healthcare and our taxes go up the roof????"
_________________________

Maybe because this hasn't been proposed by anyone? Really, I mean, come on: this is like believing a person who tells you that he opponent eats babies. Surely you have to start wondering if the person who tells you this is just slightly, ever so slightly, adjusting the truth to make you support his cause.

Think it through. If it sounds ridiculous, it's because it is. No one's going to pay under any proposed public health plan for illegal aliens. Read the facts. Check out Matt Yglesias (he's one of my favorites), Or Krugman.

 

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