Genine writes:
If any of you in favor of health care reform live in Diana DeGette’s district in Colorado, give her a call. I called her office today and was told that I was one of few positive phone calls they’ve had and the only one today. Her office has been flooded with angry phone calls against healthcare reform, which is weird for my town.
I’m thinking this must be due to both firebaggers and teabaggers because my district is pretty liberal. Or, maybe, a lot of people are taking for granted the fact that our district is liberal and it’s not worth the phone call. Anyway, the woman thanked me for being pleasant and supportive.
Let’s give more positive reinforcement!
Even if readers have already called your Rep, call him or her yourself. Positive reinforcement can only help.
Mainer
Another suggestion: Call the DNC’s line for contributors. I told them they will never receive another dime from me if they don’t pass health care.
Contributions, please call 877-336-7200
Main Phone Number:202-863-8000
I’ve also called my congressman (in Maine and in DC), the White House, and Pelosi.
Robin G.
People with cooler tempers than mine will have to manage the positive reinforcement right now. I just want to call my rep and promise that if I lose my insurance, when I become suicidal after being off my meds, I will hang myself right outside her office.
Tom Hilton
FYI Tim, Josh Marshall now has a parallel effort to get a roll call from representatives. Might be worth trying to coordinate.
Palooza
I called her DC office and voiced my displeasure with the failure to pass HCR. Not a dime or a moment of my time for the Dems if they fail.
Tomlinson
Another call to Niki Tsongas. Talked to a staffer. She “understands that doing nothing is not an option” but “is not sure what to do.”
Yeah, that’s the dem position in a nutshell, ain’t it?
You know the people re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic? Dems, I’m certain. The republicans were in the lifeboats.
tballou
Here’s another suggestion….
How about letting this corporate giveaway piece of trash die a natural death? How can anyone support giving the insurance companies 30 million mandatory new customers with ZERO cost controls? Those folks can get all the insurance they can afford right now, and nothing will change under this bill.
mamaph
Called James Oberstar’s (MN) yesterday and today. They give me the line: “He voted for it in November” and they won’t tell me if he will vote for it now.
Peter J
tballou. STFU.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Jason B at Work
@Palooza: I’ve been hearing this a lot.
Question: does that include your vote too? Because if it does, I think we should just go ahead and seppuku our way back into an immediate GOP majority, don’t you? Because, you know, things may not work out the way you want, and all Dems are pussies, or some such BULLSHIT.
Notorious P.A.T.
Wow, Obama/Emmanuel’s plan of sitting back and letting Congress handle it is working soooooo well.
edmund dantes
OT, but Obama and Congress needs to nip this in the bud if they don’t want to get their asses handed to them.
Retention bonuses for guys not even at the company anymore? Really? I can see the fucking ads now once you factor in the taxing of healthcare policies.
Who the hell is running this show? Are they really this incompetent or just completely oblivious to how this is going to play?
This is going to look like the bankers are getting theirs while the “little guy” gets screwed.
Rob in Denver
Fellow CO-1 residents: Rep. DeGette is a Chief Deputy Majority Whip. She’s a good one to call. Other Chief Deputy Majority Whips:
U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Senior Chief Deputy Whip
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California
U.S. Rep. John Tanner of Tennessee
U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor of Arizona
U.S. Rep. Janice Schakowsky of Illinois
U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley of New York
U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida
tcolberg
I just called Diane Watson’s Office (CA-33) in Washington. It was thankfully redundant – the aide replied that what I had asked was exactly the Congresswoman’s position.
Palooza
@Jason B at Work:
Jason, the failure to pass HCR, especially in this manner, all but ensures a GOP victory. If the Democrats can’t get it done, then what is the point. They have the ability to do so RIGHT NOW, but they won’t.
Jason B at Work
@Notorious P.A.T.: Seriously though, is there anyone who is sure what the next move will be? Obviously we should fight, but how? I would strongly recommend to Congress that some thought be put into these sorts of things. We don’t have a charismatic congressional leader. Obama used to be charismatic, but then he was elected President and got all stuffy and serious (I really wish he would loosen up).
Anyway, we still have the power here. Somebody needs to find some sneaky-ass loophole in the rules that would serve us in this instance. I wish I had a rulebook or something.
Genine
@Robin G.:
I can understand that. But speaking to my congresswoman’s assistant really opened my eyes on how important our phone calls are. People who are against healthcare are organized and motivated. As a result they are being heard and getting results.
We need to fight back, show our congresspeople we are even more determined, have greater numbers and we are for healthcare reform.
I was assured that, despite the angry phone calls, Congresswoman DeGette was determined to see healthcare reform go through. But her assistant thanked me for the call said it was “refreshing”.
My point is that we really need to fight fire with fire. Let’s flood the phone lines with calls of support (whether they be of the “honey” or “vinegar” variety). We need to make our voices heard.
Michael
I called the rep where I work. He’s a good guy and might overcome his progressivism long enough to persuade others to vote for the Senate bill.
My home House guy sucks. He was a Teabagger before there were Teabaggers, and my Senators ar McConnell and Old Uncle Grumpy Bunning.
Church Lady
Dial your fingers to the bone if it makes you feel as it you’re doing something. It won’t make any difference at all to your representative. Do you really think that they will do anything, anything at all, that they interpret as being anathema to their re-election prospects? In case you haven’t noticed, there are more voters that identify as either conservative or moderate than identify as being liberal. That means no republicans or centrist democrats will vote in favor or the Senate bill.
And even the liberals don’t want to vote for the piece of shit that came out the the Senate.
Jason B at Work
@Palooza: Well I hear Pelosi is working on a reconciliation option as we speak. I wish it didn’t have to go that way but I understand. Not sure what the repercussions of that would be, BUT there really is no easy choice for any real Democrat, which is why I do retain some small amount of sympathy for them.
ellaesther
@ Tim F. I just posted a link to the earlier “call your reps” post with the list of helpful hints over at Ta-Nehisi’s place.
May I suggest that those of us who comment in other places do the same? The more people we can catch with our internet wiles, the better.
(Going to post this appeal on the other, related threads as well).
chicago dyke
i like this blog and read it all the time, for all i don’t comment here much. i can tell i’m out of step with the majority of people here, and i’m not into flamewars. but i’m curious: what is it that you folks are calling and asking them to pass? the Senate version of the bill? something else? if it’s the Senate version: what do you like about it, and what do you think it will do for you?
i’m opposed to the Senate version of the bill, unchanged. i would like have something like Medicare for all, or even the crazy dream of european style universal single payer. i’ve always been like that, and agitated for that. i also work in health care, from a family of health care professionals. so i consider myself fairly “informed” about health care issues, beyond what i read on blogs (which is considerable). anyway, i just wanted to understand better what folks here are demanding their reps when they’re making these calls. not in any way trying to start a flame war.
cleek
bah.
mcd410x
Heh, real comment of the day …
“The Supreme Court’s ruling frees American business from the yoke of second-class citizenship. … The reason American business is active in politics in the first place is to influence public policies that impact the prosperity of its employees and shareholders.” – Gregory Casey, president and CEO of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee.
Yep, second-class citizenship. Go KYS.
Dungheap
I called Stephen Lynch’s office (MA- 9). The person I spoke “d[id] not handle healthcare issues” and the person responsible for heahtcare issues was not available. The staffer said that two days ago Lynch said he was not inclined to vote for the Senate version but that she had not spoken to him about it since then.
I pressed a bit, telling her I thought it was odd that a two day old statement reported in the press was the best she could do considering the Democratic caucus was certainly discussing the matter. But, the two day old statement is all I got.
Lynch is an interesting case. All but 4 towns in his district went for Obama but on Tuesday all but 3 towns went to Brown.
Chyron HR
@chicago dyke:
I would like a single payer system, legal gay marriage nationwide, legalized pot, campaign finance reform (again), and political churches to lose their nonprofit status.
What I NEED is for the weaksauce Democratic caucus to produce SOME kind of results after this past year of bullshit, or the Democratic party is going to literally die, and we get nothing, ever.
pj
i would like have something like Medicare for all, or even the crazy dream of european style universal single payer.
Move to Europe.
BR
@chicago dyke:
I don’t like the senate bill, but the problem in DC is that if they don’t get even something of that magnitude passed, they won’t get anything passed for another decade. Medicare for all has no chance at this point. As time passes, the bill gets worse. We need to get them to pass the senate bill and then add amendments here and there over the next year or two to fix the things we don’t like. (It’s fairly easy to slip in small amendments on big bills.)
So when I call I’m telling them that I want to see the dems get it done, NOW. That is, pass the senate bill, get it to the president by the SOTU. Remind them that it does important things like banning pre-existing conditions, etc. Remind them that if they don’t pass it, I won’t have confidence they can get anything done.
gwangung
You know, this would have been a good thing for progressives to have done, oh, say, in August…
(Note: not to lay blame, but that’s the sort of thing I’ve always said was useful instead of getting discouraged or saying they were stabbed in the back).
Jim
@chicago dyke:
CD- to me, this is about politics rather than substance. The Republicans in teh Senate are not going to allow anything to move through, and they’ll have more help from the ConservaDems than they’ve had in the last year. If the Dems don’t deliver Something–and this, the badly flawed Senate bill, is the only Something on the table–then the Senate picture only gets worse in November (Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and New Hampshire are all in play, IMHO, maybe CA and FL). Winners win, Losers lose, and thanks to Massachusetts, this is now the only game in town. IMHO, YMMV, etc etc
tcolberg
@chicago dyke: I don’t think any of us here like the Senate bill, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the most substantial reform we’ve had in health care in decades. We need to get the ball rolling on HCR and passing the Senate bill will enable Dems to pass subsequent reforms (particularly through budget reconciliation) more easily than what we’ve had to go through for this first step.
Further, the Senate bill will insure more people. Not as many as most of us would like, but still, not enough is better than none at all. Also, I’m wary of the budgetary gun barrel we’ll be staring down if we don’t pass the bill. We need to change the trajectory of health care costs now or this country could very well go bankrupt.
CJ
Congressman Andrews (NJ-01) seems to be supportive. Evidently he believes we are in a “listening position” right now, and won’t commit to the Senate bill since it hasn’t been introduced yet. Essentially I didn’t get anything concrete because there’s nothing concrete in front of him yet. I would consider him a very strong supporter but not a lock. His history tells me he would be supportive.
I did get the sense that the staffer was happy I was being kind about it and not screaming about soshulism. I was being honest; I actually like his work in Congress. Even though he did lie to get there. . .
Palooza
@Jason B at Work: I don’t they are on the one yard line for historic and impactful HCR, there is nobody in front of them, and they are afraid to dive into the end zone. Maybe it will change if people get pissed, but there is certainly no chance if people remain passive.
Jim
Reading here and at TPM, I’m seeing between the lines that House Dems want some significant sign that the Senate is serious about doing something with reconciliation. Has anyone seen/heard anything that the Senate might give one? The Slow Down Caucus has how many member? McCaskill, Bayh, Webb, Feinstein, Landrieu, Lieberman and Nelson I think are safe bets. That’s seven, though I don’t think DiFi would actually vote against a reconciliation play. So six, they’d need nine.
General Winfield Stuck
@Church Lady: Your concern is noted and dumped into shitter accordingly. You don’t know what you are talking about with the electoral politics of not passing reform that was promised on the dems marqui issue. I realize you don’t like the bill and don’t want it passed as it might cost your precious self a few dollars. That is fine and allowed, but the trollfu nonsense passing this bill will hurt dems more than not is hogwash, and very very tired from the likes of folks like you. Carry on though, things wouldn’t be the same without your regularly dispensed drivel we have come to love to mock.:)
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
@Robin G.:
Excellent idea. Not for you, necessarily. But if we are going to die for lack of healthcare, I think we should do it on the Capitol steps. I got your Death Panels right here, mothurfeckers!
Lurker
@tballou: “””How about letting this corporate giveaway piece of trash die a natural death? How can anyone support giving the insurance companies 30 million mandatory new customers with ZERO cost controls? Those folks can get all the insurance they can afford right now, and nothing will change under this bill.”””
tballou, I have a preexisting condition. I cannot “get all the insurance I can afford right now.” Two major insurers have already rejected my application for health insurance.
I’m pursuing a workaround right now. I am going to sign a General Partnership agreement with my husband. Then we will file/publish a DBA, get a Tax ID for that “business” and open a checking account under that name. *Then* we can buy guaranteed-issue group health insurance to cover the “employees” for our “business.”
My insurance agent and CPA assure me that this is legal. I expect it to become popular with married couples if health reform does not pass.
I would prefer the simplicity of purchasing private insurance for myself on an exchange, however. S’cuse me while I call my Rep., Adam Schiff.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
@General Winfield Stuck:
You meant “marquee.”
I hope.
Notorious P.A.T.
I would recommend that to Congress, too. But with all of them running around like Chicken Little, who knows if they will? It sure would be nice if someone in a position of power would step in and lead. hint hint
Jim
@Church Lady: I
and more voters who want a public option than don’t. Now go polish your pew.
General Winfield Stuck
@DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio: Yea, but with dems these days the de sade Marqui isn’t all that wrong.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
@General Winfield Stuck:
Yes, we need the Marquis De Sad.
Because today we all haz sad.
I have seen in the comments today that some Dems are weeping.
Hey, I guess weeping is easier than putting up campaign signs. Or something.
Notorious P.A.T.
Hehe )
Instead of hanging yourself on his doorstep, why not drive out to Lieberman’s house on a saturday and hang yourself there? He won’t care about your death, but the thought of someone operating a motor vehicle on Saturday will mortify him.
Corner Stone
@edmund dantes:
What ads? Who would put up the money to make or air these ads?
JVD
I just got off the phone with an aide in Rep. Danny Davis’ office (D-IL). I left a message earlier in the day, and they called me back. The conversation lasted about 15 minutes and he said that the mood in the house was “gloomy.” He reiterated Davis’ support for HCR, but said they haven’t received their marching orders from the leadership. It was a very friendly conversation. (This district is pretty much right in the middle of Chicago, so there was zero chance that Davis wouldn’t vote for the Senate bill if it came up for vote, but at this point, I’m not taking anything on faith.)
kindness
Man…you guys sound just like the flame wars that went down between liberal blogs during the Hillary & Obama primary times. One side refuses to acknowledge what the other says, I guess cause in their eyes only their views count.
Circular firing squad! Ten Hut!
Something will get passed. it won’t be the Senate bill cause the Senate bill is an albatross around our necks. It’ll probably be much smaller & much shorter. Don’t kill your brothers who you don’t agree with. It’s shit for karma. And yea, I do think the Senate bill sucks and is an albatross. So did the people in Mass.
kay
@Church Lady:
Weren’t you around here vigorously defending the right of the bussed-in teabaggers to scream incoherently and drown out the speakers at town halls?
These people are calling their representatives and politely indicating support and you thought you’d stop by to tell them how naive and stupid they are, and how smart you are?
I don’t know what you’re so bitter about. Didn’t you win on Tuesday? Victory! No reform for another generation! But, you got yours. At least you delude yourself into thinking you have something, until you actually try to rely on that policy you’re paying for.
Jim
Really? My, but you’re sensitive. Would you like a parakeet?
ChiDyke asked a reasonable question, got several reasonable responses. ChiDyke, if you’re around: Did you feel shot at by what I said?
blackwaterdog
Joe Klein’s BRILLIANT Obama feature. Bottom line: The man is probably too smart and too serious for the country. The whole thing is incredibly worth reading:
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1955401-2,00.html#ixzz0dHhaM3kG
John Cole
@Church Lady: You are a fucking idiot. Really. Centrist and blue dog Democrats have no problem with the bill, because centrists and blue dogs wrote it in the Senate. A few panty-sniffers like Stupak don’t like he abortion provisions, but they are a small group- at most ten.
The real problem is the liberal wing, who rightly recognize thisis centrist bill and do not like it.
You, as usual, have no clue wtf you are talking about.
The Raven
Rep. McDermott (D-WA-07), who has been a leader on health care for a very long time, is still fighting, but has not made clear exactly what for.
Their staffer, when advised to update their health care blog, admitted to not knowing what a blog was. Their new media consultant apparently thinks Facebook is more important.
gwangung
@John Cole: Tell us what you REALLY think, John.
4jkb4ia
Guilt said, “Tim F. knows you read all the posts on this yesterday”.
Probably was not firm enough, but stated that this bill would HELP a great number of people in Clay’s district and affordability was certainly a matter that reconciliation could handle. Intern sounded sympathetic.
4jkb4ia
I think Lacy Clay may have one of the 10 safest seats in Congress.
Edward G. Talbot
No offense, Tim, but why are you surprised? The bill is certainly a net positive from a policy standpoint, helping as many people as it does and adding some important protections. But politically the bill is toxic.
I would be surprised if many legislators are getting more positives than negatives from their constituents on this.
kay
@Lurker:
Jesus. Good for you for finding a solution, but is this country nuts, or what?
You have to incorporate to find health insurance?
You’re not alone. It is simply amazing what people will do to stay covered, including entering into “legal separation” rather than divorce because the spouse who wants out takes pity on the spouse who will be uninsured the moment the divorce order goes in.
NUTS. We’re slaves to this system.
Uriel
@DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio:
Actually, this isn’t true.
I, for example, have festooned my entire yard with “Mc Cain/ Palin” signs, and it only took a minimal effort, even after carefully crossing the “Mc Cain” part out with a red ElMarko I happened to have handy.
I figured I wanted to firmly establish that I am “right in the mind” now, while it’s early. That way, when Palin is formally declared “Her Imperial Majesty Sarah, Queen of America, Chatelaine of District Columbia, Empress of the Guam Islands” and uses her prayer-magic to reduce the whole of the US into a frozen waste land to mirror her distant home, I might be allowed retain my fleshy form, rather than be turned into a statue adorning her and Sen. Brown’s love grotto.
Not only do I feel a *lot* better, but I feel a little pro-active and ahead of the curve as well. Like I actually *heard* the message the voters sent us all on Tuesday- though I have to admit, MSNBC helped.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
@John Cole:
I had to look twice to be sure this wasn’t aimed at me.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Was it?
Just kidding.
kay
@Lurker:
You are going to have to report back, Lurker. I want specifics.
Tell me if it works out.
I’m collecting ridiculous solutions to health care coverage problems.
Lately, I’ve been idly musing on whether adults can adopt each other.
DJ Any Reason
Just got off the phone with Jim Moran’s office (VA-8). He is:
* Pro-HCR
* Undecided on voting for the Senate bill
* actively soliciting the opinions of constituents
So… yeah… if you live in VA-08, the number is 202-225-4376. Do it.
Hann1bal
I called Hank Johnson’s office, and it sounds like he’s not convinced, but I couldn’t get a straight answer out of them. I guess a lot of people have said this, but CALL CALL CALL NOW NOW NOW!
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
You know, I just realized why the Brits keep that absurd royalty thing around.
It sounds so …… pretty. So comforting. The idea that the elitest of the elite numbskulls are festooned with these titles and have everything more or less under control.
I think we fucked up by getting rid of the king. We should have gotten rid of the Carolinas, and kept the king. No offense to you Carolinians, but come on.
Church Lady
@John Cole: No, you’re the dumbass. I was talking about the centrists in the House, not the Senate. The Senate has done their thing. Now it’s up to the house. Good fucking luck.
Notorious P.A.T.
I can see how much he likes to think. Because he refuses to DO jack shit.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/white-house-lets-let-dust-settle-on-health-care.php?ref=fpblg
John Cole
@Church Lady: Centrists in the house are not the holdouts with the exception of few fetus fetishists. The problem now is the liberal wing. You honestly have no idea wtf you are talking about.
mantis
This district is pretty much right in the middle of Chicago, so there was zero chance that Davis wouldn’t vote for the Senate bill if it came up for vote, but at this point, I’m not taking anything on faith.
Davis is my rep. too, and I called not so much to encourage his voting for HCR, as I already knew he would (he said as much in an interview this week), but to tell him that he needs to work on his fellow Progressive Caucus members. I told him that if he does that, I will work tirelessly for him in the next election, and if he doesn’t–if the Progressive Caucus torpedo our best chance at HCR in favor of nothing–I will work for any primary opponent, or even Republican opponent, against him. It’s time to make our representatives know that they live or die on the fate of the most significant progressive legislation in decades, no matter how imperfect. If they can’t get that done then the entire lot isn’t worth a damn.
JC
Called my rep, Speiers. Guy answered, said he ‘hadn’t talked’ to her about voting for the Senate package, so he didn’t know. I told him as a constituent, Senate package is better than nothing. He wrote it down, said he would pass it on.
this needs to be just, done. You don’t spend a year working on your marquee priority, and then drop it at the last second. The democratic majority has to govern. It has to govern. As much as I think Republicans are evil, and right now, insane, really – what is the point of voting for an ineffectual party? What is the point?
MP
Called John Lewis’ office. Let them know I was a constituent, and though they wouldn’t tell me which way he was leaning, the did register my opinion in favor of the House passing the Senate bill unchanged.
I also unsubscribed from OFA, and that I might be back but for now I was just “letting the dust settle.”
mousebumples
@Jim: Slight correction to the math. I think the GOP would need to get TEN Dem Senators to join them in opposing the use of Reconciliation, since Reconciliation requires 50 votes+VP for passage. If the Senate vote results in a tie, Biden to the rescue! ( … or something like that)
Hann1bal
@Church Lady: Maybe if you followed the news, instead of talking out of your churchified ass, you would not need to be yelled at by John. Repeat after me:
It’s the liberals.
It’s the liberals.
It’s the liberals.
It’s the liberals in the House who need to pass the Senate bill. If they do that, the bill goes to Obama’s desk.
I can see where you might get confused- if you were an idiot. Let’s just consider that fact established and leave it at that.
Tomlinson
Yep, me too. I’m super glad they are “Organizing for America”, but I’m ready for them to, you know, DO something for America.
Edward G. Talbot
@JohnCole – I’m honestly not sure exactly who is holding out, but the original vote on the House bill had little margin for error. Originally 39 dems voted against the House bill. Of those, 31 are from districts that went for McCain. And additional 3 are from districts that went for Obama but had a repub rep before 2008. here’s the list from the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/08/us/politics/1108-health-care-vote.html?hp
Basically Kucinich and Murphy and Davis are the only real liberals to vote against it. Baird and Barrow are not liberals despite their districts going for Obama.
Supposedly Stupak says he has ten more people who voted for it originally who won’t vote for the Senate version. That means that even if EVERY liberal in the house votes for it, it still wouldn’t pass. Now maybe Stupak is lying. And I have no doubt that a few liberals are unwilling to vote for it. But I suspect that at least 30 dems from close districts (we’ll group them together as blue dogs) still oppose it. As such, absent a bloc statement from liberal house members, it’s hard to arrive at the assumption that more liberal dems oppose it than conservadems.
David
The House has to pass the Senate bill, there really is no alternative. If the dems can’t pass this now, there seriously is no point in their majority. The longer this drags out, the worse everyone looks. Can anyone really see an upside to 3 months more of negotiations? Do it now, get it over with.
David
For everyone saying it’s not the liberals in the House, here’s a link: TPM
Now will you STFU?
mantis
@Edward G. Talbot:
Most of the Blue Dogs in the House who voted against the House bill were opposed to the public option. The Senate version doesn’t have one. It’s wrong to assume they are opposed to the Senate bill because they voted against the House bill.
suzanne
I called Harry Mitchell’s office, essentially did everything but threaten the old man’s dog if he didn’t vote for the bill. Aide was very helpful and funny but wouldn’t commit either way. Sigh.
I’ll kidnap Fluffy next week, k?
Scott
I would like to get some ideas from everyone here. I live in Colorado Springs, and my Representative is Doug Lamborn. He is a Republican, and will not vote for HCR. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to impact this vote?
mcc
I don’t see evidence the House progressives are the problem holding back the Senate bill primarily. However they are a problem. And I think they have been more vocal about their opposition, at present, than the blue dogs.
I think it makes sense to pressure the CPC members first. These are the people who are supposed to think “universal health care” is a good thing. If we can’t get them on board how are we going to have hope with the blue dogs?
But we need to pressure everybody.
mcc
Speaking of which, is this the thread to post call-in results?
Mike Honda (CA-15): “The Congressman has not taken an official position yet.”
Zoe Lofgren (CA-16): Said Lofgren tentatively supported the pseudo-conference bill that the Senate was supposed to have passed, now isn’t sure yet one way or the other. Says Lofgren but has things in the Senate bill she wants changed, she rattled off a couple examples. Seemed optimistic the Congresswoman would keep her options open?
David
The House bill is widely regarded as “better” and “more liberal” than the more “moderate” Senate bill. How is it even plausible to claim that the centrists or conservatives in the House are the holdup?
CS
Grayson (FL-8) is on board with Senate bill.
Edward G. Talbot
@mantis – you have a point that it’s wrong to assume the blue dogs oppose it. I’m not sure it’s right to assume they support it, either. most of them opposed the public option for two reasons- they thought they’d be teabagged with it or they opposed healthcare reform in general due to it hurting companies that gave them money.
Given how much the public doesn’t like this bill, I’m not sure a lot of blue dogs worried about teabagging will support it. In fact, I’d be shocked if a few who voted for it the first time don’t change their vote for that reason. On the second issue, yeah some of them may change their vote, as the senate bill is better for the healthcare and pharma industries.
The real point, though, is that we don’t know exactly who is opposing it and why. Pelosi has pointed to a couple of issues that would be seen as left wing issues, but I’m not sure that alone is enough to go on, certainly not enough to determine whether 20 blue dogs still oppose it as well.
I think mcc summed it up – unlike before, when blue dogs made up 90% of the opposition, it is now more balanced opposition. I’m not prepared to blame progressives more until I see real evidence of that beyond a few statements. As I said in my post, this thing hangs on 2 or 3 vote changes.
FiveInchTaint
Just talked to someone in Rosa DeLauro’s (CT-3) office. I was told that DeLauro is strongly in favor of doing whatever it takes to get some form of health care reform passed this year. If that means simply passing the Senate bill, then so be it.
J. Michael Neal
OT: It’s sad to see Alan Tudyk reduced to playing second banana in DirecTV ads. Why can’t the man get decent work?
mcc
The House bill is widely regarded as “more liberal” than the Senate bill, but there is one respect in which this is not true. The Senate bill is much more liberal on abortion than the House bill. This is causing a serious problem as even before the Scott disaster a number (like 10 or 12?) of Stupak-led Blue Dogs were insisting they would vote against the Senate or merged version of the bill because of its more liberal abortion language. These people however may not be reachable.
@CS: I’ll have to remember to apologize to geg6 for saying mean things about him yesterday.
Lee
I live in Arvada…is she my Rep? I have no idea who my state reps are…I just assume they all vote properly in the Denver area.
J. Michael Neal
Okay, DougJ, it appears that the administration is completely ducking any responsibility to push things forwards. There was a time when I thought (and still think) that this was the right approach. That time is past. How do I contact *them* to register my anger?
kay
@David:
Because this pushes responsibility for passage to the House.
Alone.
I think they should pass the bill. I think they’re completely screwed on everything else if they don’t, because they’ll have no credibility on anything. I think the “piecemeal” reconciliation strategy is basically a ploy to buy time, in the hopes that everyone will “forget” about health care reform, and won’t happen.
But I think you can see the member’s of the House objection here. They will be solely responsible for passing this bill, and they’re running scared, politically.
It’s unfair. The House (mostly) actually met their marks on health care. The House didn’t hold it up for months. The egotisic blowhards in the Senate did. The Senate added the sweetheart deals that have people pissed off. The Senate added the excise tax.
Now they’re being asked to pass the senate bill. Without the Senate. Do you see why they might balk at that?
Lurker
@kay:
Luckily, I do not need to self-incorporate. I just need a general partnership with another person to purchase guaranteed-issue health insurance at non-discriminatory rates. The rates are slightly higher than private insurance rates, because the insurers can’t kick anyone out through rescission or preexisting condition discrimination. The regulations also vary from state to state. The agent told me that in Louisiana, insurers can charge 400% the normal rate for guaranteed-issue health insurance. In California, all employers must get charged the same amount.
If you know an insurance brokerage that offers this service, contact them to learn more about it.
This is what the insurance agency emailed me (I hope blockquote tags work)…
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J. Michael Neal
@kay:
Well, I can see why they’d be royally pissed about it. They should be. The Senate is so fucking useless that the House is the only body in Congress that can be counted on to do anything.
What I don’t understand is why they would *balk* at going forward, unless it’s pure spite. Just from a self-interest standpoint, they have to pass the Senate bill. I disagree that this bill will be a negative for many House members, particularly if they go ahead and do it *now*; that would give them ten months to do things, and I suspect that Republican attacks over passage would lose much of their salience if the fight over health care isn’t on the front page. Even if passing it does turn out to be a negative, I have a hard time seeing it being a *bigger* negative than spending eight months with huge majorities, arguing about your #1 legislative priority, passing a bill in both houses, and then failing to finish it up. I can’t imagine a scenario more likely to lead to complete disaster; not only have you pissed off everyone who wanted health care reform, rather than just those who were wedded to something other than the Senate bill, you project an image of complete uselessness to those who don’t feel strongly one way or the other.
Not passing a bill would be so monumentally stupid that the House has to suck it up. The Senate is made up of a bunch of juvenile, solipsistic, assholes who refuse to do their jobs. I get that, but someone on the Hill has to be grownups, and the House is the only remaining possibility.
kay
@J. Michael Neal:
I couldn’t agree more. There is no one who wants them to do this more than me. I think it’s both a political disaster and a an actual disaster if they fail.
I do see the reluctance, though. This is a massive fuck-up. No one trusts anyone else on the Democratic side, it appears. With good reason, actually.
I have a committed Lefty friend, campaign volunteer extraordinaire, who is a stay at home mom, she lives in the middle of nowhere, grinds her own flour, homeschools, probably spends too much time without another adult to talk to. She’s emailing me with some fairly off the wall theories. She’s now convinced the Senate campaign committee lost the Massachusetts race deliberately so they could shove the health care mess off on the House.
She’s decided the Democrats in the Senate are actively working against health care reform, to the extent that they denied Coakley money and help.
That’s how bad this has gotten.
kay
@Lurker:
Thank you, Lurker. I think you are amazing for pursuing this.
If you’re around, please let me know how it works out for you.
I once spent weeks looking for a “family policy” and ended up joining the Chamber of Commerce, and purchasing a
catastrophic” policy that put me on some horrible list where real estate agents called me all the time.
About a month ago, I spent nearly an hour with this panicking client where we were trying to determine if she might want to enroll in a community college to purchase their student health insurance. I don’t even know how we got there. I’m pretty sure it was my bright idea.
Lurker
@kay:
Thanks. :-) I’ll know for sure in April if it worked, so wish me luck.
This path was suggested by the insurance agent, and he said it’s not uncommon out here.
Citizen Alan
@kay:
The only part of this I find implausible is the bit about denying money and help. Nobody needed to deny anything once they successfully got the worst Senatorial candidate in living memory through the primary. What help did Coakley need that was denied to her? Help packing her bags for her two week Caribbean cruise?
mcc
@CS:
TPM’s whip count has him as a no. Could you clarify where you heard this?