So far you guys have gotten through to sixteen Congressmen. One (Van Hollen) will vote yes, one will vote no (Neal, MA) and fourteen either won’t commit one way or the other or have staffers who cannot answer the question. Neal’s staffer suggested that he opposes because Medicare payments to Mass hospitals might go down.
Interpret that how you want. I see a ton of leeway for voters to make their voices heard.
When you call, try not to let them foist you off on waiting for the conference report, or preferring the House bill or splitting up reform or any other ploy. For various reasons none of those things can possibly happen. House Democrats can pass the Senate bill or they can fail.
Keep calling.
***Update***
Twenty-four offices contacted. One yes, several more seem genuinely unsure about what to do. Call them and make a suggestion.
Mr Furious
I called Shuler’s Asheville and D.C. offices yesterday and got a polite person here in town that wouldn’t commit a position, and a person in D.C. that told me Shuler won’t make statements on votes until he knows what he’s voting on and it’s time to vote.
She seemed unable to grasp that I wasn’t talking about a conference bill.
That might have been more depressing than anything.
Mr Furious
I will call both offices again after lunch.
Representative Melvin Q. Scaredbody (D)
Tim, I’d appreciate it if you Balloon Juicers stopped calling my office. I’d vote for health care but I’m afraid David Broder will mention me in his next column. You just don’t understand how upset I’d be.
Hold on, gotta go take a tinkle.
Comrade Luke
I think it’s hilarious that this blog is organizing a roll call when our elected representatives refuse to do so.
Perhaps hilarious is not the right word, but…you know…
TomPaine
Longtime reader, first time commenter. Just wanted to say that I called my Representative, Jan Schakowsy; staffer said that she hadn’t decided what to do, etc. Did my part; said that this would be the death of the party of we tripped over ourselves on the finish line. So one more for the tally.
Kryptik
@Comrade Luke:
Maybe you’re looking for ‘horribly soul crushingly depressing’?
Zifnab
@Comrade Luke:
It at least shows who gives a fuck.
Pat
Jim Moran (VA) staffer: “not sure”
kindness
Maybe the Senate bill in it’s current incarnation should fail. Maybe there is a reason the damn libs in Congress won’t support it. Maybe there could be a better bill which would open up Medicare to 50+ year olds (I’d prefer 40 but understand political roadblocks to that), be simple and short and easily explainable to the American Public…which btw a majority of whom still likes the idea of a Public Option but would accept a Medicare buy in.
Just sayin’….
Colette
Pelosi actually is my congresscritter. I’m ready and willing to call her, but honestly, I don’t know what to say. I’m afraid I may just start screaming incoherently.
I want to be with @Tsulagi, @BTD, and others in thinking this isn’t really the end, but I don’t believe there really is a “later” in politics.
Godammit, I’m crying at the office. How humiliating.
Elie
@Comrade Luke:
Well Comrade, its OUR country in every way…we should do this — it is OUR work…
dr. bloor
@Mr Furious:
Shuler–and a lot of them–may be waiting to see if/what kind of reconcilliation go-with the Senate will commit to before making any decision. They genuinely may not know at this point, and won’t commit one way or another only to have the goalposts moved yet again.
Jason
Dahlkemper (3rd PA) is an abortion-averse vote, and I couldn’t get a position from her office. She hasn’t released any press since December.
schaudenfraud
Called rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s DC office (she’s in the progressive caucus). Staff said that since there is nothing about the senate bill going to the house for vote so didn’t know yet. Obviously I let them know how I feel about it.
Tim F.
@Colette: HELL yes, call Pelosi’s office. If you’re supportive, positive but firm you may well be the best thing that happens to her poor intern all day.
JonathanW
@Pat: I called during lunch and got the same thing. I’m going to call back tonight or tomorrow and get them to give me Moran’s take on his and the caucus’ strategy from here.
One thing that confused me is that Moran’s staffer kept bringing up the public option and how he supports it when all I wanted to know is whether or not he’d vote on the current Senate bill. It scares me that the talking points being used to talk to callers are so out of date.
BR
@Colette:
Call Pelosi. Tell her that you’ve heard from friends all over the country and that the problem with dems is that they won’t get done what they say they’ll get done. Tell her that you expect that by the state of the union the president has signed health care reform or you and your friends are walking away from politics, and the dems can say bye bye. Tell her that you’re tired of dems fumbling the ball on the 1 yard line.
That’s what I just called and told not just my rep, but my senators, and told them that they need to use reconciliation if they have to – I reminded them that republicans passed things with smaller majorities and if dems can’t do it with bigger majorities then there’s no point electing them.
RSR
I called Bob Brady (pa-1)’s office this AM to tell him to pass the seante bill but I neglicted to ask the staffer if the Congressman had a position on the matter.
Has anyone gotten that info for him yet? Otherwise, I’ll have my wife call in support and ask.
Jeff R.
I talked to a staffer at Neal’s office. When I said heard that Neal wouldn’t vote for the Senate bill and asked if that was true, he said Pelosi has said they won’t pursue it. I asked him to reconsider on both political (they’ll get slaughtered in November) and policy (the bill, though deeply flawed, has some merit) grounds. He said he’d pass on my comments. Actually, this was the second time I called (I called at 8:30 and just now after I read the TPM article) and he remembered me. I consider that a bad sign since that means they aren’t getting thousands of calls.
Sasha
I’m waiting for a rep to fill Wexler’s vacated seat. Any suggestions what I can do in the meantime?
Tim F.
@RSR: No word yet, but even if we had it you should call back anyway. It will do nothing but good if every Rep’s staffers had to spend the rest of the day handling calls about it.
Laertes
Couldn’t get an answer out of the intern working the phones for Schiff (CA-29).
James Phillips
Rep. John Hall NY-19
His aid says any position on voting for the Senate bill is a hypothetical as there currently is no vote scheduled. When I asked whether he favored bringing the Senate bill to a vote he said Rep. Hall didn’t have a position on that either.
I made it clear that if he didn’t release a position on moving healthcare forward both myself and my wife would sit out the November election.
fordpowers
I called Brian Baird but I’m pretty sure he will bitch out considering he is quitting at the end of this cycle.
AB
o.o you guys are heroes. This is really the right way to go about trying to get HCR passed. But I have a semi-phobia of using the phone, so I’m going to e-mail Congressman Ackerman instead.
Mattsky
Pelosi: ‘I don’t see the votes’ for Sen. health bill link
Stick a fork in the Senate HCR bill. You are too late Tim F. I have no doubt that Pelosi twisted all the arms that could be twisted and came up short.
Max
Just talked to my congresswoman’s office – Barbara Lee.
When I asked what her position was on passing the Senate Health Care bill, the guy said it is “up for debate at this point”.
I registered my wish for Ms. Lee to vote for the Senate bill. He took my info.
Look folks, if Barbara Lee, the only no vote against the AUMF following Sept 11th, is “up for debate” then call call call your representatives.
BR
@Mattsky:
That’s why we’re going to twist some more arms.
That’s also why we need to be calling the white house and the senate as well, not just the house.
Tim F.
@AB: Email will have zero impact. Find a friend or family member and have him or her call the office.
David Carroll
I called my congressman, Ed Markey (D-MA-7th district) and got through right away. I asked the staffer, “How would you vote on the Senate health care bill, if it came up for a vote?”
The response:
So, basically the staffer would not commit one way or the other.
I told the staffer that the party had to do something, that doing nothing would make the Democrats look to be a total failure, and was told “I will pass that along”.
Fern
@dr. bloor: If I was in the House, I wouldn’t want to commit to voting for something before I knew what that something was.
CT Voter
I called Chris Murphy, D-CT, and asked if he would vote for the Senate bill, warts and all. The staffer didn’t know, but said they’d get back to me.
I also explained that if Dems walk away from HCR now, I’m walking away from the 2010 election, that I knew how bad the Senate bill was, but that they simply had to get something done. She was very sympathetic, but still wouldn’t tell me how Murphy would vote.
aimai
I called Capuano’s office and we all had a good laugh over Coakley’s loss. They told me they’d heard a lot from constituents today about just “passing the senate health care bill” but its clear that the Dems somehow think there’s still some negotiating room, somehow, with someone. I mean the kid on the phone with me didn’t have the glimmer of a sophisticated understanding of what they thought they were doing so there was no point having a detailed conversation with him about it. But that just says to me how lost and crazy the democrats are as a caucus if they don’t get what is obvious even to mere constituents which is that you simply won’t get two bites at this apple.
Now, something no one is talking about is that if the sticking point is not being sure that the first step is to pass the senate bill and the second step is to go to reconciliation with the better parts that is down to someone having lost the trust of the house democrats–someone in the white house? or someone in the senate like reid? I can’t blame them. Neither the white house nor the Senate has proved that it can be trusted to wash its hands after pee-ing, let alone on complicated promises about legislation. If Obama had to come out and promise publicly to campaign on his own signature initiative then (sorry John and Tim F) Rahm hasn’t been doing his job which was not to get the House to do stuff it didn’t want but to have negotiated in such good faith with the house that it can trust hthe president’s word without him having to keep pleading and promising to them.
aimai
Powdermonkey
I talked to my Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD-1)’s office this morning. The LA I talked to said he hadn’t made up his mind yet. He originally voted against the house bill. I told the LA that if he allowed the Senate bill to die without a vote I would vote for any primary opponent and he and the Democratic party were not getting any more money from me. He is a freshman who won in a republican district on Obama’s coattails. Currently shown as a tossup race on the crystal ball.
CT Voter
@JonathanW: Chris Murphy’s staffer brought up the fact that he was in favor of the public option, as well.
hmd
How long do they have to vote on the Senate bill? Till the end of this session? (Honestly, I have no idea.)
There’s not really a hurry for the House to vote on the Senate bill, as long as they do it before the bill “expires”. Right now, progressive members may be venting their spleen about the Senate but after a week or two, when they see that there’s not going to be a conference bill that can pass, things might change.
If the Senate wants to pass something new, they need to do it quick before Brown is seated and becomes the 41st vote against voting. But the House members can rant and rave and express their dismay for a week or two. Hopefully by then they’ll wake up and realize that, as much as it sucks, abortion provisions or Cadillac tax just aren’t good enough reasons to deny health coverage to millions. (To say nothing of the benefits this brings to people who currently have to buy their own coverage, employers who might prefer to have other options, etc.)
CaseyL
OK, spoke to McDermott’s office again. Still no definitive yea or nay; she says he’s waiting to see what’s in the bill or something.
I said that we, the people, watching this, were thunderstruck that with huge Dem majorities in Congress and with a Dem President, the Dem’s signature issue is still in danger. I said that we who have worked so long and so hard on getting those majorities and that President were wondering why we even bothered participating in the process if this was what we got for it.
I said the bill was flawed, the entire process had been flawed (“gave away half the store before negotiations even started” were my exact words), and the mighty labors had brought forth a deformed mouse (again my exact words) but that the Congressperson needed to vote for it anyway because – once more with the exact words “there is not going to be a second chance.”
So.
I’m also very very seriously considering the logistics of moving to New Zealand – even though I’m in my 50s, have no job, and would have to sell my house and subject my 2 kitties to at least 30 days’ quarantine.
I can’t overstate how disgusted and hopeless I feel right now.
Mr Furious
@dr. bloor: Yes, except her excuse was that the bill neds to come out of conference. I explained that I meant the Senate bill as-is and he should know what’s in it.
Yes, seeing what gets promised in reconciliation is similar, and I can only hope all of this is politicking with the compromises in reconciliation in mind.
But I hate all of these fuckers right now, and don’t trust a one of them. If this goes down without a vote, I will be livid.
Ailuridae
Stopped by Luis Gutierrez’ Chicago office this morning and they couldn’t give me a firm answer if he would vote for the Senate bill. Called the DC office after this thread went up to find out that … that the aide I spoke to couldn’t give me a firm answer on if he would vote for the Senate bill.
While its best to have people call about this, that wouldn’t prevent the front pagers from having a separate means of running a whip count with an email coming from Balloon Juice.
JasonF
@hmd:
That’s correct. Right up until the 112th Congress convenes, which will be January 3, 2011.
Ailuridae
@hmd:
My understanding is that the absolute dead end date to vote on the bill is somewhere around this time in ’11.
Cathy W
Posted this in the other thread so don’t count it twice…but for the official tally, Mark Schauer (D-MI-7)’s phone-answerer didn’t know what he was going to do at this point, and I left a message urging him to pass anything that represented an improvement on the status quo.
Brian Schmidt
Called Anna Eshoo (CA-14) at the DC office. Staffer didn’t know her position on the Senate bill or if she had one. Will try local office later.
Xecky Gilchrist
(Posted in other thread too) Called UT Rep Jim Matheson (blue dog). Staffer said he wouldn’t commit to a position without reading the bill. I mentioned to her I was very aware of his votes for Stupak and against house bill, asked if he wanted to give us any reason not to vote for an actual Republican.
gwangung
@JasonF:
So basically, they actually COULD wait until they see what the reconcilliation committee comes up with, but still have the option to pass along the original Senate bill? Or does that go away when it comes out of the conference? This is important, as it sets the options.
Hey. No argument. Call the fuckers every day and give them a piece of your mind (they obviously are in dire need of one).
James Phillips
Both Sen Schumer’s and Gillibrand’s lines are busy. I’ll try later to see where they stand on reconciliation.
Colin Rafferty
Yvette Clark (NY-11) is non-committed. According to her staffer, she is reading the Senate bill now, and is waiting to see what her options are.
I told the staffer point-blank that if health care dies and she was not willing to vote for the Senate bill, I would work against her in the primary.
West of the Cascades
Called Earl Blumenauer (Oregon 3rd District) – his staffer said that the (very liberal) congressman hasn’t decided what position to take yet, that it’s being worked out in caucus, but that the congressman “supports a strong health care reform bill as he always has.” I asked her politely but firmly to tell Rep. Blumenauer he should come out now, strongly, in favor of voting for the Senate bill, and then later passing a fix through the reconciliation process.
So I guess that’s another “maybe.”
We are so fucked.
Pat
VA 8th district, call Jim Moran’s DC office
and ask for Marsh K.They’re blocking now, basically word is out “hasn’t stated position”.
Sly
It’s times like these that I wish my representative wasn’t an asshole.
hmd
@gwangung:
There’s a difference between conference bill and reconciliation bills, of course. It would probably be easier if they can pass something before the reconciliation process, then the reconciliation bills can be used to amend or extend an already existing law — but that kind of detail gets beyond my limited knowledge of legislative minutiae.
There might be a political strategy to actually craft the conference bill, introduce it in the Senate, and force Snowe and Brown to actually vote against voting. This might make them more vulnerable in states where the next Senator might well be a Democrat. Then, after the conference bill fails to come to a vote, fall back on passing the Senate bill as is. This might help persuade some of the reluctant House members that they really are out of options. The down side is extending the health care process when we would better focus on financial regulation or climate change or something else.
cintibud
Don’t know if this has already been reported but I called Rep Steve Driehaus (OH-1) and asked the staffer that answered the phone if Driehaus was going to vote for the senate bill. The staffer was non-committal, saying in effect that they were studying the options. I express my concern that if HRC didn’t pass that Mr. Driehaus wouldn’t stand a chance this fall and that Republicans would be attacking no matter what, his best chance was to take a stand for the people who elected him. It seemed the staffer knew exactly what I was talking about.
sfp
@West of the Cascades:
I also called Blumenauer’s Portland office. After I asked my question, the aide gave me some boilerplate about the public option and when pressed, said that Blumenauer hadn’t made a decision, and he’d add my name to the tally.
I asked if he could give any indication of where the tally stood, and he said that it was split three ways between people who thought the bill did too little, people who thought it did too much, and people like me who know damn well that it absolutely has to pass.
I got the distinct sense, after I said my piece about working actively working for Blumenauer’s defeat if HCR failed, that I wasn’t the first person he’d heard that from.
zmulls
Sestak’s office, got a polite person who didn’t know his position. So I gave my basic “we can’t do nothing” spiel.
Sigh. I can’t wait until the PA Senate election this year, when Pat Toomey gets tons of corporate money to run against either Sestak or Specter…..
DougL
I called Melissa Bean’s office (IL-8). She hasn’t decided yet. I urged her to support passage of the senate version of the HCR bill.
Jeff R.
@AB:
I have pretty bad social phobia, too. I dread calling people I don’t know (and people I do know). I sucked it up and called.
Kelly
I called Kurt Schrader’s Salem, OR office this morning. Staffer wouldn’t say what Congressman Schrader thinks of the current options on the health care bills. Did say he was very interested in what constituents think about it. I said passing health care is my number one priority. The Senate bill wasn’t as generous as what I’d hoped for but it’d do and is the only bill that could become law. I also said it didn’t set well with me that he didn’t have a position on such a huge issue, that has been a huge issue since his campaign began and through out this session of congress. Schrader is a freshman Dem that joined the Blue Dogs in December.
EL
I called Adam Schiff’s office to urge a vote for the Senate version, despite its flaws, and gave my info. I asked how the calls were running and she said, “about the same as this.”
DK
Got the whole office (5 people) to call Sestak’s office and let the operator know we want to see the Senate bill be passed.
Adam Bean
I called Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD-1) and the staffer explained that he can’t say he’s going to vote for the Senate bill until it is clear what’s in it. Which I took to mean that he understands that he can’t do a “I voted for it before I voted against it” in the event it gets amended in the House/via reconcilliation/via underpants gnomes/etc. There was also some hedging language about not being certain that it was ‘good enough’ that sounds like typical keep the reflexively right wing constituents from biting your head off.
Disappointing.
Staffer was really nice, though.
thomas Levenson
Called Barney Frank, my new Congresscritter, and Ed Markey, the rep. for the district from which I am just now moving. Had a serious and valuable talk w. Frank’s staffers — the guy who answered the phone was knowledgeable and engaged. He acknowledged that Frank went off the handle a bit Tuesday night, had calmed down and rethought, and was fully prepared to support the Senate bill if improved. Which means…what, exactly. To help me find out, the phone answerer took my number and promised me that Frank’s health care guy would call me back. Which he did. Within an hour.
Another good conversation, which amounted to the fact that Frank’s engaged, working on moving this forward, agrees re the stakes, and so on. The staffer cautioned me not to get caught up in the minute by minute stuff TPM and Ambers and the like get going on — this is being worked member-member (insert snicker here) and one should believe nothing unless it comes from someone with direct access to those conversations or the speakers themselves.
Markey’s office was much more perfunctory. Some guy answered the phone, registered my opinion, did not ask for contact info (which seemed to me bizarre. I’ve been volunteering for MA Dems since 1976, and they always ask) and just said he’d pass it on. But, as I’ve never thought Markey was the sharpest tool in the shed, I put this down to staffs reflecting their Rep.’s personality. As long as the message gets through….
joshers
Schrader (D) OR-5
Staffer said Schrader was non-committal on the Senate bill. He did vote for the house bill.
Emma Anne
@AB:
AB, if you really can’t bring yourself to talk to the office, call after hours and leave a message. It should at least go on the tally sheet.
Erik M.
Rep. David Price (D) NC-4 is, according to a staffer, willing to vote for the Senate bill or to do whatever is required to get the bill signed.
falloch
spoke with my Rep (NY) Nita Lowey’s office – still holding back – unhappy with restraints on abortion funding etc. – intern said NL earliest wanted single-payer but realized it was not going to happen, so is working ‘for the best deal for New Yorkers’ – what’s that??
Dan
The staff person at Mike Quigley’s (IL)
office says he will support passing the Senate Bill.
KyleD
Long time lurker, first time poster.
Just got off the phone with Mike Thompson’s office (California 1st, encompassing much of Northern California including Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Siskiyou Counties). I managed to talk my way two levels up the food chain, but the only answer that I got about passing the Senate Bill was that the Congressman was waiting for direction from House leadership, and it would be imprudent to make any kind of statement one way or the other (even to me on the phone).
I did assure her that, prudent as the course may be, from here the House Dems look like Wile E. Coyote right after he’s gone over the cliff. She seemed a little frazzled. It’s like he’s standing in quicksand waiting for Congressional leadership to throw him a rope – he doesn’t seem to understand what happens when he sinks too far.