I understand that as a blogger I can afford to take the long view on health care reform, while many members of Congress unquestionably have their career at stake over this one vote. Nonetheless I think that Representatives who have gotten spooked by bad HCR poll numbers are making a terrible mistake. It might help to argue like Josh Marshall does that vulnerable seats got killed the worst in 2002 1994 (inexplicably got the date wrong there). He’s certainly right, but dry logic has only so much impact on crisis days like today. These Reps need a heap of supportive phone calls from constituents.
This is crunch time. Please phone and make sure that your Representative will supports the current road map: pass the Senate bill, then resolve issues such as the excise tax with a reconciliation fix. Tomorrow may be too late.
Switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
Guide for first-timers here.
El Cid
If a Democratic politician is too dumb to see that achieving health care reform is a better political strategy than running away from the TeaTards, I sure hope calls and such are enough to help.
Ron
Sigh, Arcuri is my congresscritter. I was freaking ecstatic when he voted for HCR last november and most of his reasons for voting no this time sound like total BS to me. I think when I get a chance to call from home I’m going to call his office and let them know that if he does vote no, he’s probably losing my vote in November.
atlliberal
The irony is that it’s the Representatives and Senators who are willing to put their re-election on the line in order to do the right thing who will win in the end. People like politicians who stand for something, even if they don’t always agree with them.
Don
What’s sort of maddening is the lack of understanding that, at this point, they’re going to get tarred for health care no matter what. If you have a D after your name you can expect OMG GOVT TAKEOVER!@!1 ads when the time comes.
So when that happens, do you have something to point to that guarantees people coverage when they lose their job or do you have a failed attempt? If I’m going to get beat up I’d prefer that it be over something I actually did. Democratic congresscritters should keep that in mind.
Alex S.
Somewhere between HCR and the Politico thread:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33814.html#ixzz0h7mS4PmR
The Republicans object their own parliamentarian.
Eamon
What if someone could set up an Actblue account or some sort of fund to support the re-election efforts of any at risk representative who votes in favour of health care? Basically take everyone who was elected in a district that voted for McCain and offer to split the pot evenly amongst all those who make the right call and vote yea. This will mean supporting a few guys who vote the wrong way on a lot of measures but could provide some positive incentive for actually pushing ahead on this.
Kryptik
@Don:
If wishes were fishes…
If the media didn’t get wise to the fact that they’ll be smeared as ‘The Liberal Media’ regardless of how Fox-like they become and how many Republican operatives they bring in to write puff pieces on ‘aggressive interrogation’, then it’s even harder to imagine that Dems will get the idea that they’ll be those damn lefty Big Government commies, no matter how much hedging to the right they try and do when the chips are down.
Nellcote
Might I suggest that even if your reps/sens are on board with hcr that you call to say “thanks!” since they are no doubt getting awful calls to vote against. Positive reinforcement can’t hurt.
Clark
Josh actually mentions 1994 in the first link, but 2002 is equally applicable, as Senator Jean Carnahan and Senator Max Cleland will tell you.
Bootlegger
Just dropped a call on Ben Chandler’s office. They are “still not sure in this office how the congressman will vote.” I told them to tell him to support HCR and show our senators that there are other voices in Kentucky.
I feel all tingly inside.
Tim F.
@Eamon: I thought about doing that, but offering cash for specific votes might fall on the wrong side of clean gov’t laws.
Mnemosyne
@Don:
Exactly. Teabaggers are going to be foaming at the mouth at the attempt at a “government takeover” and sane people are going to be pissed off that this went back and forth for almost a year with zero results. Lose/lose with a “no” vote.
bcinaz
I have been waiting for some of the reluctant Dems to connect the dots to AR Lt Governor Halter’s startling fundraising the past few days and to Democratic Activism. All I hear all the time is that Republicans a incredibly energized and Dems are incredibly not.
And bam one guy steps up and challenges the status quo and whaddya know everybody wakes up. Do they not realize that Democrats will turn out for Democrats, not Republican light Democrats.
Comrade E.B. Misfit
I just called mine to urge him to pass the bill and then fix whatever needs to be tweaked later.
drew42
Michael Arcuri is my congressman. Just called him, and passed the word on to others in my district.
What a chickenshit move by him.
jibeaux
@drew42:
Thank you, thank you for doing that. Now call and use another voice! :) Maybe the silver lining to being one of those run-for-the-hills Dems if that if the hills start running back you’ll go back where you belong. Or insert an analogy there that works, whatever.
Cerberus
Bad…nngh…health care….single most…nngh…single most popular idea…even supported by majority of…nngh…supported by majority of Republicans…spineless…bullshit…low poll numbers my ass.
I’m sorry. If you need me, I’ll be grinding my teeth down in frustration without dental insurance. I don’t understand how constantly ideas with 70+% support end up being “dangerous poorly polled ideas” conveniently when it’s time to vote on them and back to the most popular idea ever when they’ve been successfully buried for a couple of years.
The party that passes real health care reform will pretty much dominate the government for the next 20 years, most every civilized nation proves this and still these fart nuggets cringe in terror at every Fox News and Rammusen poll and more importantly talking head saying it’s unpopular.
I know psycho divorced from reality birther believers support health care reform. A bill declaring kittens cute and fuzzy would be less controversial.
Nngh, will tell people actually in the States to call anyways, but still, drives me crazy.
No Joy in Mudville
I called both the Washington office and a toll free number at a local (i.e., district, but long distance). At the Washington office I was told my Congressman “hasn’t made up his mind.” At the district office, I was told he was going to vote for it. Nice coordination.
Sarah in Brooklyn
I spoke with Yvette Clark’s office. They were a little non-committal – she’s for healthcare reform but wants the best bill to pass and because everything is changing all the time, she’s not sure if the bill the House will vote on will be the same bill the Senate passed, etc. But she’s pro-reform.
not so helpful.
mcc
So:
Obama as expected went and gave a talk today calling for both houses of Congress to pass bills “in the next few weeks”. Unfortunately despite earlier reports that he would, Obama said basically nothing about the process by which this would be done. He called for “an up or down vote”. Which probably means reconciliation, but could mean anything, and notably doesn’t say anything about how to get past the current sticking point on passing a bill (ie the Senate and House disagreeing about who goes first on reconciliation).
So hopefully the “next few weeks” timeline lights enough of a fire we’re going to start seeing some sort of plans from Pelosi/Reid. And probably he’s discussing strategy with them behind the scenes. But it’s at this point really frustrating to me to be trying to convince Congresspeople to sign on with the plan when there is as of yet no particular plan apparently. And also kind of frustrating that Obama’s “next few weeks” push doesn’t seem to be accompanied by any visible push by Pelosi/Reid to get their caucuses to sign on with the idea.
Incidentally, if you didn’t get this, OFA also sent out an email recapping Obama’s statement today and trying to get people to commit to phonebank for the bill’s final push.
Jim C.
Called Walt Minnick yet again…and once more expressed that this vote is a make or break vote for him when it comes to my support. He other votes in favor of health care reform or loses the support of myself and my family here in Idaho.