David Dayen at FDL (who, separately from Jane, has done some great work on the issue) has a tally of uncommitted HCR votes in the House. If you live in any of these districts, it’s especially urgent that you pick up the phone today. Use redial if you have to.
Lincoln Davis, Jim Matheson, Harry Teague, Travis Childers, John Barrow, Zack Space, Chris Carney, Brad Ellsworth, Jerry Costello, Henry Cuellar, Nick Rahall, Solomon Ortiz, Earl Pomeroy, Bill Foster, Harry Mitchell.
Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Guide for first-timers here.
***Update***
Add Jason Altmire to the list, for no other reason than because I think that he is reachable.
wmd
Is the reconciliation bill completely baked?
Calling and asking for improvements could still work if it isn’t. Competition for private insurance (public), allowing states to set up single payer systems (ERISA waiver), drug price negotiation…
Pass HCR. Pass the best HCR we can get, and it may still be possible to get more bread and less shit in the sandwich.
Tim F.
@wmd: Yes, it is.
jibeaux
Can I assume that if my level-headed, straight down the middle, boring Dem Rep hasn’t ever shown up on any of these “wavering” / “fence” /”no” lists, that he’s on board? Because his office has an annoying persistent party line that they don’t know how he’s going to vote. Is that to try to forestall teabagger rage?
MikeJ
@jibeaux: That’s what happens when you call my rep’s office too, but the Chamber of Commerce is running ads that say, “call congressman Adam Smith and tell him to vote no.” I’d never heard any indication of him wavering, but I called any way when the attack ads started.
Xecky Gilchrist
Called Matheson (my rep). Line was busy twice, got through the 3rd time, left name / zip / enthusiastic support request.
Joseph Nobles
Filibuster: The gateway parliamentary gimmick. Keep on calling!
beltane
OT, but that Iggy Pop/Harold Ford photo is now on Wonkette’s front page. Surprisingly, the comments aren’t as funny as the ones here.
Doctor Science
Ghostbusters, of course.
Citizen Alan
I called Travis Childers’ Tupelo office yesterday and said I strongly support the bill. The lady who took the call said that he voted no the first time and was “undecided.” I’ll be calling the D.C. office later today.
Menzies
@jibeaux:
Possibly, but it could also be an attempt to forestall progressive rage if he comes out initially in favor and then switches to nay. My guess is it depends on who your Rep is.
Houstonian
Reposting from old thread below:
Just called my Rep’s office again (Sheila Jackson Lee – D-TX-18). For the first time ever I got a busy signal. It probably took me five minutes of consistent redialing to get through.
The staffer was very nice and said they’d been getting inundated with “vote no” calls – mostly from out of state – and that the callers were doing a lot of screaming. She said it was really nice to get a “vote yes” call for a change. We chatted about the busy signals and she said the phone calls are just nuts right now.
So if you’ve got a Congressperson out there who is supporting the bill, it’s not a bad idea to phone and let them know you support their “yes vote.” The staffers are happy to have a break from being yelled at by irate teabagger types. And it’s a good idea to let them know the supporters are here too.
gbear
Has Jim Oberstar decided to vote for the bill? I’m surprised to see that he’s not on that list.
Tenzil Kem
Oberstar is a yes as of yesterday.
Pangloss
Bill Foster? Seriously? You’d expect a scientist to recognize the value of providing health insurance to at least 8% of the people in this country doing without.
Mike Kay
What’s Rahall’s problem? He runs unopposed in his district.
jibeaux
@Menzies:
Brad Miller, NC. It’s not really a progressive hotspot.
beltane
@Houstonian: The staffers are working hard today. It sounds like the elderly Fox viewers have a lot of time on their hands to call out-of-district and scream at whoever answers the phone. Whatever happened to playing golf in one’s golden years?
Houstonian
@beltane:
No golfing today. If they don’t stop this health care bill someone might let the government get involved in their Medicare. If the death panels don’t get them first, of course.
uncle rameau
as an American resident in Canada (and a Democrat Abroad) for 30 years now, I just called Chris Carney’s office and let them know that I had voted for him in 08 but that I would not be repeating that mistake if the honourable member could not see his way clear to supporting the party on the signature legislative issue of this generation for Democrats. His staffer did not seem sympathetic to my views. Took about 12 redials to get past the busy signal, and I said that I understood they were receiving lots of calls against from the organized astroturf groups on the no side, and that my mother in her 80’s deserved better care and less hassle from her insurers.
garage mahal
We can *still* kill this bill and defeat Democrats!
Get out the word! Join a Tea Party!
/FDL
gbear
@Tenzil Kem:
Yay. I’m going to call his office to say thank you.
I haven’t been having any trouble getting through to McCollum, Klobuchar or Franken’s offices, but I’m dialing their DC office number rather than using the toll-free number. Would that make a difference.
elmo
Once again, Lincoln Davis is a definite No. This time, I asked the staffer if his vote was set in stone, and she said it was. So I said that I would therefore be donating money and time to whoever ran against him forevermore, even if it means I give money to a Republican, because it’s actually better to have a Republican freshman to run against in 2012 than a multi-term incumbent.
And then maybe we’ll get an actual Democrat in that seat.
dday
Wait, but DougJ called me a ratfucker and that my whip counts were some kind of trick. So, is this as close as it gets to an apology?
slippy
John, I see your new site tagline today, and I just want to mention that Obama has once again failed to achieve faster-than-light travel.
I expect to be just as disappointed in him tomorrow.
Menzies
@jibeaux:
No, I’d have to agree with you there – doesn’t look too progressive to me. In that case, I would call. I doubt you can affect a lot at this stage, but you might at least be a break from all the teabaggers.
taylormattd
Glad to see you adding Altmire. He is the poor guy targetted by the Hamsher / teabagger coalition.
beltane
@elmo: Thank you for trying. At least you let Davis know there is a price to pay for voting with the Republicans.
taylormattd
@dday: The author of this post is Tim. Maybe you should ask DougJ? Just a thought.
gbear
Just called Betty McCollum’s office to thank her for her vote in favor of the health care bill. I asked if they’ve been getting lots of calls and the staffer said yes and that he appreciated that the calls in favor of passing the bill were not swearing at him.
Stay classy Fox viewers and teabaggers.
Tonal Crow
Keep calling. We’re on a roll: Kucinich has signed on, as has Kildee (who was with Stupak).
r€nato
I grew up in Tempe and my folks have a house there… I guess I could call Harry Mitchell ;-)
Lee
OT:
This is the most spot on article I have read in a very long time.
Every single Democrat that is waffling on HCR needs to read it.
Dems need to stand up
Sorry if it has been posted already I was so excited when I read it I just wanted to share :)
jeffreyw
Ah, nice to see that the time stamp is set to central time. I’m ready to call my rep Costello again. I was mean to the sap who answered the phone last time. I’ll try nice this time. At least nice until he says the congressman is still undecided. I’ll prob lose it again. Need some lunch first, tho.
dday
@taylormattd: I did and heard nothing.
Aaron
Well, I called the office of Zach Space, my representative. It took a while to get through, and the person who answered my call said the legislative assistant wasn’t available to speak with me. He said that Space was “still reviewing the bill to see if it fits in with the criteria he’s set out.” Basically, they’re saying it doesn’t do enough for small businesses and rural doctors. I let them know that I think the current bill is far from flawless, but that if this one isn’t passed, it’ll be a generation before the opportunity is there again, so it’s better than nothing.
They took down my address and said they’d call me. We’ll see. Ohio’s 18th is a very conservative district, old and largely rural. I’d say that Space votes no in the hopes that it’ll save his seat in November. It won’t, of course. I just wish he’d realize that and at least do what he can while he can. He only got his seat because he was replacing convicted felon Bob Ney and was running against Joy Padget, truly one of the more foul creatures to run for congress.
gbear
Took a few minutes of trying, but I got through to a staffer at Oberstar’s office to thank him for the yes vote. The mailbox is full so if you get rolled, don’t wait to leave a message. Just hang up and keep dialing.
jibeaux
@Menzies:
I call all the time, I just thought at this stage of the game eventually the response would turn a little more definitive…
Joseph Nobles
@Lee:
OT article quote: “Why exactly Obama—advised by David Axelrod, Rahm Emmanuel and Valerie Jarrett—decided to double down on health care remains unclear. But it’s a good bet that President Hillary Clinton—advised by Mark Penn—would have acted differently. ”
Yep.
4tehlulz
@Lee: The comments made me check that I hadn’t ended up at Politico.
Napoleon
@Aaron:
. . . and he has his dad’s name (if my memory is correct).
Yutsano
@jeffreyw: Dammit. I didn’t photo the colcannon even though it turned out beautiful. I feel like some Irish inspired music for the day though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUiboOsUwU
Aaron
@Napoleon:
jeffreyw
Costello still on the fence. I suggested he has been sitting there for so long I was afraid the crease in his ass may become permanent. The aide said he would pass that along.
Comrade Kevin
@Yutsano: I am making a family version of colcannon for dinner tonight.
jeffreyw
@Yutsano: You must have misunderstood, perhaps? You were to send it to me and I would take the picture.
Remember November
My Rep is in for it (Isreal) as are Chuck and Kirsten…I know that tool Peter King will vote no for the sake of the astro-birthers living in their retirement community shells.
If your last name is King and you are a politician, you’re probably a douche-nozzle.
no moar Kings pleez! Want Might!
jeffreyw
@Comrade Kevin: I’m thinking BBQ chicken and fries for dinner, maybe a nice spinach salad.
Menzies
@jibeaux:
Well, I figure it can’t hurt for them to hear a voice that isn’t all “VOTE FOR THE BILL AND WE WILL DESTROY YOU IN NOVEMBER!” It’s still disappointing that he won’t give you a definite answer. Oh, well.
Napoleon
@Aaron:
I seem to recall his dad was a muni judge in New Philly or Dover or something like that for years. Perhaps I am mis-remebering. I do know he is Greek and the name Space is shortened from something like Spacousousousous.
If I am right the point was he went into the election with name recognition even though he had not run before.
Violet
@Lee:
That’s a good article, but I’m not so sure about this:
I don’t see it that way. I think he’s embracing strength and courage instead of fear. He’s standing up for what he believes in and doing what he said he would do. People respond to that. How else do you explain Alan Grayson leading among Republican voters?
For years the Democrats have been timid and have backed down every time the Republicans have raised their voices or threatened much of anything. If they manage to get this health care bill passed, it’ll show they not only stand for something but they can and will deliver. I think that’s what Obama has embraced and encouraged in the Democrats. And it’s a very refreshing change.
jibeaux
Stay classy, teabaggers. I think this would make an excellent viral video, say on the facebook and the twitter and whatnot.
geg6
Word around here is that Altmire is going to vote yes. I don’t know how accurate that is, but it’s from a friend of mine from Beaver County Blue (the local progressive organization).
Corner Stone
@dday: Good luck. You’re pure evil you know. And more powerful than Stallone in Over the Top.
Only Tbogg and Spackerman get license to exist at FDL.
Aaron
@Napoleon
You could be right, I hadn’t heard that — that he wasn’t Bob Ney or Padgett was enough for me. But I’m from Newark, so we get split between the 18th and the ever-delightful Pat Tiberi.
El Cid
@Violet: I don’t think Beinart’s heart is on the side of the fighting Democrats notion. I think he’s more of the ‘can’t we all just get along as long as the hawk interventionists and anti-popular scourges get what they desire’ types.
Napoleon
@Napoleon:
PS, Google is a wonderful thing. I guess Zack was a muni judge, not his dad. I dealt with his dad’s firm years ago and that must be what I am thinking of. Zack graduated from law school the same year I did but went to OSU not CWRU like I did.
Stooleo
OT
Tbogg speaks to the rabble.
Jacquelyn
I left Foster (IL-14) a voice message at his direct line in DC since the switchboard is busy. I’ll keep calling.
Violet
@El Cid:
I don’t know anything about him. I thought the article was pretty good until it got near the end. Good observations, wrong conclusions drawn from them.
geg6
Oh, and another thing about the rally at Altmire’s office yesterday. The Tea/Firebaggers had their rally at 4pm yesterday (well after ours at noon). I knew just about everyone at our rally and didn’t talk to anyone who wasn’t from Beaver County. At the “Kill the Bill” rally, everyone they interviewed or photographed at it in the local newspaper was from outside of Beaver County, almost all from wealthy and distant parts of the 4th District.
Mike Kay
@dday: grow a tougher skin. such delicate flowers over at GroverBaggerLand.
wvng
@kay. “What’s Rahall’s problem? He runs unopposed in his district.”
Not this time. There be teabagger opposition, and WV is solidly against Obama cause of that skin condition he has.
Sadly, calling my republican rep (Capito, WV) is a waste of time. I’ve done it but it is a waste of time.
Mike Kay
@Lee: Can you give us a recap. I hate tina brown, so I don’t want to give her any traffic.
Redshift
@Violet: Yeah, that bit of the article was kind of weird. The point of the article seems to be more what you are saying; the important change is showing strength and having the courage of our convictions.
thomas Levenson
Trying to call Barney Frank, (my congresscrittur) to thank him for his continued support on this issue (they’re getting used to me there) and, given that I’m physically hanging at Fermilab today, to Bill Foster as well, using geography as my excuse.
Multiple busy signals….will keep trying.
Update: Called Foster’s local (Batavia) office, got through; use this method as a backup if the Hill keeps swallowing calls, folks. They tally the calls at the district offices too.
Lee
@Violet
That quote did seem a bit out of place as compared to the article and I would not agree with it either.
Recap:
The Dems were seen as weak because they were weak. The were afraid to confront the ‘bear’ of conservatives. The DLC was part of the problem.
Obama has chosen to actually stand up for Democratic principles and confront those that oppose those principles. Now that others have seen the (hopefully) success of standing up and confronting opponents, it will (hopefully) change the Democratic party.
El Cid
@Violet: Beinart was a sneering, sniveling ultra-liberal warhawk for the Iraq war, one of those who seemed to think he was on the front lines of rescuing history by arguing for war.
Pennsylvanian
My Congressman, Mike Doyle (D-PA), still hasn’t “committed” to a vote, wants to see what’s in the bill, blah, blah. I told the staffer I was disappointed b/c when I participated in the town hall conference call he had on health reform I was under the impression that he supported it. I told him I want even stronger reform that includes health care and not just health insurance, but that I hope Doyle will commit to a vote, and that I would just keep calling until he does.
Sigh.
I tried quite a few times yesterday and got busy signals, also on my first 3 attempts today.
Violet
@El Cid:
Ultra-liberal warhawk? That’s just weird. No wonder he can’t figure out what conclusions to draw from his observations.
Mike Kay
Such great testimonies in this thread.
sad news, Sandra Bullock’s husband is cheating on her
http://www.intouchweekly.com/2010/03/in_touch_exclusive_interviewsa.php
Corner Stone
@Violet: Little Petey Beinart is a walking, breathing contradiction. Completely discredited by his over the top enthusiastic cheerleading for the Iraq War.
He’s not to be trusted or linked to in any regard as a source for verification.
IOW, he’s a through and through POS.
Just Some Fuckhead
@dday:
With an influx of ACTUAL ratfuckers, ex-Republicans and the My-President-Right-or-Wrong folks, it’s a little crazy around here at the moment. These days, the blog host does little more than sit around punching himself in the neck with his one good arm while the co-hosts babble incoherently about Jane Hamsher. I’m barely holding this place together and that’s only because of my strong unbending will and loads of personal charm.
Would you be interested in some Tunch-branded memorabilia?
Violet
@Mike Kay:
Allegedly…right? Sad for her if it’s true.
@Corner Stone:
Good to know. I thought his summary of the data was pretty good, but the guy has no clue how to draw a conclusion.
FlipYrWhig
How can Brad Ellsworth vote No on this and expect to get support for his Senate run to replace Evan Bayh? Bayh could be unhelpful because of “centrist” deficit-hawk-itude, but also because he could afford to be, what with having bajllions of dollars socked away. Ellsworth is going to need help from the big organizations that are also trying to push HCR across the goal line. Right?
Pennsylvanian
I called Jason Altmire’s office and told them I’m not a constiutent but I poll watched for his campaign the night he beat Melissa Hart because my congressman was in a safe race. I told the staffer that I supported Altmire because I support the party and I know that he is conservative, but I want to encourage him to support the bill b/c it is a major plank for the party, and to also consider the people of PA and the country that can benefit, not only his own district.
IndyLib
@Yutsano:
I love this song. Thanks for posting.
skippy
found a few (5) twitter addys for some of those reps…listed on skippy
suzanne
I just called Harry Mitchell’s office, was able to get through the third time.
The staffer said he’s “waiting to see the final legislation and the procedures” before making a decision.
I told her that, at the risk (certainty?) of sounding coarse, I wanted Mitchell to “pull his head out of his ass and PTDB.”
“Thank you, may I have your name, please, and I’ll pass your thoughts on to the congressman?”
Chris Gerrib
Well, if for nothing else but to piss him off, I called and faxed a “vote for HCR” letter to my Congressman, Peter Roskam.
aimai
At flipyrwhig
I agree with that, a hundred percent. I hope union members are calling Ellsworth and saying it out flat “If you want us to be there for you/you’d better be there for us.” And it would be really helpful if the DSCC had made that point to him as well.
aimai
Citizen Alan
For what it’s worth, I just called Travis Childers’ office in D.C. and encouraged him to vote for the bill. The person who took the message seemed bored but said he would pass it on.
Citizen Alan
@Mike Kay:
Um, didn’t Jesse James leave his second wife for Sandra? And why I am allowing myself to wander off topic like this?
aimai
What the fuck is up with Capuano? I just saw the notice at TPM that he is once again assuring us that he’s not a guaranteed yes vote. I called his DC office right away and gave them a (*&^% earful–I said I was there on the first day when he had his big organizational meeting for his senate run, that they’d just mailed me his papers to get signatures for his next congressional run, that I’d always supported him and trusted him and I told them he’d better figure out which side his bread was buttered on and support Pelosi and Obama and vote for the damn bill or else. The sweet young staffer started murmmering that he “wanted to see the budget report” and things like that and I said “I don’t care how much it costs. We spent billions on the Iraq war and we can’t spend a few millions on health care for 31 million new potential DEMOCRATIC VOTERS? I don’t think so. We vote yes on this bill, pass health care reform, or we kiss the party goodbye at the national level.”
aimai
taylormattd
@Corner Stone: Frankly, anyone who isn’t nuts should quit that place. The proprietor is rapidly becoming indistinguishable from Larry Johnson, SusanHu, and even some teabaggers.
rob!
My gf and I have both called John Adler, who is currently the only Dem from NJ NOT officially on board for HCR.
I don’t know what the hell he’s thinking–when he ran in Nov 2008, he was totally riding on Obama’s coattails, and now this? We’ve both told him no billee, no votee from us this November.
thomas Levenson
@aimai: here here!
Barney is causing no such problems, which makes me glad to be represented by him…but Mike’s got to get his head straight on this one. I’ll call tomorrow.
Clifford
Yeah, nice Work :D