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You are here: Home / Open Threads / What To Do When The Phones Are Busy

What To Do When The Phones Are Busy

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Have you tried your Rep’s local offices? If you know who your Representative is then google his or her name to find the local office (find your Rep’s name here). If local numbers are also busy then send a signed fax using, for example, the free online fax tool here.

Faxes often have more impact than phone calls, and you’re more likely to get one through. Please do not bother with email.

Reader Interactions

112Comments

  1. 1.

    Aaron S. Veenstra

    FWIW, have been trying to send a fax all day and haven’t gotten through yet. I’m using myfax.com, so I’ll just keep hitting the resend button until it goes. Luckily I’m stuck at my keyboard working all day anyway!

  2. 2.

    Sanka

    The Federal government is intervening in the fate of Terri Schiavo mandating that every American purchase health insurance, whether they want it or not, under penalty of law.

    I expect John Cole to switch back to the GOP after this outrage in 3…2…1…

  3. 3.

    Paul

    Done. Paul Hodes’s phones have been tied up for days. This is a good idea and easy to do.

  7. 7.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    Rejoice, fellow liberals: We’re winning. The trollwhine is proof.

  8. 8.

    Jacquelyn

    Bill Foster has no fax numbers listed under his contacts, and his DC office has set up an IVR that points callers to press “1” if they are calling about HCR…and then it goes to a voice mail system. How do I get the fax number???

  9. 9.

    AarynLaperle

    Good call on the faxes. Already sent 2 off – one to Baird and one to my local congressman (even though he was a yes already).

  11. 11.

    Violet

    @Jacquelyn:

    Bill Foster has no fax numbers listed under his contacts, and his DC office has set up an IVR that points callers to press “1” if they are calling about HCR…and then it goes to a voice mail system. How do I get the fax number???

    His DC fax number is listed here. Edit – actually a couple of other office fax numbers too.

  12. 12.

    Sanka

    @Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist: I fully acknowledge that this bill…er..um…language…er…proposal….whatever….will “pass”, through the gross machinations of the Pelosi/Slaughter junta.

    And it will pass because these “fence-sitting” Democrats are like all Democrats—spineless hypocrites.

    You’re pushing a “law” that according to Obama, will stop autism, prevent the elderly from ending their life in poverty, stop people from dying for (ahem) “lack” of health insurance, among other lies.

    In the meantime, the so-called “law” discriminates against those that are mandated to pay for things they don’t want. It’s intervening in the individual states’ jurisdicition over their own citizens, with a massive Federal bureaucracy. But, hey…it’s not like the government is intervening in the states’ ability to stop a feeding tube from being removed (stupid Catholics!)….so I guess it’s ok.

  13. 13.

    booferama

    @Sanka: Um, when did Obama claim the bill would end autism, elderly poverty, and death from lack of health insurance? I’m sure it’s fun to argue against straw men, but at some point you’ve got to return to reality. (Or come for the first time.)

  14. 14.

    Tim F.

    I encourage people to respect Sanka’s right to be wrong and to ignore whatever argument you put forward. The ACLU would approve.

  15. 15.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Sanka: Concerned troll is concerned. Got to update my pie filter.

    BTW, isn’t it interesting that the trolls come out suddenly when the final push is on? I expect Makeweewee to show up soon, and Paul L.

  17. 17.

    demo woman

    @Sanka: lol.. A friend was outraged that she would be mandated to buy insurance that covers pregnancies. She has insurance that covers pregnancies already though. I think that was Bozo Boortz idea
    Some might say they don’t want to pay for diabetes because theyare not at risk or they don’t want to cover MS cause they are not at risk.
    I would like to see what the insurance pool would like if those circumstances prevailed. lol

  18. 18.

    Sanka

    @booferama: At Obama’s campaign rally yesterday, he noted that we needed to vote for “reform” so that the elderly don’t have to die in poverty due to medical insurance.

    I guess granny didn’t get her unicorn from 2008 in the mail yet…

  20. 20.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @demo woman:

    Some might say they don’t want to pay for diabetes because they are not at risk or they don’t want to cover MS cause they are not at risk.

    Is there anyone who doesn’t have *some* risk of diabetes? I understand diet, genetics, etc. have an effect on the *level* of risk, but it’s like saying someone is not at risk for cancer. Ditto MS. But I agree with your point.

  21. 21.

    Polish the Guillotines

    If there are any Juicers in CA-11 (Jerry McNerney’s district), please call and show support. I’m pretty sure he’s a solid yes, but I saw on the local news that the teabaggers were out in force yesterday at his local offices.

    Remember: This is the guy who unseated Richard Pombo, one of the most corrupt Rs of the Abramoff era.

  22. 22.

    Comrade Mary

    In the meantime, the so-called “law” discriminates against those that are mandated to pay for things they don’t want.

    It’s wrong to make people pay for the military if they’re pacifists. It’s wrong to make childless people pay for schools for other people’s kids.

    But somehow, people keep doing these wrong things without any conservative crocodile tears.

  24. 24.

    kay

    @Sanka:

    Oh, bullshit, Sanka.

    Conservatives have no credibility, zero, on states’s rights. The only time you start screaming states rights is when you lose control of the federal government.

    A partial list:

    1. No Child Left Behind, which trumped not only state law, but every elected school board in the country.
    2. federal tort reform, which orders state courts to mandate a limit on their own jury awards. An unprecedented attack on state courts.
    3. Medical Support Orders, a “deficit reduction act” mandate under Bush that was passed in 2005 and begun in 2007 that ordered every state to require anyone with a child support order to purchase private health insurance for their children, or reimburse the state for health insurance costs under S-CHIP or Medicaid.
    That last one’s gonna hurt you when you start litigating this. You can thank President Bush, for setting a nice little mandate precedent.
    Bush put a health insurance mandate in, and conservatives nodded along like morons.

    You’re frauds on states rights, like everything else.

  25. 25.

    Chyron HR

    @Sanka:

    Just out of curiosity, what’s your fallback plan for when the bill passes and the dreaded “death panels” never show up to kill grandma? Won’t that completely discredit the Republican party for at least a generation?

  26. 26.

    JGabriel

    Even some of the front-pagers at FDL are getting on board. Swopa comes out, reluctantly, in favor of passage:

    I’m in favor of passing the bill at this point. […] the Democratic leadership has committed itself thoroughly enough to this effort, and spent enough time on it, that the political logic seems irrefutable — if the current legislation fails, there is zero chance that anything more progressive will emerge. Instead, voters across the political spectrum will (with substantial justification) conclude that Democrats are inherently incapable of getting anything done, the 2010 elections will move the Congress substantially to the right (perhaps even into outright Republican control), and it will be another decade or more before anyone dares another attempt to tame the corporate health insurance dragon.

    .

  27. 27.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Comrade Mary:

    It’s wrong to make people pay for the military if they’re pacifists. It’s wrong to make childless people pay for schools for other people’s kids.

    But somehow, people keep doing these wrong things without any conservative crocodile tears.

    To be fair, many conservatives don’t want to pay for public education at all.

  28. 28.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    Attempting a fax to my critter, Jim Matheson – I was polite but not quite able to keep the snark out:

    Good day,

    I’m contacting your office to request that Congressman Matheson support health care reform in the upcoming vote. I appreciate your efforts, and realize that it is very likely that your office is being inundated by angry calls from out-of-state opponents of the bill who would never vote for a Democrat regardless of his voting record.

    I am a constituent of Congressman Matheson’s, and applaud his having outlasted the Gingrich Revolution and the Permanent Republican Majority. I request that he revisit his 2002 campaign pledge to support the President, even though the current president is a different man and from Rep. Matheson’s own party.

    Many thanks, (my name and address)

    Whatcha think?

  29. 29.

    demo woman

    @arguingwithsignposts: Genetics and diet play a large roll in diabetes but it’s not fool proof. My representative Tom Price thinks all insurance should be deregulated and you should be able to buy the insurance that suits your needs. If that ever happened, it might be time to buy a ouija board cuz, I can’t foresee the future.

  30. 30.

    mr. whipple

    @JGabriel:

    Even some of the front-pagers at FDL are getting on board. Swopa comes out, reluctantly, in favor of passage:

    They are realizing this the day before the vote, after urging people to kill the bill? That there is some very smart politics.

  31. 31.

    JGabriel

    @Chyron HR:

    Just out of curiosity, [Sanka,] what’s your fallback plan for when the bill passes and the dreaded “death panels” never show up to kill grandma? Won’t that completely discredit the Republican party for at least a generation?

    They’ll nominate Adam Baldwin for president ’16. Hell, nominating Reagan worked, even after Nixon discredited the GOP for a generation.

    I don’t think Obama has much to worry about in ’12, but I’m not yet sanguine about our prospects in 2016.

    .

  33. 33.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @demo woman:

    My representative Tom Price thinks all insurance should be deregulated and you should be able to buy the insurance that suits your needs.

    God, your rep. is an idiot. Because nobody could have predicted …

    Do these people not know at all how insurance works?

    Speaking of which, I used to work with a guy who was 55yo and found himself the father of a mentally-challenged daughter. Good thing he couldn’t just “buy the insurance that suit(ed) (his) needs.”

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @JGabriel:

    I don’t think Obama has much to worry about in ‘12, but I’m not yet sanguine about our prospects in 2016.

    I would not worry about 2016. The Mayans will have wiped us out in December of 2012, so it’s all good.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @arguingwithsignposts: Roger Ebert wrote a couple of essays on his cancer a few weeks back. One of the things he pointed out was that he ran through not one but two very good insurance policies, one from his newspaper and the other, IIRC, from his union. If he hadn’t qualified for Medicare, he’d have gone broke, and he’s (I imagine) pretty rich. I was surprised that example didn’t get more attention.

  37. 37.

    RedKitten

    @JGabriel:

    I’m in favor of passing the bill at this point. […] the Democratic leadership has committed itself thoroughly enough to this effort, and spent enough time on it, that the political logic seems irrefutable — if the current legislation fails, there is zero chance that anything more progressive will emerge. Instead, voters across the political spectrum will (with substantial justification) conclude that Democrats are inherently incapable of getting anything done, the 2010 elections will move the Congress substantially to the right (perhaps even into outright Republican control), and it will be another decade or more before anyone dares another attempt to tame the corporate health insurance dragon.

    For chrissakes, everybody here has only been saying that for weeks, if not months.

    /facepalm

  40. 40.

    ericblair

    @demo woman: My representative Tom Price thinks all insurance should be deregulated and you should be able to buy the insurance that suits your needs.

    Which means he’s for comprehensive health care reform, because the only incentive for insurers now is to make sure that you never get the insurance that you actually need (and will incur expenses for). The only insurance insurers really want to sell is the insurance you’ll never ever use.

  41. 41.

    demo woman

    According to TPM House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer confirmed this afternoon that Democrats are discussing the potential of President Obama issuing an executive order on abortion when he signs the health care reform legislation.
    Brian Beutler asked Hoyer (D-MD) if a significant number of pro-life Democrats would be amenable to that plan. “I’m hopeful,” Hoyer replied.
    The idea of an executive order or signing statement was floated several weeks ago, but never materialized.

    Hopefully he signs something saying the Hyde Amendment is settled law and he does not go further.

  42. 42.

    kay

    @Sanka:

    The only difference, and I mean the only difference, between liberals and conservatives on federal mandates is liberals fund their mandates.
    Conservatives put the order in, and then refuse to pay for it.
    “Good luck!”
    That’s it. The one and only question is who pays. You want the order, but you all signed some blood oath with Grover Norquist, so you can’t pay for it. That hasn’t stopping you from mandating states to do all kinds of things.

  43. 43.

    Joe Lisboa

    Fantastic idea. I just e-faxed Gary Peters (D-MI) a nod of support for pledging to vote Yes on the bill. I can only imagine the level of vitriol being directed at these folks. I hope they have the courage to stick to their guns on this. A quick “thank you” can’t hurt.

  44. 44.

    slag

    @kay: Also, the fed’s smacking down of California’s decision to have higher standards for environmental protection and food labeling under GW.

    The tort reform stuff is most hilarious since Republicans have no problem advocating for that while simultaneously claiming the current HCR bill is unconstitutional because it undermines state’s rights. That’s pretty special.

  45. 45.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Looking for Dems in Congress who are doctors, I found this

    Of the doctors elected to Congress, 11 are Republicans and 5 are Democrats. Two serve in the Senate and 14 in the House, 7 of whom are on the three committees preparing a health care bill.

    The article includes this nugget of wisdom:

    Representative John Fleming, Republican of Louisiana, ….
    Getting those patients insured with a public plan, Dr. Fleming says, is not the solution. He has seen physicians refuse to take Medicare patients because it compensates poorly, and he fears that doctors would turn away patients on a public plan if it offered inadequate compensation.
    Rather, Dr. Fleming favors a tax credit or a tax deduction, measures that would give patients an incentive to “watch the pocketbook.

    ”

    Another GOP MD favors “health savings accounts” This just boggles my mind. I heard on NPR last week that half of US adults have less than ten thousand in savings. I doubt that amount would cover one routine operation, never mind cancer. “Watch the pocketbook”. Where do these motherfuckers come from?

  46. 46.

    Brick Oven Bill

    The background:

    1. The American people, especially those who are conscious, are growing increasingly distrustful of the federal government.
    2. Barack has an extremely fragile ego.
    3. A strong Constitutional case can be made that the Slaughter process is illegal.
    4. Wilfred Grimley should have to pay for his own damn diabetes medicine.

    Therefore, we likely face one of two outcomes:

    1. Organized civil disobedience to federal mandates for individuals to purchase private products, likely backed by State government in some cases; or
    2. Barack will flip out.

  47. 47.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @demo woman:

    Hopefully he signs something saying the Hyde Amendment is settled law and he does not go further.

    I hope so. I cannot fucking believe people are willing to derail this over abortion. I should’ve gone away this weekend, but I am, apparently, a literal political junkie.

  48. 48.

    booferama

    @Sanka: Really? Here’s the only quote from Obama regarding the elderly:

    “We’ve had historic votes before. We had a historic vote to put Social Security in place to make sure that our elderly did not live out their golden years in poverty.”

    If you want to read that as strictly saying that Social Security did, or HCR will, end poverty or untimely death for all people, then I suppose you’re welcome to make that misread. But I find it telling that you fabricated one thing (autism) and made a bizarre logical leap on the other two.

  50. 50.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Rather, Dr. Fleming favors a tax credit or a tax deduction, measures that would give patients an incentive to “watch the pocketbook.

    You know, this is one of the things that *really* pisses me off. There is probably a very small percentage of people who show up at the doctor’s office any time they get a sniffle, but I would wager the vast majority of people avoid the doctor like the plague, not just because of the cost of an office visit, but because it’s a disruption of their daily routine.

  51. 51.

    Stroszek

    FDL’ers need to come down. I was stuck in a hotel without internet this morning and watched 15 minutes of CNN. Much to my delight, I was told repeatedly that this bill was “government health care like they have in Europe.” No effort was made by the credible news organization to challenge these repeated assertions, so I assume they’re true.

    I also found out from a Tea Party demonstrator that Medicare doesn’t cover Parkinson’s. The CNN reporter nodded in agreement when this was said, so it’s apparently true as well. The things you learn from cable news!

  52. 52.

    kay

    @slag:

    It goes on and on. They’re ride all over states rights if it means someone can make more money, on banking, and lending, and nearly anything else that involves a moneyed interest.

    Their own plan to “sell insurance across state lines” means they’re trumping (blue) state law on insurance.

    There may be no issue they lie more about than states rights.

    I have no idea how any conservative keeps a straight face uttering the phrase.

  53. 53.

    demo woman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Maybe they invested in ouija’s boards. The last thing that I want to do if I’m ever have an heart pains is to have to dig out the yellow pages to see how much the hospital charges.

  54. 54.

    Violet

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    If he hadn’t qualified for Medicare, he’d have gone broke, and he’s (I imagine) pretty rich. I was surprised that example didn’t get more attention.

    Examples like that get mentioned all the time. The problem is, the average person doesn’t really believe them. They think there must be some other problem that caused the person in question to lose their insurance/go broke/get dropped by insurer, etc. They honestly just don’t believe it could happen to them.

    Case in point: I was at a doctor’s appointment this week. Was waiting to check out and a 40’s-ish man was in front of me, accompanying his mother who was the patient. While we were all waiting we got into a discussion about health care. I brought up a family friend’s sad story – got ill, got fired because of missed work, died – and the man just would NOT believe me. He said, “They can’t fire you for being sick!” I told him they sure could. Interestingly, his mother agreed with me and backed me up with an example of her own.

    “Couldn’t the guy COBRA?” this guy asked me (Ah, yes, COBRA – another one of those evil librul laws that conservatives like now that it’s here.) Answer: No, he couldn’t. Because he got moved from active employee to inactive/disability, and then didn’t qualify for COBRA. Once there, they fired him. See how easy that is! And no, the way the company did it, it’s not illegal. This is a massive international company. They did it just within the letter of the law.

    So what happened? Well, they were bankrupted by his illness. And he and his wife have several young children. So much for retirement savings. So much for college funds. Too bad, you lose.

    And then he died.

    So back to the guy at the doctor’s office – he simply did not believe it could happen to him. Told me he had “good insurance.” Had no idea that’s how it works. And he’s not alone.

    So Roger Ebert losing health coverage? Must have been because of something that would never apply to “me.” That’s why these stories don’t stick. People truly don’t believe it could happen to them.

  56. 56.

    BDeevDad

    @Stroszek: Maybe the teabaggers should of asked the Parkinson’s patient they were berating.

    Robert Lechter was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s 15 years ago. He has two Master’s Degrees and a PhD from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer.
    Lechter was able to have a $150,000 surgery thanks to Medicare and the Cleveland Clinic.

  57. 57.

    kay

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    They’re all messed up.

    They want the states to regulate immigration, and the feds to regulate your grammar school curriculum.

    They are just completely incoherent on this, and have been for years.

    I don’t understand how they get away with it. Liberals are coherent on states rights. You can disagree with them, but they make sense.

  58. 58.

    CADoc

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist
    This is what makes the AMA endorsement so surprising. I’ve been mixed up in organized medicine politics for 15+ years, and the rabid Republican, libertarian streak runs strong in the medical community, and even stronger in those that decide to move on to the big stage.
    Even in my own specialty organization, the American Academy of Family Physicians, it has taken a lot of effort to keep the pro coalition together and vocal.

  59. 59.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Re: Psychopaths

    Have you seen a picture of Nancy Pelosi lately arguingwithsignposts?

    Nancy needs a Halloween mask like Wilfred Grimley needs a cheeseburger.

  60. 60.

    demo woman

    According to the Washington Post.. VA rep Connolly is voting for health care. Might send him a thank you fax.

  61. 61.

    mcc

    @kay: I was at a Mike Honda (CA-15) town hall some months back where a tea partier interrupted to call for allowing insurance to be sold across state lines. Honda immediately lit up and started cheerfully talking about how he was actually all for this and wanted it in the final bill. This lead to a hilarious exchange in which as you listened it was pretty clear that what Honda was thinking about was the concept of a “national exchange”, in which plans would be sold nationally under extremely strict federal regulation, whereas the tea partier was just talking about the whole “state regulations go away” thing you describe. The tea partier never seemed to understand exactly what was happening.

    The tea partier, a very large man, incidentally was talking out loud almost the whole meeting and continued his fascinating stream of missing the point throughout, at one point saying something out loud (though not loud enough for honda to hear) about how if the exchange was so great Congress should go on it. I still consider this the funniest wingnut talking point both because you’d have to literally be ignoring everything Obama said for a year to have not heard the talking point about how Americans deserve the same health care members of Congress do, and because the bill we finally wound up with (with the OPM/FEHBP plan) wound up implementing that idea almost literally.

  62. 62.

    Svensker

    @Comrade Mary:

    It’s wrong to make people pay for the military if they’re pacifists. It’s wrong to make childless people pay for schools for other people’s kids.But somehow, people keep doing these wrong things without any conservative crocodile tears.

    Not quite true. Conservos HATE paying for other people’s schools. However, forcing anti-war folks into paying for wars is good, because the conservos like war. Such relativists, these folks.

  63. 63.

    MeDrewNotYou

    I couldn’t get through on the phones, but sent a fax to Joe Donnelly. I think his main hangup is the abortion language, so I mentioned how fellow Catholic Brad Ellsworth, the Catholic Health Organization, and the 59k nuns are in support. He’s decent for a Blue Dog, so I think he’ll come around.

  64. 64.

    WereBear

    @arguingwithsignposts: Conservatives believe what they want to believe.

    They came out and told us, in that famous interview with someone who says “We make our own reality.”

    They tried it, they tried the hell out of it. Hey, it’s doesn’t work, but it’s all they’ve got.

  66. 66.

    LuciaMia

    Wilfred Grimley needs a cheese

    It’s Wilfred Brimley , asshole. If you’re gonna trash a total stranger, at least get their name right.

  71. 71.

    Bailey

    It’s actually Wilford Brimley, but regardless, it’s hilarious to see someone trashing a celebrity for god knows what reason and not even have the name right.

    In other news, I called Brian Baird’s office (WA-03) and got voice mail which was better than yesterday when I got a message that his mail box was full. I left a nice message as a WA resident urging him to support the legislation as a good first step in extending coverage and fighting deficit growth. I then thanked them for their work, acknowledged that they were probably having a pretty rough day and wished them a happy weekend.

    Come on, Mr. Baird!

  72. 72.

    kay

    @mcc:

    I give tea baggers some leeway, because the states rights idea is really appealing and simple. They say they’re new at this, and I believe them.
    The whole federalism issue has such a convoluted past, and the trigger words have been used by conservative politicians for so long, for all kinds of nefarious ends. It’s muddled. You really have to grapple with it, and liberals have actually done that. They’ve come up with a coherent position. Conservatives just continue too pretend that the contradictions don’t exist, or ignore the complexity, like your town hall guy, who didn’t hear anything past his own question.

    Conservative leaders, however, are flat-out lying.

  75. 75.

    demo woman

    @Violet: It appears that Obama has been working the phones all day so it must be close. Did you see my earlier comment that a copied and pasted from TPM about the possibility of Obama signing an executive order reaffirming Hyde? That tells me they don’t have the votes yet.

  76. 76.

    licensed to kill time

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    At the risk of sounding like a broken record, your Smudge looks so incredibly like my much beloved but now departed Guido that it makes my heart lurch every time I see her picture.

    Smudge has grown into a very beautiful cat and it has been heartwarming to follow her journey (and yours as her human!) here at BJ through the pictures you so proudly post. Thanks :)

  78. 78.

    Violet

    @demo woman:
    Yeah, I saw that. I am not quite sure what it means. If Obama signs an executive order, what would that mean? Would it just reaffirm status quo, or change something somehow? Is it more akin to a pat on the heat to folks like Stupak or actually changing something?

    This whole health care thing has me really stressed out. I have been calling so many people I can’t even remember who I’ve called. LOL. Some to thank them for their vote. Some to ask them to vote yes. Lots that I can’t get through to, or just get voicemail.

  79. 79.

    jwb

    @demo woman: Possibly, possibly not. It also might mean that the Dems want as much of their caucus on board as possible—that’s actually how I read this: they’d really rather not have to go after their own, and there will have to be some cost to those Dems who vote “no” after the arm twisting for this vote.

  80. 80.

    MikeJ

    I’m sure there’s a reason, but does anyone know why the count at GOS adds up to 431 rather than 435? WaPo’s does too.

    Massa’s in the cold, cold ground, so that’s one of the four. Who are the other three missing?

  82. 82.

    demo woman

    @jwb: I hope that you are right. Do you want DNC money going to reps who voted no? I sure as hell don’t.
    My stomach is a mess. Violet and I are going to have to compare stress levels.

  83. 83.

    nancydarling

    BoB, You are so full of shit. I just read your comment about Nancy Pelosi. As a woman of a certain age, I can’t tell you how proud she made me when she became House Speaker. I think she is incredibly attractive. You just don’t like her because she could bust your balls if she ever needed to. Why can’t we criticize people without making it personal about appearance, etc? I bet I could bust your balls, too.

    Outta here for errands and then back to make more calls.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MikeJ: Neil Abercrombie, Rob’t Wexler and John Murtha, I believe?

    ETA: Wow. I am a political junkie. Does Betty Ford have a program for me?

  86. 86.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Violet: IIRC Stupak was saying that his preferred language is just a reinforcement of Hyde; many pro-choicers were saying it went far beyond Hyde; Obama and others were saying that this bill isn’t an “abortion bill” and wouldn’t change anything to do with Hyde. So my sense is that some kind of affirmation that Hyde is intact would be a useful way to save face all around. Of course it’s bullshit that Hyde is there in the first place, but it’s served as common ground for all the major players in this, so it’s probably the means of rapprochement.

  87. 87.

    MikeJ

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: those all make perfect sense. I knew that once I heard it I’d feel stupid, and you have proved me correct.

    I bow to your knowledge and need to lighten up. Supposed to get up to 62F here today, time to get outside before the rains return.

  88. 88.

    demo woman

    lol.. From TPM Rep. David Dreier started reading the breaking news alert about the Democrats’ decision to drop the controversial “Slaughter Solution” during the Rules Committee hearing just now.
    Dreier (R-CA) said it was obvious the Rules hearing was just for show since the decision had been made in a private whip meeting among Democrats across the Capitol.

    So if you have deem and pass it’s bad, and if you don’t it’s bad.

  89. 89.

    mcc

    @kay: Yeah, I dunno. You are a more gracious person than I am. I’m long since at the point where I don’t feel like treating very differently someone who lies on purpose different from someone who relays false information because they were disinterested in even trying to figure out if it were true.

  91. 91.

    Violet

    @demo woman:

    My stomach is a mess. Violet and I are going to have to compare stress levels.

    I’ve been struggling with some sort of food poisoning or stomach bug for the last 24-36 hours. It’s only minor, which is why I’m not quite sure what it is. I thought it was gone last night, but it’s back today. Ugh. I’m not helping things by comfort eating. Today I ate a Kit Kat bar. Tasted good, but my tummy isn’t happy with me.

    I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Pass the damn bill. Please! I need a break!

  92. 92.

    Mary

    @nancydarling: I so very much agree about Nancy Pelosi. She is both beautiful and a woman who will go down in history for being the first female speaker and a great one who ushered in health care.

    If you want to talk about appearance, the Republican’s idea of beautiful is Sarah Palin, who poses for cheesecake photos in skimpy clothes leaning on the flag and who herself just had a face lift that went disastrously wrong so that she looks like a stroke victim.

    Enough about appearance from the trolls, please.

    Also, my heart is breaking with happiness that this legislation is about to pass.

  93. 93.

    Brick Oven Bill

    The Democratic Party is very organized.

    Go Nancy go.

    As much fun as civil disobedience can be, it would be more fun to watch Barack flip out.

    Intrade now selling at 78.

  94. 94.

    Veteran, Great War of Yankee Aggression

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I love this notion that we need a gatekeeper to prevent people from getting medical care unnecessarily- as if people are going to rush right out and get a spinal tap if the gummint gives it away for free.

    Which speaks to the general idiocy of using the free market to distribute health care; unlike cars and toasters, health care is the one item that no one uses unless they really need it.

    Ever wonder why even the most miserly health insurance providers make dental cleaning and routine checkups free? It saves money.

  95. 95.

    scav

    @mcc:

    I’m long since at the point where I don’t feel like treating very differently someone who lies on purpose different from someone who relays false information because they were disinterested in even trying to figure out if it were true.

    Here. Read On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt. He explains why an indifference to the truth is worse  than lying.

  96. 96.

    Onihanzo

    @Mary:

    That’s conservatives in a nutshell. Image and beauty as dictated by the ideals of horny teenage boys.

    That’s why they rally around the corpse of a two-bit, shitheel actor as their chosen god. It’s all about what LOOKS good, baby. And let’s face it, Reagan was the only one of their favored to ever come out of it without LOOKING like he hadn’t bathed in human feces. Nixon? Bush? Not so much. So they figure the Gipper still has airplay.

    I’ve often wondered if teabaggers collectively lost their virginity to cardboard supermodel standees. It would explain volumes about how they look at/appreciate women.

  98. 98.

    Michele

    I just sent a fax to Michael Arcuri. I live in NC but donated to his campaign last year after the Yes for HCR vote. This week, I got my second campaign solicitation this year from him. I indicated in my letter that not only should they remove my name from their mailing list, but that I would also be donating substantially to a primary challenger when one emerges.

    I was able to check on ActBlue Express the various candidates I donated to over the last two years. Even though I’m not a constituent, I’m hoping that speaking with my credit card will also get some attention.

    Tim and Doug and John – first time I’ve done this. Thank you for constantly encouraging it.

  103. 103.

    cs

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I can’t speak for Coburn, but based on the interviews and biographies I read about Ron Paul, he sounds a lot like my gf’s current nephrologist.

    When the gf first was diagnosed with end stage renal disease, she was greeted by this kindly nephrologist in the ER who basically said “I know you guys are broke and don’t have any insurance. That doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure you don’t die and get the care you need.” And to his credit, he’s done exactly that.

    Ron Paul, when he was a full time ob/gyn, did much the same thing, going as far as giving services to poor women for free and I’ve heard he never turned anyone away.

    So for guys like that, they probably think HCR is pointless because people will always get the care they need and because they assume all other doctors / health care facilities will act like they do. The fact that some people will end up in a lifetime of overwhelming debt doesn’t bother them.

  107. 107.

    Corner Stone

    IMO, the “deem and pass” was all a bunch of nonsense for show.
    They wanted to put it down that they don’t play shenanigans, they pass major bills with a majority.

  108. 108.

    IndyLib

    I sent my whackjob wingnut Congresscritter a fax (thanks for the link) asking him very respectfully to reconsider his position on HCR. I don’t expect anything, especially considering my whackjob wingnut CC is Paul Ryan. I also let him know that I would be volunteering, campaigning and donating to his Dem. opponent because the people in my district deserve to be represented by someone who respects them and their intelligence, as he obviously does not.
    I’m actually looking forward to sharing with my neighbors that this asshat wants to privatize social security get rid of medicare.

  109. 109.

    Jenn

    @CS Lewis Jr.:

    THANK YOU for this! I miss Firefly. (Sadly, my brain-finger connection is so fried, I had to type “Firefly” 6 times before I actually got it right.)

  110. 110.

    cs

    @Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist:

    I liked it. Matheson definitely deserves the snark. I just faxed him and personally skipped the snark and went for being painfully earnest with a tearjerker story attached:

    Please vote YES on Health Care Reform. For me the cause is very personal. My wife is suffering from End Stage Renal Disease, meaning her kidneys are in the process of shutting down. We’re both currently working as software development freelancers and have no insurance. At one point, before the recent diagnosis of the disease, I tried to get health insurance on the private market for both of us. I found I couldn’t get coverage at any price once they found out about her previous kidney surgery at age 12. Because we were denied coverage, we’re now deeply in debt from the care she needed in the past few months.

    This bill, as imperfect as it is, will help us immensely and will prevent others in our situation from either being denied care or receiving care with a crushing level of debt attached.

    I know voting yes will put you under a lot of pressure in this conservative state of ours. But it’s the right thing to do. And if you can do the right thing, I’ll be happy to do what I can to help your re-election campaign deal with the screaming hordes of tea aficionados, including donating and volunteering.

  111. 111.

    HeartlandLiberal

    Yesterday evening I tried every 3-4 minutes for 1/3 hour to fax Baron Hill, IN-09. I got either a fast busy, or every third time, a recorded message that all circuits were busy. I tried again this morning about 8:30 EDT and the fax got through.

    I have my Senators and Rep, the White House, Pelosi, Reid, all programmed into my HP fax software address book.

    Faxing I believe gets the most attention. Letters, postal mail, may be delayed. If you sent a letter on HCR this past week, it MIGHT reach the office in Congress in a few weeks, there are so many security strictures and slow downs; at least, that was the case last year, according to a remark by Barney Frank I read somewhere.

    Email is almost a waste of time. It is too easy. And can be so easily abused. And remember, at any given moment, 80 – 95% of email circulating on the Internet is spam. It has become an unreliable medium, and probably receives the least attention in Congressional offices.

    Call. Or Fax.

    Then do it again.

  112. 112.

    Jill

    My rep is Ernie Scott Garrett, one of the biggest wingnuts in the House. I’ve contacted him many times in the past, and I always get very nasty responses. This is a very evil man, and people in this district are too busy to realize that he is NOT Marge Roukema, the moderate Republican he replaced in 2002. It’s pointless to even talk to him, because for him, ideology trumps EVERYTHING — even what’s good for his district. Here he is reading the discredited “Democratic” memo on the floor of the House yesterday — and getting pwn3d by Anthony Weiner.

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