The first time I asked people to ping their GOP Reps and Senators about the Affordable Care Act a decent number of you said that you could or would. The second time that I wrote about it the response was near zero.
I know that a lot of you live in Republican disticts. These guys clearly need to walk a very fine line between sabotaging the ACA and screwing their individual constituents. The worst believe their morning blast faxes from Glennbeckistan and may not even know they are lying to people.
Someone needs to find out who will lie to their own voters at the individual level. The big funded groups seem interested in other things, so that leaves you guys. We can start with a simple question that everybody ought to know by now, such as whether someone who has been locked out of the individual market due to a pre-existing condition can pick up coverage in October. Feel free to ask anything that is pertinent to your own life; the Kaiser Family Foundation has an excellent collection of true answers that you can use to score your Rep. You also might want to arm yourself against claims that premiums will go up in California (only if you are 20, healthy and have a current plan that does not meet the ACA’s minimum standards) or Indiana (they averaged in the most expensive plans that few people actually buy).
You guys helped get the ACA passed. Now let’s identify Reps who would sacrifice their own voters’ health and well being just to piss in the punchbowl.
dmsilev
Along the same lines, Greg Sergeant just put up this post about how GOP reps are handling the constituent-service issue wrt Obamacare. As you say, worth pushing a lot of them to see what they do.
Zapruder F. Mashtots, D.D.S. (Mumphrey, et al.)
I’d love to help, but I’m happy to say that both my U.S. senators are Democrats, as is my congressman.
Ted & Hellen
This is the sort of thing the national Democratic party ought to be doing on a massive, organized scale, and using the results as part of a massive publicity campaign to support the implementation of the ACA.
The fact that they apparently are not doing so is what you should be noticing.
Elizabelle
I live in the People’s Republic of Northern Virginia, with a liberal Democratic congressman and esteemed Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
However, used to live near the coastal County of Orange in California. Shall dial my previous congresscritter, a wingnut who surfs. (Or used to. Who cares what he does in his free time?)
Some family members are trapped in Eric Cantor’s district, poor souls.
kc
Oh, all right, I’ll do it. Give me a couple if days …
Davis X. Machina
Not me. I have a garage full of ‘Kill the Bill!” merch I’m still trying to shift.
Pogonip
I would like to interrupt a moment to say that AT & T is coming to my parents’ house tomorrow, thanks for all the suggestions. It took 45 minutes. When the first person I reached said she had to put me back into the phone tree, I said, “Well, we’ll just cancel the service, then.”. Magically, she was then able to connect me with a person who could schedule the serviceman.
Schlemizel
Happily my Congressman & both Senators are Dem (although Sen Klobuchar tries hard to not prove that). Sadly, that means I only have the one call to make & I think they know my voice now & only pretend to care. Elison & Franken are solid so I have nobody to pester – poor me!
c u n d gulag
Here in Upstate NY, we got rid of Nan Hayworth(less) last year, so I’ve got a full Democratic house.
JoyousMN
Thx for reposting this on a weekday. I will call my Rep rep, John Kline with some constituent questions and report back.
Southern Beale
Umm …. pretty much all of us who have Republican senators have documented them lying to us. On a bazillion issues, not just Affordable Care Act.
• Here’s my own Sen. Bob Corker, actually telling the former Canadian public health minister that Canada is a “parasite” on American medical innovation.
• Here are Corker, Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn, showing up at the GM plant in Spring Hill TN to take credit for the jobs that were saved thanks to the auto bailout they opposed. They all got booed by the union workers there. Good for them.
etc. etc. etc.
Chyron HR
@Ted & Hellen:
You really miss the days when you could come here and read articles like this, don’t you?
Villago Delenda Est
I’m sorry, I can’t help. I live in a sane congressional district in a very blue state, with two Dem senators, one of whom is a leader in the fight to reform the filibuster.
Yatsuno
@Villago Delenda Est: I live in DelBene’s district in the socialist republic of Seattle. However my parents live in Doc Hastings’ district, but no point in trolling him since he’s a constituent whore. I wish I could troll McMorris-Rodgers though…
CambridgeChuck
People’s Republic of Cambridge here, in Sen. Warren’s neighborhood, last congressman just became Sen. Markey — and in my experience trying to get answers from Republican congresscritters by pretending to be from their district doesn’t work well!
Pogonip
What should you do if your Congresscritter is a hopeless Teabagger?
WereBear
@Pogonip: Put him in the AT&T phone tree.
TG Chicago
@Chyron HR: I haven’t seen much from Cole’s pre-conversion days. That was amusing. I especially liked the unstated assumption that Al-Jazeera was the evil enemy who can only speak in lies.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Zapruder F. Mashtots, D.D.S. (Mumphrey, et al.):
Same here in CA-26 I’m proud to say: all dems.
TG Chicago
@Pogonip: Call them up and ask some questions. Write down their responses and report back. If they answer truthfully, we’ll give them proper credit. If not, we’ll give them proper scorn.
Villago Delenda Est
@Yatsuno:
“The Soviet of Washington”
East of the Cascades not included, of course.
Ted & Hellen
@Chyron HR:
If it comforts you to believe so, have at it.
Amir Khalid
@Chyron HR:
Amazing stuff. I’m kind of glad that was from before I was coming here.
Tim F.
@Southern Beale: It makes a difference when individual voters phone in with questions. Very few Congresspeople not in Ron Paul’s district can get re-elected with a reputation for poor constituent service. Lying to your constituents one-on-one about real decisions they have to make is a different kettle of fish from bullshitting a TV anchor.
BudP
I’m going to call Roskam and Kirk. I have several concerns about the new law, but mostly I’d like to know how to avoid Obamacare’s death panels.
Quaker in a Basement
I asked people to ping their GOP Reps and Senators
I don’t have any, thankyewverymuch.
Tim F.
@Ted & Hellen: Thanks for sharing! My favorite conspiracy theory involves Roswell, Hugh Hefner and the invention of velcro.
Pogonip
@WereBear: Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee.
Apple thinks “Hee” is a proper noun. ???
ArchTeryx
@Tim F.: That’s not as true as you may think; with a gerrymandered enough district, constituent services can and do go straight out the window.
I’ve spent time in Dave Camp’s district in MI-4. Though constituent services are very prominent on his website. most of his constituent services go to his real master: Dow Chemical (whose flagship factory is in the middle of the district). I’ve heard plenty of tell how little he cares about the “man on the street.”
When I had a massive problem with unemployment from a state I’d moved to Michigan from, I refused to even contact Camp’s office. I contacted my ex-Congresscritter, Chris Van Hollen, and told him my tale of woe, along with whose district I was now in.
They took my case – and won. Now THAT’S constituent services!
Tim F.
@ArchTeryx: Yeah, you get an exception when you have a BIG company in a small district. Thankfully that level of congressperson capture is relatively rare.
Thoughtcrime
Fortunately for me, I’d only need to contact my Congressman to tell him to keep up the great work. And his website has a nice guide for the ACA in California: http://georgemiller.house.gov/obamacare-explained
Steve in the ATL
No need to contact my rep. Dr. Tom Price is always reasonable and honest!
Pogonip
@TG Chicago: Will do.
Nazgul35
You might want to call your Democratic reps as well. They could either be misinformed or Blue Dogs looking to distance themselves from the policy.
Ted & Hellen
@Tim F.:
So Tim, why do YOU think the Dems don’t aggressively support their own health care intitiative?
Why do YOU think this many years into the process, the majority of Americans are so uninformed about ACA?
It’s just like you to hand wave about aliens when someone dares to question your tribal identifications.
steve
I am from Nevada, so not only am I tired of Reid talking softly ‘WITHOUT’ the big stick, I have written my republican senator. Quite frankly, republicans are not interested in what we think. All you can do is vote them out.
ArchTeryx
@Tim F.: To be fair (and it takes a LOT to be fair to a Republican) the reason Van Hollen may have taken my case, even though I was no longer a constituent, was because he had the Maryland Dept. of Labor connections, and Dave Camp didn’t. It was those connections that got my case to the top of the food chain, and ultimately won it for me.
Xenos
@TG Chicago:
Think of Dems and sane Reps (as common as the Sumatran Rhino, these days) as a control group. Very useful to point to fair, competent answers as the standard all politicians should meet.
ChrisNYC
Ahem.
´Launching the Obamacare campaign,´´ by Glenn Thrush and David Nather: ´´A trio of Obama’s most experienced campaign operatives — one in the West Wing, two others in outside groups closely allied with Obama — are overseeing an effort to ensure that the Affordable Care Act, the president’s biggest legacy project, doesn’t turn into the failure the GOP predicts it will be. … One of the main outreach campaigns – by Enroll America, a nonprofit coalition run by Obama administration allies – [launched Tuesday].
Lizzy L
@Thoughtcrime: *waves* Hey, homie!
Yeah, George Miller is terrific. The Republicans have pretty much given up running anyone against him, since the district usually returns him with 80% of the vote. As they should. He’s a superb public servant.
ChrisNYC
Wow — it turns out they even did one of those website things.
http://www.enrollamerica.org/
Tim F.
@Ted & Hellen: Most people more than three years old know better than to ask why their representation in DC does not do something obvious and beneficial. It is practically a miracle when they do.
Ted & Hellen
@Tim F.:
So your answer is that it is immature to expect PERFORMANCE from your elected democratic representatives? So does this make you the oh so worldly and reasonable one, or just the deluded one?
Why do you support them as individual candidates, or the party in general, or the system as a whole, when it obviously does not perform or work?
And mostly what I get as answers are similar to your snotty alien conspiracy reply which only means you’re awfully defensive.
kc
@Ted & Hellen:
So Tim, why do YOU think the Dems don’t aggressively support their own health care intitiative?
A better question would be why don’t Repubs support what is essentially a Republican health care initiative [ducks]
Ted & Hellen
@kc:
Why are you ducking?
Except that we generally already know the answer to that. They hate any Democratic president and are blocking anything progressive with the spineless assistance of the wimp dems of course.
But let’s get back to the original question. This is supposedly a liberal/progressive blog. We should be pushing Democrats to support liberal/progressive legislation.
Schlemizel
@Tim F.:
Your mistake is in assuming that Douche & Bag have any interest in an actual discussion. Pissing contest? Oh they are so on that. Discussion? not so much. You might just as well holler down a cesspit, the return is the same. I find it much more satisfying to ignore them & watch the frustration get amped up when they can’t start a pissing contest.
I am not a kook
@Ted & Hellen:
Who is this “we” you speak of? You trying to insinuate yourself into this most tribalist tribe that ever tribed, BJ commentariat?
Ted & Hellen
@I am not a kook:
No douche.
We as in progressives/liberals. Very few of which frequent BJ.
Ted & Hellen
@Schlemizel:
That’s a lot of imaginary activity.
Violet
I have two Republican Senators. When I’ve called them i the past I’ve often just ended up at a voicemail box. I will call them for this, though. I expect I’ll just end up with an intern–that’s who it has sounded like when I’ve called them before. I doubt the interns will know anything. That would be normal, right?
I am not a kook
@Ted & Hellen:
Ah, so you’re saying you’re just pissing in the wind, trying to reach the few and proud Real progressives/liberals that frequent this site. Strategic brilliance! Wouldn’t you find more of your kind on some other site, with a higher douchebag ratio?
Just curious since you recently went on a rant against perceived tribalism because somebody used the pronoun “we” in their comment. I was merely seeking clarification from your mightiness.
Joey Maloney
@Ted & Hellen: Concern troll is, be it noted, concerned.
Tim F.
@Ted & Hellen: If you prefer to be taken seriously then say fewer stupid things. Why have Democratic organizations not done what I think might help? Honestly dude. I was the first blog to mobilize callers for the ACA. I am still the only one who does that in any organized fashion, even here on this blog. This despite it being one of the most effective ways that you can use a blog.
Maybe someday the universe will reveal why people do not always use every resource at their disposal. In the meantime like most grown ups I will not waste much time in wondering.
Yatsuno
@I am not a kook: Liberal/progressive shall mean exactly what Special Timmeh says it means and nothing more.
Ted & Hellen
@Tim F.:
No, willfully stupid one: Why have the ELECTED, ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, not done their job?
Your little blog has zero effect. The DNC, on the other hand, could have a huge effect. President Obama, who can’t be bothered to aggressively support his own legistlation and educate the public as to its contents, could make a massive difference. But he doesn’t.
You are a political wannabe groupie, which explains this post and your attitude. Rather than ask why the party you support doesn’t support YOU, you diddle around the edges with your ineffectual little grass roots efforts. Dude, if you can’t get the Bots on BJ to respond, you are not making a difference.
Like Kay, rather than ask hard questions about the rot of the Democratic party, you divert yourself with meaningless, feel good frottage around the edges.
Only a three year old wouldn’t see that.
Ted & Hellen
@Yatsuno:
Tumbrels!
rikyrah
good idea. am spreading the word.
Tim F.
@Ted & Hellen:You make a great point! Tell you what, at the next executive-level meeting for front pagers I will propose that we entirely refocus the blog on ennui and futile rage. I promise to let you know how it goes.
Ted & Hellen
@Tim F.:
Or…instead of acting like a three year old, you could take the point and start refocusing the blog to apply pressure on your own professed party to live up to its promises and use its resources effectively.
The fact that you see the act of doing just that as “ennui and futile rage” tells me what you really believe about the Dem party as opposed to what you pretend to believe when you’re playing grass roots ass kicker.
Also too: Seems like your zero-response appeals to the BJ Bots are pretty futile too, wouldn’t you say?
TG Chicago
@Pogonip: Great!
Tim F.
@Ted & Hellen: Ted, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but you are clearly a troll giving advice in bad faith. I sometimes engage chatbots when bored but I don’t give them my credit card number.
Ted & Hellen
@Tim F.:
Sigh.
Such a cute little, sheltered echo chamber you live in, Tim F.
Please do continue your feel good but accomplish nothing grass roots campaigns…I’m sure your “call your republicans” effort will turn things right around.
Ted & Hellen
The second time that I wrote about it the response was near zero.
Giggle.
gene108
Tim F., I don’t understand the purpose to call Republican Congressmen about their handling of the ACA. I do not know how anecdotes about a bad experience will be effective in “shaming” Republicans come election time and getting a Democrat elected.
EDIT: Also, the effectiveness of the ACA is going to be based on what is done at the state level, so I do not know what a Congressmen is supposed to do, if a state’s governor decides to not set up an exchange, for example.
lojasmo
Just take a look at the recent roll calls to defeat the ACA.
Alternately, look behind the names. If there’s an “R” there, they’re willing to stab their constituents in the back.