The WaPo made its best guess about which Representatives are still on the fence. Check it out.
Another List Of People Waiting For Your CallPost + Comments (104)
Open Thread: Smackdown
Pelosi — she’ll fuck you up with one hand while holding a baby in the other. (via Mike Kay in the comments)
Two Switches In The Wrong Direction
Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Mike Arcuri (D-NY) badly need to hear from any of you who live in their districts.
This could be part of the expected ass-covering that I predicted earlier, in which case it could actually be good news, but I wouldn’t count on that.
Lynch: 202-225-3984 202-225-8273 (DC), 508-586-5555 (MA)
Arcuri: 202-225-1891 (DC), 315-798-4099 (NY)
***Update***
Well what do you know. It appears that the Chamber of Commerce influenced Arcuri and possibly others with a poll that doesn’t come close to meeting minimum polling standards. If you live in his district or other targeted districts (for example, Jason Altmire’s), it would not hurt to read the linked article and then call.
***Update 2***
From the comments.
I called Lynch’s local office (the D.C. office was busy) and was informed that Lynch is merely opposed to the “procedural maneuvering” of utilizing deem and pass on the bill.
When I pressed whether he opposed any of the substance of the bill I was told to call the D.C. office and the person that I spoke to could not tell me whether Lynch would vote in favor of the legislation if deem and pass were not utilized. That seems quite odd to me.
What a load of bull. Ask anyone you know who lives in that district to call Lynch and give him hell for that pathetic excuse.
The Era Of Stupak Exceptionalism
Bart Stupak, still complaining.
Leading a revolt against President Barack Obama’s healthcare legislation over abortion has been a “living hell” for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).
The telephone lines in his Washington and district offices have been “jammed” and he’s gotten more than 1,500 faxes and countless e-mails — most of which he says don’t come from his constituents.
Does Bart talk with colleagues in the House? Every Democrat in DC is getting slammed by angry stupid callers from outside their district. Fighting a quisling battle on their behalf apparently doesn’t insulate a guy from wingnut rage as much as Stupak thought.
At any rate, this means that you guys will need to use redial a lot to get through to your Congresspeople. Don’t give up! Do if for the underpaid staffers and volunteers who will be listening to a screaming out-of-district moron if they’re not talking to you. If teabaggers have killed off the phone lines entirely, send a fax or consider writing a Letter to the Editor to your local paper. OFA has useful online tools if you have never done it before.
Here is a list of critical names whom you absolutely need to contact if you live in their district.
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, Jason Altmire.
Remember that their concerns about reelection are hardly unwarranted considering their often R-majority districts. You might have much more impact if you promise to put in some volunteer time on their behalf if they come through.
Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Guide for first-timers here.
C-Span Gold
For those who do research into the stories of our politics, C-Span has just released a gold mine.
They have put years and years of searchable video online. As I poked around I could trace some mentions in Abramoff billing records to Congressional action on the floor. Amazing stuff.
There were several tapes where Jack himself is a featured speaker.
Here around the 51:00 mark he introduces his longtime co-conspirator Daniel Lapin (who gave him fake awards for piety in one of their many scams). Jack and Daniel are speaking at a Towards Tradition conference, their group to promote an alliance between extremist Christians and extremist Jews back in the 1990s.
Here around the 23:00 mark he gives advice to the 2003 College Republican Conference and introduces fellow co-conspirator Tom DeLay.
And here around the 88:00 mark he follows fellow co-conspirator Ralph Reed to the stage of the 2001 College Republican Conference. (As a side note, around the 92:00 mark Jack gives a shout-out to Ralph Nader for helping to throw the 2000 Election Bush’s way).
If you can stomach watching these weasels, it will give you a good idea of how the Republicans and the modern conservatives actually operate. These are clips of Abramoff pre-scandal and where he is being celebrated as a conservative hero. Little has changed in the conservative movement these days–it is as corrupt as ever. The only change has been that most of Jack’s pals have trouble remembering how closely they worked with Jack over the years. So it goes.
Still, I’m glad that C-Span has given the world a new toy.
Cheers
dengre
Open Thread At Elevenish
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
The yearly American tradition of people with the name Pietrazola, Weingarten, Yerkovich, Liu, Gonzalez, and so on wearing green to show solidarity with an ethnic group they are not a member of, only as a pretext to swill shitty green beer until they vomit through their noses onto the shoes of the other idiots out making asses out of themselves.
I’ll not be taking part, but if that is your thing, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.