As a union member teacher, my health insurance premium, dental, and cancer rider, is now 28% of my take home pay. Health insurance is our single biggest expenditure, and with this year's increases (and my husband being laid off), we're being forced to borrow against our home equity to make these payments. We're going slowly broke just trying to keep our health care, and we're among the lucky ones who even have health care. Enough is enough!
And, according to Robert Reich on Politico
All this will be decided within days or weeks. And once those who want to kill the public option without their fingerprints on the murder weapon begin to agree on a proposal -- Snowe's "trigger" or any other -- the public option will be very hard to revive. The White House must now insist on a genuine public option. And you, dear reader, must insist as well.
This is it, folks. The concrete is being mixed and about to be poured. And after it's poured and hardens, universal health care will be with us for years to come in whatever form it now takes.
This is a repost with 10 ACTIONS we need to take NOW. Today.
There have been many excellent discussion diaries about health care on this site, and we fought hard together to get Obama elected to bring us change in this area. But, he can not do this alone, and he will be fighting powerful lobbying interests in the halls of Congress. We need to go beyond talking on DKOS to make our voices and demands heard in those halls, as well.
We must take action to push the politicians to do what we elected them to do, or they will surely bend to the will of those lobbyists whispering in their ears and contributing to their campaign funds . Below you will find push actions with links and contacts that I have put together with the help of many on this site.
I hope that you will take time TODAY (about 1 hour) to make the critical emails and calls needed. Any efforts you can make will make a difference, and your voice is desperately needed, now. THIS is the moment. THIS is our time. Please, take action. We must flood our congress critters with our calls for Public Option w/o triggers calls until the halls of Congress echo with our calls for the change we can believe in.
1. MoveOn.org Petition to stand with Obama for a Public Option (Click and sign, with an option to send an email to friends and family.)
MoveOn
2. Email Obama h/t teacherken to demand that he keeps his promise for healthcare and to lead us in making Congress stand up to the special interests.
Some nicely worded, key points from teacherken's lovely diary on Sunday:
Dear President Obama:
Please help Congress stand up to Pharma and Insurance lobbyists in Congress.
During your campaign you repeatedly talked about how our government was effectively controlled by special interests who used their lobbying money to defeat ideas that would help the common good.
Nothing is more important than reforming health care. Yet individual Senators and Congressmen will not be able to withstand millions of dollars of lobbying money and reelection support given them by pharma and insurance companies if they kill the public option in health care.
You repeatedly promised Americans access to the same publicly funded health plan available to members of Congress. Do not go back on this pledge.
You have to stand up and lead us in demanding that a public option is included so that those who are denied coverage, cannot afford coverage, or are stuck in areas of the country with inadequate coverage, have the option of joining a public plan.
Some less eloquent, but short and to the point points for emails & calls from me. Pick, choose, delete or edit!
* Contacting you to support a Public Healthcare Option NOW.
* No triggers. The American people deserve the same health care we give YOU, NOW.
* The French or Canadian model are good examples.
* No more profiteering off of the lives and health of our families.
* No more obscene profits to for-profit CEO's for huge salaries, jets, bonuses, country clubs, leased luxury cars while Middle class and working class families can't afford to go to a doctor.
* Health care is a make or break voting issue for me
* I'd rather have a government bureaucrat administering my health care plan than a for-profit insurance company rationing my care for their profits
Email AND call to leave a comment for Obama, today.
White House email
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
3. Email your Congressperson, now. CALL them, tomorrow! Use the following link to find their site for their email and PRINT out their phone number. Duct tape it to your computer, as needed, as a memory aid. Do it even if your congressperson is an idiot like mine (McConnell)
Representatives Contacts
From Overlord MB, it's also a good idea to call district offices, especially if you're not getting through in DC.
h/t to lava for slink's nifty script for calls:
Tell Senator [Name] that you DO NOT want the 7-year trigger for the public option and take it off the table, and that you want him to support an affordable strong, robust Medicare-like public option. We NEED a strong, robust Medicare-like public option NOW OPEN TO ALL AMERICANS AND AFFORDABLE, not more of the SAME broken system that's given us unaffordable premiums, little private insurance coverage, and rising co-pays. Also, DON'T TAX OUR EMPLOYER HEALTH BENEFITS. Instead, follow the proposal by President Obama to tax the wealthy above $250,000, eliminate the overpayments in Medicare Advantage, and put tax capital gains to help fund health care reform.
4. Email both YOUR Senators, now. CALL them, tomorrow!
Senate Contact Link
5. Contact Harry Reid and tell him not to cave in like a spineless jellyfish like he did about about Gitmo. He owes Obama a big one, and he better deliever!
Give Harry Hell!
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) -Restricted to calls originating from area codes 775 and 702
6. Contact Nancy Pelosi and ask her to have Obama's back ... the grassroots are organizing, especially in time for the mid-year elections!
Madame Speaker's email
(202) 225-0100
Thank you's and supportive calls, leave messages.:
- Ted Kennedy: (202) 224-4543
- Max Baucus: Tell him we expect him to go to the mat, not waffle.
(202) 224-2651(Office)
(202) 224-9412 (Fax)
(800) 332-6106 (from MT)
(202) 224-1998 (TDD)
9. CALL these Senators on the Senate Finance Committee today to demand a strong, robust affordable Medicare-like public option.
Senator Max Baucus at (202) 224-2651
Senator Charles Schumer at 202-224-6542
Senator Edward Kennedy at (202) 224-4543
Senator John Rockefeller at (202) 224-6472
Senator Ron Wyden at (202) 224-5244
Senator Kent Conrad at (202) 224-2043
Senator Jeff Bingaman at (202) 224-5521
Senator John Kerry at (202) 224-2742
Senator Blanche Lincoln at 202-224-4843
Senator Debbie Stabenow at (202) 224-4822
Senator Maria Cantwell at 202-224-3441
Senator Bill Nelson at 202-224-5274
Senator Robert Menendez at 202-224-4744
Senator Thomas Carper at (202) 224-2441
10. LONGER TERM, but you can sign up and join Organizing for America grassroots efforts, today.
Organizing for America
Also, I need suggestions on groups to donate to who are ready to put out ads to support our cause! If you have suggestions, please share them in the comments.
Finally, I will be GLAD to change and revise this diary with better ideas OR put them in the comments. I just wanted to try to DO something to help others go beyond discussing this issue to ACTION, today.