Last night, I got back from a town hall meeting with Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) in Indiana's 2nd congressional district. Overall, it was very a good town hall meeting. We outnumbered the teabaggers and they came across as rude and impulsive as they pathetically tried to make it about abortion or illegal aliens. It amazes me how much these people have been coached that they literally say, word for word, the same thing in every town hall meeting. When they complained about cost I shouted out, "And where were you when we spent 3 trillion on the Iraq war?" Naturally, they had no response for that. It was also great to see the UAW be there along with a ton of other fellow progressives fighting the good fight. I can truly say that I was proud to be there.
Now. Rep. Donnelly is a bluedog Dem, but let me say that he is a good man who showed patience in the town hall meeting tonight despite the fact that many people were extremely rude to him. We may disagree on some issues, but as Obama said we can, "Disagree without being disagreeable." We should take pride in the fact that our Democratic party is a big tent even if it sometimes frustrates us.
Rep. Donnelly says he is, "unsure" where he stands on this health care debate and I think we need to let him know where we stand on this, but again, do it in a constructive and respectful way. If you live in Indiana and especially if you live in the 2nd Congressional district then please call his office and say that you want him to support the public option. This is crucial people. We need to get everyone on board and do the right thing here. Rep. Donnelly is a reasonable person and he is willing to listen to reasonable opinions.
We got a little complacent after the election, but the time to fight is now! This is the time for action. Its the time to fight for the very core things we believe in. Its time to fight for the public option! Make those phone calls and again please be respectful.
Washington Office: (202) 225-3915
South Bend Office: 574.288.2780