I wrote a diary yesterday about my Congressman, Bill Pascrell, showing up in coverage of alleged progressives in the House walking back their hard line stance on the public option. Pascrell and a few of his colleagues signalled yesterday that they could abide by a trigger sort of accommodation in reform - rather than a robust public plan that would be available on day one to anyone who wants it.
So I called his DC and Paterson (NJ) offices yesterday to leave my comments about how this was ridiculous, etc and so on. Today I called his Bloomfield (NJ) office and spoke at length with the woman who answered the phone.
I left my comments and gave her my contact information. Then she engaged me by stating, and I am paraphrasing from memory,
Well, I should tell you - we have gotten a lot of calls, and a lot of people have come by the office. And opinion on this is running at about 50-50.
She also related that folks who have called her to talk about their experiences with health care abroad uniformly had "horrifying" things to say about their treatment in the UK.
As hard as it is to accept, I believe it to be true. DKos and similar sites are just as echo-y as the right wing echo chamber we know as Fox News, RedState, etc. The nationally representative polls might say one thing consistently -- that 70-80% of the US public wants a public option -- but those are passive indicators.
The energy is juiced up on both sides of the debate, and the calls that our congresspeople are getting are coming from those engaged on both sides of the debate. Remember: this is country in which not even the majority of residents even bothers to vote in the presidential election.
Remember: As a country, as a whole, we kind of suck as a democracy. And this is why there really isn't a democracy. The pols don't listen to the polls on policy, it seems. They listen to their constituents. As they should. And if we can't get 80% of the country calling in their support, we won't get real public health care.
And this is why the most robust presence a public option will have in any health care reform will be as a triggered plan.
As a bizarre twist to my conversation with Pascrell's aide, she informed me,
I work for a health insurance firm and I could tell you some stories that would just curl your hair.
Thanks. And, WTF???!!!??!