That's right. I was at a meeting with Dr. Dean today, and he said that calling Senators from out of state is pretty worthless. Unless you live in Montana, that is.
Of course, this makes sense. The people who have real sway over electeds are constituents.
So, are we powerless to do influence the Senators who are trying to make a mess of healthcare reform?
Absolutely not.
As Dean said today, we can call or email people we know who live in states that key Senators represent. Tell them to call and email their Senators and demand that they support a strong public option. Think of everyone you know in these states and reach out. Then reach out to everyone on your email list and tell them to do the same.
I heard today from someone who has been calling people in Oregon and found that some Oregon residents were shocked to hear that Wyden wasn't already supporting the public option. Our calls can make a real difference.
Here's a list of Senators who are MOST in need of a talking to by their constituents:
Baucus (MT)
Bennet (CO)
Conrad (ND)
Bayh (IN)
Begich (AK)
Byrd (WV)
Cantwell (WA)
Dorgan (ND)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Ben Nelson (NE)
Feinstein (CA)
Landrau (LA
Tester (MT)
Hagan (NC)
Lieberman (CT)
Udall (CO)
Carper (DE)
Lincoln (AR)
Wyden (OR)
Specter (PA)
Snowe (ME)
Collins (ME)
Reid (NV)
And, even if you are in the bluest or reddest of states, call your Senators and Representatives. They need to hear from you, even if they are already doing the right thing. Call to say "Thanks; I support you."
So what else did Howard Dean have to say?
Here are some of the highlights:
*We did a lot of work over the past four years to bring a Democratic majority to Washington. Now we'll see what the Democratic Party is made of. If they don't deliver on a good healthcare bill, they don't deserve to be in office.
*We've been trying to get healthcare reform for 100 years, and President Obama's plan is the best Dean has seen.
*Single-payer should be at the table. But it's not a bad idea to include private insurance in the formula. Medicare isn't perfect. Two parallel systems will force private companies to do better.
*We just did an extraordinary thing in electing Barack Obama -- we've got to have his back. When it comes down to what the President wants versus what Congress wants, we need to be with the President.
I'm anticipating that there will soon be LOTS of ways we can get involved in the coming weeks and months, including phonebanks and door-knocking. I hope that we can get a lot of the energy here on DailyKos to be put into reaching out to Americans and talking to them one-on-one.
Dean with my friend Merle, who was representing DFNYC at today's event.