The calls are working. It's the reason why the Senate HELP Committee decided to go with the public option---because we fought HARD for its inclusion, rather than the inclusion of the Conrad co-op proposal.
We can't let up on these phone calls over the July 4th weekend. I strongly believe that as long as we continue to keep on fighting for the public option by calling, visiting our Members of congress, and having our friends send e-mails and calls, we will prevail in the end.
We the people will have beaten the lobbyists, and we'll have shouted LOUD enough to be heard over the flipping of cash into these campaign coffers. They've been pretending to be deaf to our calls for justice, for fairness, and accountability, but they can't pretend anymore.
It's because they know we're not taking any more of their excuses. We're not as stupid as they think we are.
They now know there's a huge upswell of grassroots anger over the disastrous state of the health care system, and the relentless greed of the private insurance companies. Real health care reform--that's our bailout for the middle class, and by god, we deserve to have such a bailout! They know their re-election chances rests upon our activism, and we've been showing why we can't be taken for granted as their loyal grassroots volunteers. We won't support them if they won't support us. It's that simple.
Politicians in D.C. are taking note of what we're doing, and they're listening. What we're doing is working, and it's why we can't let up on making these phone calls. I have a video from one of our Members of Congress, Rep. Maxine Waters, who's taken note of what we're doing here on Dailykos and on Firedoglake. She wants us to keep on making these calls.
Here's a transcript of what she said, thanks toJane Hamsherover at Firedoglake.
Let me just say to all of our friends out there, that a sustained effort, directed at public officials, demanding no less than a public option, can be very successful. So go to work.
The least we can get is a public option. And I understand that's under review at this time. But that's the LEAST we can take.
So, let's CRACK THE WHIP for the public option! Remember, we need 40 progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives to hold the line for a strong, robust public option. That's our progressive voting bloc to counteract the Blue Dog Democrats.
These are the members of the HELP Committee to CALL today and thank them for pledging to vote the Senate HELP bill out of committee with a public option:
Tom Harkin (IA): (202) 224-3254
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD): (202) 224-4654
Jeff Bingaman (NM): (202) 224-5521
Patty Murray (WA: (202) 224-2621
Jack Reed (RI): (202) 224-4642
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT): (202) 224-5141
Sherrod Brown (OH): (202) 224-2315
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA): (202) 224-6324
Kay Hagan (NC): (202) 224-6342
Jeff Merkley (OR): (202) 224-3753
PLEASE CALL the Democratic Senators on the Senate Finance Committee to urge them to support a strong, robust Medicare-like public option instead of the Conrad co-op plan in their health care bill!
Please CALL Senator Max Baucus at (202) 224-2651
Please CALL Senator Olympia Snowe at (202) 224-5344
Please CALL Senator Charles Schumer at 202-224-6542
Please CALL Senator Edward Kennedy at (202) 224-4543
Please CALL Senator John Rockefeller at (202) 224-6472
Please CALL Senator Ron Wyden at (202) 224-5244
Please CALL Senator Kent Conrad at (202) 224-2043
Please CALL Senator Jeff Bingaman at (202) 224-5521
Please CALL Senator John Kerry at (202) 224-2742
Please CALL Senator Blanche Lincoln at 202-224-4843
Please CALL Senator Debbie Stabenow at (202) 224-4822
Please CALL Senator Maria Cantwell at 202-224-3441
Please CALL Senator Bill Nelson at 202-224-5274
Please CALL Senator Robert Menendez at 202-224-4744
Please CALL Senator Thomas Carper at (202) 224-2441
And a happy July 4th to you all! Don't forget to recommend this diary so others can see the phone numbers and call today!