Excuse for borrowing a phrase.
Today we learned about one Senator's plan for health reform. That Senator is Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He reached that product through months of bipartisan negotiations, he delayed the process for three whole months and granted the Republican negotiators many significant concessions. And the result? Outright opposition from two and a lukewarm reaction from a third. Baucus rightly engaged Republicans in the process in good faith, they did not live up to the bargain and have not negotiated in good faith.
Not everything is the Baucus bill is terrible. But it needs serious improvement. The Senate Finance Committee should join all three House committees, Ted Kennedy's HELP committee, President Obama and the majority of America and pass real health reform that guarantees affordable healthcare for all.
The Finance Committee should stand with Laura not the insurance companies. For that to happen we need to leave it all on the road for health reform.
The Baucus Bill:
First a little more about the Baucus bill though.
a. In it's current form it is not a bill that will achieve what we need so badly in America: real health reform.
b. It is not going to stay in it's current form. It's opposed by Senators like Jay Rockerfeller and most of the progressive movement, Rockerfeller has aid 4-6 Senators on the Finance Committee share his concerns. In addition it has so far gotten no Republican votes in the Senate and at best it looks like it could get one. Basic logic makes it easy to see that the Finance Committee, the Senate and the House will all not pass the Baucus bill without some big changes.
c. The size of those changes and how good the bill that we get will be determined by us. The level of activism in the progressive movement over the next few months is going to decide if we get a good bill or a bad bill. It's up to us.
You can make a difference:
I can only speak for myself but I sure am not going to sit on the sidelines. This is too important a issue to stay on the sidelines. This is a fight about the character of our society. This issue is about if we as a country think that is acceptable for stuff like this to happen:
I don't think that should happen in our country. We are better then that. So what can YOU do to help make sure the insurance companies don't win? A lot. Here are a few ways you can help broken down by the target.
White House:
-Call
-Email the WH and info@barackobama.com
-Write
Congress:
-Call
-Email
-Fax
-Write
-Do this for all to your members of Congress no matter where they stand on the
issue. This is the number one priority
in terms of actions we want to push. We want Congress (the people who
will ultimately decide the fate of reform) to get as much pressure for
the public interest as possible.
-Tell the DCCC/DSCC that your holding out for real health reform.
General:
-Letters to the editor of your local newspapers. Very helpful and
important. Personal stories are important to all these actions,
getting them published and read widely is very important and LTE's are
obsessively tracked by EVERY legislative office.
-Attending events of different sorts, rallies, trainings and other
things.
-Donations to: OFA, HCAN, DFA, PCCC, FDL and other groups working
on health reform.
-Passing resolutions in favor of health reform at the local level of the Democratic Party
-Sign petitions for health reform such as President Obama's and the OpenLeft/CREDO Action one.
Leave it all on the road for health reform:
A lot will happen on health reform in the next few months. We will see all kinds of ups and downs, lots of proclaiming health reform / the public option dead or alive and lots of media freakouts. Caring about those media cycles won't help us get health reform. But we need health reform, beacuse right now powerful insurance companies do stuff like this
Nataline's story shouldn't happen in America. We are better then that.
We need to work hard for a good bill that ends that kind of stuff in America. We can do that, we are closer than ever before. We have the tools to make a difference. But we need to take action. Do all of those things, get everyone you know to do the same. Spread the word, use your convincing powers. The stakes will never be higher.
It's up to you. What kind of bill do you want to see? What kind of society do you want to see?
Are you ready to win this for Teddy? Do you have any other suggestions on how to get involved?
How are YOU going to help get real health reform passed in 2009?