OK, I'm burning my diary for the day to second this call by Chris Bowers:
House whip count update, from sources very close to the process (yeah, take anonymous sources as you will):
First, we are making progress. All of the "lean yes" votes on the whip count chart have become solid yes votes.
Second, don't bother with Boyd, Berry, Ellsworth, Hill, Gordon or Tanner.
Most importantly, put heavy pressure on the following seven members:
Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8): 202-225-2542, 520-459-3115, 520-881-3588
Dennis Cardoza (CA-18): 202-225-6131; 209-383-4455, 209-527-1914
Joe Donnelly (IN-2): 202-225-3915, 574-288-2780
Curt Schraeder (OR-05): 202-225-5711, 503-588-9100
Lincoln Davis (TN-04): 202-225-6831, 931-490-8699, 931-473-7251
Glenn Nye (VA-2): 202-225-4215 757-326-6201
Jim Costa (CA-20): 202-225-3341, 661-869-1620, 559-495-1620
Rick Boucher (VA-9): 202-225-3861, 276-628-1145
We still have time. Decision down to just a few members now. Wherever you live, put in a call now.
This is crunch time, guys. The House caucus meets at 2 PM today, so we have an hour and a half from the time of this diary posting. We are THIS CLOSE to making it happen!
Remember, we are calling to make sure they support the robust public option with Medicare +5% negotiated rates. No triggers, no co-ops, no opt-out, no opt-in. If you happen to live outside of these rep's districts, Bowers has a good suggestion for you:
These votes impact all Americans, not just their constituents. I say to tell them you live in "America." If that fails, tell them you will stop calling from out of district when they stop taking donations from out of district, talking to media from out of district, and making votes that impact people outside the district.
I don't normally ask for this, but PLEASE REC UP THIS DIARY! We need our entire community on this. If everyone here does their part, I have no doubt we'll have a robust public option coming out of the House.
Please call NOW!!
UPDATE: There's been a TPM report about a lot of softening support in the last hour or two:
A Democratic leadership source tells TPMDC that leaders read out the names of the entire caucus this morning to get Democrats on record with their positions. Members were asked if they support a "robust" public option.
"There are a lot of undecided members," the source said.
Josh Marshall also says the roll was called off today as a result. I'm not sure that's the case, but regardless, here's Bowers' comment on this development:
People get squishy (4.00 / 2)
whenever a whip like this happens, a lot of people who were once listed as "solid" supporters get squishy. That is, they know it matters a lot to the leadership, and so they smell a chance to get something for their district in the bill.
Undecided becomes a negotiating position.
This doesn't mean these votes won't be there in the end. That means they will be there, once push comes to shove. Whether the whip count happens today or not, DON'T LET UP ON THE PRESSURE! With all the leaks and misinformation swirling around over the last 24 hours, nobody knows what's going to happen, so keep calling like crazy over the next hour.