A public option is going to the floor of the Senate. Why? President Obama knows why.
We are closer than we've ever been to passing health insurance reform -- closer than we've ever been. But it's not going to get easier from here on out; it's going to get harder. Now is the time when all the special interests start saying, "oh, this is really going to happen," and "we might lose some of our profits." And they start paying big lobbyists and they start, you know, twisting arms.
And that's why all of you are so important. See, you can't just count on change happening in Washington. You've got to make it happen. You've got push. (Applause.) I promise you, members of Congress listen to you a lot more than they listen to me. (Laughter.) And so the more that you guys are organizing and mobilizing and understanding that our job is not done, it's not -- it's barely begun, the better off we're going to be.
President Obama uttered those words at Monday's DSCC/DCCC fundraiser in Florida. The event raised funds, and it also raised morale. Obama produced what is sure to be a stump speech for many in the 2010 cycle and for himself in his re-election bid, recounting accomplishments ranging from the stimulus package to extending health care for children. But Obama took the opportunity to remind the audience that health care isn't finished yet. Much arm-twisting remains to be done, and who is going to do it?
You and me.
Well, you, me, and lots of lobbyists as well. The folks who have always had a seat at the table. That's why we need to stay engaged.
It's hard to get reservations at the table. Sometimes the riff-raff have to crash in. We may not have a whole lot of money, but we have lots of engaged constituents. We have proven that already; Congress was reminded of our numbers and our interests last week when we made over 300,000 calls to their offices on health care. Now isn't the time to stop -- Obama knows that, and that's why he said "the more that you guys are organizing and mobilizing and understanding that our job is not done, it's not -- it's barely begun, the better off we're going to be."
The work's far from drudgery; OFA has a contest to select the best activist-made video on health reform up now. The calls made are representative democracy at work. Reminding Congress, whether it's Joe Lieberman, Jon Kyl, Blanche Lincoln, or whoever represents you, that we are not going away and we organize, is the kind of thing Barack Obama had in mind when he said in 1995:
"What if a politician were to see his job as that of an organizer," he wondered, "as part teacher and part advocate, one who does not sell voters short but who educates them about the real choices before them? As an elected public official, for instance, I could bring church and community leaders together easier than I could as a community organizer or lawyer. We would come together to form concrete economic development strategies, take advantage of existing laws and structures, and create bridges and bonds within all sectors of the community. We must form grass-root structures that would hold me and other elected officials more accountable for their actions.
Obama this week:
I promise you, members of Congress listen to you a lot more than they listen to me. And so the more that you guys are organizing and mobilizing and understanding that our job is not done, it's not -- it's barely begun, the better off we're going to be.
Same guy, same idea. He's got a different job than he did back then, but he's remarkably consistent. That consistency has led to a lot of success, so why not stay with it? Calling is a good way to build on this success.