This will be a quick read and request. I was not aware that during this healthcare debate (or any issue really) that when you contact your representatives or senators they tally the comments on a daily basis. I'm still a newbie at this political activism stuff. But, I was thinking of a great way to add some bite to our requests.
I was listening to Thom Hartman the other day and he gave me what I think is a brilliant idea. Well...first (I always learn so much from this man is it possible to be sooooooo smart) anyway he just gave a little script of what to say when we call our elected officials and he did it over the air. I'll get to the script in a second but again since I'm new to the activist political game I'm a little naive on some things. You guys may already know but the senators and representatives take a poll every evening regarding the calls that are coming through to their offices. This kinda gives them an indication not only of the direction their constituents are moving but also the intensity of the positions.
So, I thought we could do a National Healthcare Call Day and live blog the responses on DKOS. I just called my senators and representatives and President Obama's office. The responses were really interesting. I called using the script (or variation of the script) from Thom Hartman. It goes something like:
"Hi my name is YOUR NAME calling from YOUR STATE and I'd like to register my opinion on the healthcare debate. My strong preferance is a sinlge payer system but I'll settle for no less than a robust public option. I do not like the idea of a Co-Op."
They asked me for my zip code and said they'd let my representatives know. However, when I called the President his staffer asked me what I thought the major difference were between the Public Option and a Co-Op. I thought that was interesting that they would ask me that question. Anyway, I'm hopeful we can get a grass-roots movement going and build some momentum. For those of you who may not know HCAN (Healthcare for American's Now) is doing a march on Washingon on June 25. There is power in numbers and for some reason it seems like republicans always beat us at this game (except for the Obama campaign). For those of us who are ready to take it to the streets this could be our "March on the Phone Lines". The lines are typically open in Washington from 9am - 6pm. I hope to see you all live-blogging on Monday.