***UPDATES AFTER THE JUMP***
Here's Representative Jared Polis in the Huffington Post article today titled: House Progressives Push Reid To Put Public Option Back On Table
"The public option," said Polis, "is not dead."
Why? Because today, Rep. Polis and Rep. Chellie Pingree have become true Healthcare Heroes.
They're standing up to fight for us by signing a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid calling on the Senate to pass a public option through reconciliation. They're gathering signatures from as many House Democrats as they can before they deliver the letter to Senator Reid on Thursday.
That's where we can help. For the action we can take to back them up, the full text of the letter their circulating, our newest polling showing their reelections depend on being bold, and a kick ass video of Adam Green talking about our strategy last night on the Ed Show -- you need to come with me after the jump.
First things first. Drop whatever else you are doing and call your Democratic Rep and ask them to sign on to the Polis/Pingreee letter right now. Here's the number:
Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Don't have a Dem Rep. in your area? Call Speaker Pelosi instead. Then please report your call.
I'll update this post as we get confirmations of who's signing on. Feel free to post your call reports in the comments too!
***UPDATE 5: Here's the current list of signers as of Thursday morning. IF one of these Reps is yours, call them and thank them right now! If your Rep isn't listed, call them and ask them to sign on right now! In other words, either way... get on the phone and do some yapping!! Here's the current list:
Jared Polis
Chellie Pingree
Keith Ellison
Carolyn Maloney
Sam Farr
Earl Blumenauer
Paul Tonko
Jan Schakowsky
Donna Christensen
Yvette Clarke
John Hall
Michael Doyle
David Wu
Anthony Weiner
Alcee Hastings
Bob Filner
Peter DeFazio
Peter Welch
Tammy Baldwin
Chakah Fattah
John Conyers
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Raúl Grijalva
Jerrold Nadler
Gwen Moore
Lynn Woolsey
Robert Brady
Alan Grayson
Carol Shea Porter
John Garamendi
James Langevin
John Olver
Michael Capuano
This isn't just a strategy that makes good policy sense, it's the key issue these Freshman Democrats need to pass to get reelected. Here's the headline details of the voters Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee had Research 2000 poll over the weekend.
FRESHMAN DEMOCRATS FACE TROUBLE IN 2010 IF CONGRESS DOESN'T PASS A PUBLIC OPTION
Polls in 10 frontline freshman districts show:
* 68% of voters want a public health insurance option
* By 5 to 1, voters want their Representative to fight to add the public option over simply passing the Senate bill
* By 3 to 1, persuadable voters are less likely to vote for local Democrat if Congress doesn't pass a public option as part of reform
* 55% say Democrats need to do more to fight big corporations
* 56% say Democrats haven't done enough to fulfill Obama's 2008 campaign promises
* 52% of Democrats less likely to vote in 2010 if Congress doesn't pass public option -- Republicans more likely
These numbers are not a surprise to Americans out-side of Washington, but you can be sure they are turning a lot of heads today inside Washington.
The poll shows that in the 10 Freshman Democrat districts -- all previously held by Republicans -- over half of the Democrats surveyed are less likely to even vote in 2010 if Democrats don't pass a public option as part of reform. So you can forget about them volunteering, contributing, blogging, you name it... for Democratic reelection campaigns, becuase it will take everything a campaign can muster just to get many Democrats out to the polls at all. That's if we fail.
If we succeed -- If we get the Senate to catch this Hail Mary pass, then Democrats will have delivered on the change America wants. It will be a whole new day. Democrats will have delivered on real reform. And America will reward them at the polls.
Guess who said it best? Last night, our good friend Adam Green did on the Ed Show. Check it out below:
Okay... hmmm... just tried posting the video and I can't get this post to post with it embedded. So here's a link instead: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/... Check it out.
And now, for the full text of the letter being circulated by Reps. Polis and Pingree
January 27, 2010
The Honorable Harry Reid
Office of the Majority Leader
United States Senate
S-221, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
As the Senate continues to work on health reform legislation, we strongly urge you to consider including a public option.
Here are the reasons for this request:
1) The public option is overwhelmingly popular.
A December New York Times poll shows that, despite the attacks of recent months, the American public supports the public option 59% to 29%. And a recent Research 2000 poll found 82% of people who supported President Obama in 2008 and Scott Brown for Senate last week also support the public option. Only 32% of this key constituency is in favor of the current Senate bill – with more saying it "doesn’t go far enough" rather than it "goes too far."
Support for health care legislation started to fall as popular provisions like the public option were stripped out and affordability standards were watered down. The American people want us to fight for them and against special interests like the insurance industry, and it is our responsibility to show them that their voices are being heard.
2) The public option will save billions for taxpayers, speaking to the fiscally-responsible sensibilities of our constituents.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the public option will save taxpayers anywhere from $25 billion to $110 billion and will save billions more when private insurers compete to bring down premium costs. The stronger the public option, the more money it saves.
By including the public option, we can simultaneously reduce tax increases and the deficit. This is a common-sense way to temper the frustration of Americans who question whether Congress is spending their money wisely and fighting for the middle class.
3) There is strong support in the Senate for a popular public option.
It is very likely that the public option could have passed the Senate, if brought up under majority-vote "budget reconciliation" rules. While there were valid reasons stated for not using reconciliation before, especially given that some important provisions of health care reform wouldn’t qualify under the reconciliation rules, those reasons no longer exist. The public option would clearly qualify as budget-related under reconciliation, and with the majority support it has garnered in the Senate, it should be included in any healthcare reform legislation that moves under reconciliation.
As Democrats forge "the path forward" on health care, we believe that passing the public option through reconciliation should be part of that path. We urge you to favorably consider our request to include a public option in the reconciliation process.
Sincerely,
Jared Polis
Member of Congress
Chellie Pingree
Member of Congress
How many more signers can we get on board. Make your calls right now.
Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
And if you don't have a Dem Rep. in your area or have time to make another call... Call Speaker Pelosi too. Then please report your call.
_______
***UPDATE: First confirmation of new signers - Rep. Alan Grayson joins the fight at a press conference held by DFA, PCCC, and CREDO Action today on the hill. Read about here. UPDATE***
*** UPDATE 2: Six more Healthcare Heroes stand up. Keith Ellison, Carolyn Maloney, Sam Farr, Earl Blumenauer, Paul Tonko, Jan Schakowsky!! It's working!! Keep the calls coming. UPDATE 2 ***
*** UPDATE 3: The signers are coming in like crazy. I can officially announce 10 more signers: Donna Christensen, Yvette Clarke, John Hall, Michael Doyle, David Wu, Anthony Weiner, Alcee Hastings, Bob Filner, Gwen Moore, and John Garamendi. We're up to 19 signers! UPDATE 3 ***
*** UPDATE 4: We're up to over 30 signers -- adding at least another 11. I'll update with the complete list as of close of business today (once all the new names are confirmed) sometime before the State of the Union address. UPDATE 4 ***