I just got off the phone with my state rep's office. I live in NC's 11th Congressional District, and blue dog Heath Shuler is my congressman. I explained to the staffer that I was a constituent, had voted for Heath in the last election, and was generally satisfied with his voting record so far. But I had heard that the congressman was going to oppose the health care bill, and wanted to know if this was true.
The staffer informed me that Rep. Shuler had NOT said he would vote no on the bill - that all he had done was refuse to comment on the bill before he'd had a chance to read it. This seems very different than what is mentioned in this CNN article from a few days ago:
http://www.cnn.com/...
This could be smoke and mirrors from Rep. Shuler. It could be a lie. Or it could be that there are votes out there in the "No" category currently who may not yet have made up their minds or are open to persuasion. So while it's important for everyone to call the undecideds, it's important as well to call your local representative, no matter what column they're currently in.
Although I consider myself politically active, I've never called a congressional office before for any reason. But I'm reminded of the words of Yeats in his poem "The Second Coming" - The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. One look at Shuler's facebook page is an easy illustration of this - probably 5 "vote no" posts for every one "vote yes". And the "no" posts are what you'd expect - obamacare, big government takeover, stand up to Pelosi, etc.
I know that for many I am preaching to the choir. But I know too there are others like me, who rant and rave to family and friends, forward emails, sign petitons and so on, but who have not yet taken that next step to get more personally involved. Well, now is the time. We can't afford to lack conviction, or passion, or intensity.
So pick up the phone!