OK, this diary has fallen off of the Rec list; let's start Rec'cing up AntKat's re-post instead so we can keep this listed right up through Friday!
This Friday, March 26 happens to be Nancy Pelosi's 70th Birthday!
Given how much serious ass she kicked in herding cats, twisting arms and otherwise corralling 219 Democrats into passing the most sweeping (if flawed) overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system in 45 years, I thought it would be a great idea to do a repeat of the famous 2004 Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign to celebrate Speaker Pelosi's 70th birthday.
So, I took the easy route: I simply contacted the same national florist delivery service that was used 6 years ago, got a callback from Tina at Coast to Coast Florist, and lo and behold, we're all set!!
SO, here's the deal:
Coast-to-Coast Florist is gonna give us the same special pricing that they gave for the Boxer campaign: Just $10 to send 3 roses direct to Speaker Pelosi's Washington D.C. office!
To add your order, simply call: 1 866 596 1860. You can send more than 3 roses, but it's a flat $10 per batch of 3. They'll take your name and credit card info, and you'll be all set.
They can take orders right up through Thursday evening. All roses will be delivered to her D.C. office on Friday, as a combination Thank You/Happy Birthday from those of us who admire her amazing accomplishment in pulling this thing off.
To help spread the word, link back to this diary, or to the official link on Coast to Coast's website.
Other ways to say thanks:
Join the facebook group wishing Speaker Pelosi a happy birthday and thanking her for healthcare reform. (Must log in after following link.)
Write her a thank you note.
Donate money to the Speaker.
Donate to other candidates that supported HCR. If you’re not sure who needs support this diary will help.
Update: A FAQ based on questions from yesterday's thread:
How many roses are we up to, and will you keep a tally?
--as of 8pm last night, we were up to 132 363 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,050 roses. I'm supposed to hear from them this morning with an update, and will check in from time to time through Thursday evening. For comparison's sake, for the Barbara Boxer campaign, a whopping 4,500 roses were sent! I'm not saying we should try and beat that number, just mentioning it for interests' sake :)
How about the wording of the card, the timing of the delivery to her office and so forth?
--I'm supposed to discuss these things with the florist on Thursday afternoon. They wanted to wait until then to get an idea of how many roses will actually be delivered--if it's a couple hundred, it's one thing; if it's several thousand ala Boxer, it would require more coordination (for instance, we'd almost certainly have to give one of her staffers a heads up before cramming thousands of flowers into the cubicles lol).
Are you gonna notify the press?? This could be a huge P.R. thing for the Speaker!
--On Thursday I'll also discuss the press notification situation with them. If it's only a few dozen, no one (besides her and her staff) will care, but if it's a zillion roses, the local news loves stories like that. It'd be a great P.R. thing for her as well, showing that, contrary to what the press (and GOP) would have you believe, there are plenty of people who want HCR and who support Nancy Pelosi . No doubt the florist will appreciate the free publicity as well!
Can I place my order after hours?
--Yes, Coast to Coast has made arrangements to accept orders 24 hours a day through Thursday evening, so you can call in your order any time between now and then!
Can I use PayPal?
Not for this particular campaign. Again, I'd just call them up at 1 866 596 1860.
What about an order receipt?
From Coast to Coast:
"If they want a receipt they just have to let us know and we can email it right away."
It sounds like they're a fairly small operation, but they're extremely responsive, and they're legit.
Plus, in their "hold" phone ad voiceover, they mention that "Our mission is to say "Yes we can!" to our customers." Draw your own conclusions lol...
For those who have pointed out that, as nice as roses on her birthday are, donating to her campaign would be a more practical/useful thing to do with our money, I say this: Yes, you're probably correct, and yes, I strongly urge people to also donate to her re-election fund--or to other deserving candidates--but it never hurts to also show a non-financial gesture of thanks to someone who's doing their job well.
Update: I also wanted to call attention to Steven D's diary, which goes into the back story about just how much credit Speaker Pelosi deserves for this victory. I don't agree with every decision that she's made--in fact, I've strongly disagreed with her on many issues. HOWEVER, given what an unholy mess the whole HCR process had become, and given the realities of where things were at both politically and procedurally, it's absolutely astonishing that she pulled this off, and she should be commended heartily for doing so.
Besides, it's always a nice thing to give flowers to a grandmother* on her 70th birthday! (Although I'm sure Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh will smear me for doing so lol...)
*Yes, that's right--she has 5 kids and 7 grandchildren. Look at that pic above and tell me you'd ever guess that.
Update x2: We got a shout-out from TPM! h/t to The BBQ Chicken Madness (at the bottom):
Meanwhile, progressives are pushing an online campaign to send 3 roses for $10 to the speaker's office this week in honor of Pelosi's 70th birthday on Friday. They claim they are up to nearly 1,000 roses ordered.
Update x3: OK, we're starting to get a bit of blogosphere momentum now: There are links or reposts of the diary on OFA, Patrick Henry Press News, D.U. and Crooks & Liars now.
Update x4: doc2 has suggested that we may be going overboard at this point; that, with 1,000+ flowers being sent, we should wind things down and concentrate on candidate fundraising and so forth. On the other hand, the media coverage of the campaign is starting to ramp up, and the more zillions of roses being delivered to Pelosi's office on her birthday, the bigger of a positive PR/photo op event it could be (the press loves fluff stories like this, and it makes for excellent TV).
SO, I'm curious--I've posted a poll to get your opinion. Feel free to post thoughts in the comments, of course.
Just for comparison, in 2004 we sent Barbara Boxer 4,500 flowers to thank her for challenging the Ohio Presidential election results. I'm not saying we need to break that number or anything, I'm just mentioning it for some perspective.
Update x5: I just checked with the florist, we're up to over 1,400 roses!! And that was as of 2 hours ago; they say the orders are coming in fast 'n furious at this point...
More info as it comes in...
Update x6: I just called the Speakers' office to let them know (again) to expect a lot of roses for Speaker Pelosi's birthday (I called yesterday as well, but I don't think the guy I spoke with then quite got what I meant by "a lot" so I wanted to be more specific).
Also, two things have become clear in the past 10 minutes: First, 80% of you want to push for as many roses as possible; second, I don't think I could "shut 'er down!" at this point even if I wanted to.
That brings me to the next question: Does anyone want to contact the press, or should we just see if they pick up the story on their own? I'd really prefer someone else do that part of it, if contacting them is necessary...I presume the D.C. TV stations would be the place to start?
Update x7: Just broke through 1,500 roses...
Update x8: Just read the following (h/t to Crooks & Liars for the link):
Asked if insurance companies might raise their rates on health coverage and blame the increases on the new health-care bill, Pelosi said that the insurance companies should be aware that they’re not “automatically included” in the new health exchanges the bill creates.
“Unless they do the right thing, they’re not going in,” she said. “They will be relinquishing the possibility of having taxpayer-subsidized consumers in the exchange,” she said.
Now, I realize that this could easily be a crock; who knows what the situation will be in 2014, or whether Pelosi will still be Speaker, or whether this warning will be enforced strongly if at all--she didn't mention any specific premium increase rates that they'd have to stay below, for instance--and it's not nearly as effective at keeping rates down as a P.O. would be--but it's a whole lot better than a lot of people thought...I, for one, assumed that pretty much every major insurance company would be automatically included in the exchange. Nice to see that's not guaranteed.
Update x9: OK, this isn't directly related, but over on Facebook I got into a heated debate with some right-winger about the details of the HCR bill; at one point he wanted to know if it meant that illegal immigrants were going to be covered as well. If they were covered, it meant that he'd have to subsidize them directly (which he'd be pissed about). He was hoping that if they weren't covered (they aren't), hospitals wouldn't have to keep treating them in the Emergency Room.
I responded with the following:
As for the ER, yes, hospitals will still be required to give at least basic treatment to anyone who comes through their doors, even if it's an illegal immigrant.
That's called basic human compassion, unless you really want to be like Tuddy in that early scene in GoodFellas who chastizes Henry for helping the guy who collapsed, bleeding, on the doorstep of the mob hangout he worked at.
Seriously, if you worked at a hospital and some illegal comes rushing in with a 5-year old kid with a 105º fever, begging for someone to save their life, are you really gonna tell her, "sorry, you should've gotten a green card, hit the bricks, lady"???
And then it hit me: That's EXACTLY what the entire modern Republican Party reminds me of!!
The whole party has become Tuddy Cicero!!!
Transcript of the scene for those who can't view it:
BLEEDING GUY (running up to the cab stand): They shot me. Help!
TUDDY: Henry, shut the door.
HENRY (V.O.): That was the first time I had ever seen anyone shot.
TUDDY: We can't have that in here. Jesus Christ! I can't have that in this joint.
HENRY (V.O.): I remember feeling bad about the guy, but also...feeling maybe Tuddy was right. I knew Paulie didn't want anyone dying in the building.
TUDDY: You're a real jerk. You wasted 8 fucking aprons on this guy! What's wrong with you? I gotta toughen this kid up.
Update x10: Hoo-boy...OK, at the urging of several folks here, I just spoke with Speaker Pelosi's Press Secretary's office...they're supposed to call me back soon...Yikes...
Update x11: Just broke through 1,600 roses!!
Update x12: Latest number just came in: 1,740 roses!! Still haven't heard from her press office...