My blog post on whether the progressives in Congress will stand up for us on the public option was just recently published at The Huffington Post. I'll be over there commenting, but it's the one reason why Jane Hamsher and other progressives at FireDogLake have been pushing for the Public Option Whip Tool.
Jane Hamsher and others at FireDogLake have also set up an ActBlue Page for those who've stood up in strong support for the public option, and have taken the pledge to vote against any bill that doesn't have a strong, robust public option.
See this video of Emanuel Cleaver?
That video is precisely why he's the top recipient on the ActBlue Page. When we have representatives who stand firmly in support of progressive values, such as fighting for Americans to have access to the public option, then they'll get our support financially. That's how it should work--good behavior gets rewarded while bad behavior gets punished.
We also could use your support in the coming next weeks for the mark-ups of the public option on the House side to prevent lobbyists from weakening the public option. Nyceve also explains what happens in the mark-up if lobbyists are allowed to get seats in the committee room.
The markup which we believe will begin next week, though there are some rumblings that it may get delayed.
It was explained to me, in very general terms, what really happens during this process, and it's rather ugly. Basically the bill is reviewed in its entirety. Amendments are added, language is changed. Changing one word, say the word, "shall" to "will", for example, can have huge consequences.
Lobbyists attempt to take every seat in the room. As the bill is debated, they blackberry Congressional staffers with their objections (the objections of the industry they represent), which the staffers then relay to the Congresspeople (doing the people's business). So this is where the pedal meets the metal. This is the place where the special interests get in their last licks.
How do lobbyists get all the seats in the room? They pay people (naturally), to wait on line starting very early in the morning, to assure them of a seat.
We would like to organize people who live in or near Washington to come to the markups and stand in line ahead of the lobbyists and the people they pay to stand there for them. Jane Hamsher will have more details on this, when the date the markup will begin is finalized.
If you're willing to travel to DC in order to wait on line and get a seat in the committee room, please feel free to comment below. This is the time when we need you guys the most--and if we can pull this off, then it'll be a tremendous David versus the Goliath moment in grassroots politics.