The following 2 pieces, 1 by a liberal and 1 by MSM, show the importance of contacting your representative. Did it Monday or Tuesday? Do it again today. Call, fax, Twitter, and email.
From David Dayen at FireDogLake.com, a liberal, you'll recall:
Dennis Kucinich's reversal and decision to support the health care bill changes the dynamic around the vote, but the ultimate question of whether or not the bill will pass was always going to be decided by the right flank of the caucus.
Adding in Kucinich's support, and Ann Kirkpatrick's, to the last whip count puts the number at 193 yes, 205 no, and 208-208 with leaners. That leaves Democrats needing 8 of the final 15 uncommitted votes to come through. The group includes 5 who voted no last time, and 10 who voted yes. So theoretically, if nobody flips to no, the Democrats have the votes. Here are the final 15...
Lincoln Davis, Jim Matheson, Harry Teague, Travis Childers, John Barrow, Zack Space, Chris Carney, Brad Ellsworth, Jerry Costello, Henry Cuellar, Nick Rahall, Solomon Ortiz, Earl Pomeroy, Bill Foster, Harry Mitchell.
That's quite a conservative group, all on the right side of the caucus. I don't think Kucinich's announcement really sways any of them.... And as I've said repeatedly, it's the Stupak bloc, or members from it who split off, who will ultimately be in the position to decide this thing....
As one House Democrat said this week, "We have no bill, we have no date, and we have no (CBO) score." Until that gets resolved, there are still a lot of variables here. Kucinich's announcement gives Democrats momentum, without question. But it's not yet a done deal....
It should be noted Kucinich is the 1st no to switch to a yes. All other switches have been from yes to no.
Also, my insider friend Dougy sent a "must read" this morning, a Politico piece conveying the extreme pressure being placed on House Democrats to vote for Obamacare, up to an including a tweet by DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile encouraging primary contenders for no votes. Other takeaways...
Rep. Chet Edwards, a TX Democrat who remains a firm "no"... noted of the Obama organization, "It's clear to me they could care less about my political future."
With the fate of Obama's top legislative goal in the balance, the president and his Cabinet are doing everything in their power to help Speaker Nancy Pelosi lock down the 216 votes she needs to get health care out of the House - and very likely onto his desk. But it will take plenty of work by both to get there.
"When people come up to me, there is a decided anti-health-reform view," [Jason] Altmire [D-PA] said, referring to the conversations he has with people at fairs, restaurants and church festivals in his Pittsburgh-area district. "The calls to my office have been pretty negative, and it's gaining momentum every day. I'm giving everybody a chance to be heard, but if my district's not on board with this, I'm not going to be able to vote for this."
That doesn't bode well for [the] White House - and speaker....
"I never stop whipping," a beaming Pelosi told reporters Tuesday. "There's no beginning, there's no middle, and there's no end.... We have a massive whip operation, and we'll be ready."
She later added, "I think we'll be in pretty good shape."
But her No. 2, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, said Democrats were still shy of getting the votes needed to pass reform. And another day passed without a Congressional Budget Office score or language on a reconciliation bill - raising the prospect that the vote might slip past the weekend and into next week.
That means folks like Altmire can expect to hear plenty from the speaker, the president and outside groups in the coming days. And for every person prodding lawmakers to vote yes, it's easy to find someone else asking them to vote no.
Comments:
This worm! This guy has never done squat for us here in Ohio, and for once I thought he'd done the right thing. I just heard this morning that he'd changed his mind. I also know a lot of people who know him in the political arena. He's a dirt bag!
Posted by: heather at March 17, 2010 10:42 AMI called again. My rep already intends to vote no, but it helps to keep their resolve when they know their constituents are behind them!
Posted by: Sydney M. at March 17, 2010 10:43 AM
There is without a doubt a special place in hell for individuals who put their earthly goals ahead of what they know to be right. DK is certainly on his way.
The Senator is a traitor to the people. Wonder what was his bribe or threat.
King Obama is scary
Posted by: Dale at March 17, 2010 2:55 PMThe Senator is a traitor to the people. Wonder what was his bribe or threat.
I feel like we are living in a totalitarian government. King Obama is relentless.
We can overcome, however, and we will.
Posted by: Dale at March 17, 2010 2:57 PM
Kucinich is a cheap whore. A plane ride is all it took.
"And they'll know, we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love."
I liked seeing the little guy called a "whore" - that's good stuff.
Posted by: Ex-GOP Voter at March 17, 2010 8:18 PMEGV,
"And they'll know we are Christians by our love..
There's also the saying "if the shoe fits....
BTW, I'm an agnostic.
Posted by: Mary at March 17, 2010 8:23 PMYou are an agnostic? Crazy - well, good for you.
Then call him a whore all you want, you have no moral standards you need to live up to!
Posted by: Ex-GOP Voter at March 17, 2010 8:25 PMEGV,
I have moral standards, thank you. Kucinich apparently has no moral standards he needs to live up to. All it takes is a plane ride to get him to lift his skirt, just like a cheap whore.
Posted by: Mary at March 17, 2010 8:35 PMWell, he is a politician. They all love their power and money.
Numbers are looking a bit better now...just need to find a couple more "whores" I guess.
Posted by: Ex-GOP Voter at March 17, 2010 8:39 PMWell I'm sure Nancy will find them. Hopefully it won't cost the taxpayers another AF One flight.
Posted by: Mary at March 17, 2010 8:46 PMIf this bill passes then people like the woman in Ohio who got leukemia would get transported to a government exchange hospital where her treatment would be ten times worse and she will get less care then she would have gotten if Obamcare never passed. Herd the poor into clinics.
Posted by: truthseeker at March 18, 2010 12:39 AMEx-GOP,
When the care sucks under Obamacare and you decide you don't want their care any longer do we have a "choice" about it? Aren't we forcing people to pay the premiums to the health insurance companies. The US is supposed to stand for liberty. None here though; it's pay the premium or go to jail. This thing, if it passes is going to have so many legal challenges to the way it is run it will be an attorneys paradise. Did anybody include attorney fees into their health care reform cost projections? I can see it costing most people more in attorney fees then they spend on insurance.
Hello heather from Ohio :)
Posted by: truthseeker at March 18, 2010 12:50 AMHerd the poor into clinics.
Posted by: truthseeker at March 18, 2010 12:39 AM
You mean like Michelle Obama's South Side Health Collaborative?
Posted by: Fed Up at March 18, 2010 12:53 AMYa, just like that Fed Up. I didn't realize she did that...it's almost surreal.
Posted by: truthseeker at March 18, 2010 2:14 AMheather,
you should have thrown Obama out of Ohio when he was there yesterday and reminded him Acorn members are banned from your state. kucinik is gonna get creamed for this next November. He can always tell his constituents that he voted No for the bill before he voted Yes to it.
truth - you are NUTS. Hospitals and clinics will stay the same - the gal with leukemia simply won't get dropped by an insurance company mid-treatment and end up getting evicted from her house.
I think you should be one of the first lawsuits - drop your insurance - if you are 400% above the poverty line, it is a fine if you don't get insurance - so if you get fined, then sue. Let me know how life is without healthcare - it could be an interesting blog. I would read it.
Posted by: Ex-GOP Voter at March 18, 2010 6:26 AMMichelle Bachman was on Bill Bennett's radio show this am and she said that she saw Nancy Pelosi with a paper in hand talking to house members. She learned it was about the Catholic nuns approval of Obamacare. She then said two members changed to yes votes because of that. Thanks, Sisters, for your commitment to life. (have they decided on the sarcasm symbol yet?)
Posted by: Dee at March 18, 2010 7:28 AMEGV, 6:26am
No, instead she might get put on a treatment waiting list like the cancer stricken Canadian father of my aunt's physical therapist. Thanks to his daughter's medical connections he was brought to the US for treatment. Oh, and let's not forget the British women who sued for access to a breast cancer treatment drug the British gov't determined was too expensive. The American cancer patient I told this account to was appalled since she credits the drug with saving her life.
Gov't run health care, or public option, means limited funds and bureaucrats who make insurance agents look like pushovers. Whether you want to call it gov't run, public option or what look at the situations in Canada and Great Britain to see our future.
Posted by: Mary at March 18, 2010 7:42 AMHi Dee,
Before you believe anything Pelosi spews keep in mind the woman is proof that botox causes brain damage.
I'd be willing to bet my mortgage these two reps were looking for a convenient excuse to cave in to Pelosi and change their votes. Keep in mind our "representatives" in the senate and house have time and again given the American people the finger, acting more like loyal lapdogs to Pelosi and the president who hides behind her skirts than concerning themselves with truly representing their constituents. I don't believe for a minute the two nuns would so radically influence these whores.
Posted by: Mary at March 18, 2010 7:52 AMHospitals and clinics will stay the same
That's a pretty bold claim, EGV, given the proposed reimbursement changes for hospitals and physicians. Outpatient clinics will of necessity have to adapt to care for higher acuity illnesses. And hospitals will have to reconsider admission criteria or risk financial penalty.
Also, how can you claim that the leukemia patient's care wouldn't be disrupted under Obamacare? The fact is you don't know. Neither do I.
What we do know is that the Dems in the House voted to ration care for high risk pool patients under certain financial conditions. And we know they defeated all anti-rationing amendments that were proposed. So we know that the Dems are willing to ration. We don't know if they will. We only know the party willing to ration will be appointing the bureaucrats who will draft the regulations of the various programs that will oversee the leukemia patient's care and coverage. And we know they will likewise be appointing those program administrators.
Isn't it fair to say that Obamacare puts her at risk of disruption in care unless anti-rationing amendments, which to date have failed, are adopted?
Posted by: Fed Up at March 18, 2010 8:05 AMAs a nurse for over 30 years, I'm concerned Jill Stanek (and other pro-lifers) are missing the point. While I respect their view, I also contend hundreds to thousands of people will die and have died because they do not have health insurance. Are these lives any less important than the ones you want to protect and save? Support health care which does not do anything to the current legislation intact pertaining to abortions. Do not use this bill to further your own "special interest" agenda. Life is life, isn't it?
Posted by: Peg-a-leg at March 18, 2010 8:51 AMPeg-a-leg,
I have you beat at 40 years and I'm telling you I have never seen anyone turned away or denied care because of inability to pay. In the ER we didn't even determine if someone could pay or how before treating them.
I have no clue who these "hundreds of thousands" are that you are referring to. Keep in mind there are people who take no responsibility to insure themselves or for maintaining their own health.
Check out Drudge and see how Hawaii earthquake victims were helped by the Lousiana bribe, uh purchase.
I know, there was no earthquake in Hawaii but why get technical? Who says teleprompters don't have a great sense of humor?
Posted by: Mary at March 18, 2010 9:15 AMI think you should be one of the first lawsuits - drop your insurance - if you are 400% above the poverty line, it is a fine if you don't get insurance - so if you get fined, then sue. Let me know how life is without healthcare - it could be an interesting blog. I would read it.
Posted by: Ex-GOP Voter at March 18, 2010 6:26 AM
I won't be alone. 37 states so far have proposed laws that offer to represent people like me who sue. My state included. But you avoided the point of my post. For most Americans this will have "hidden" costs that do not get included in the CBO estimates. Thousands of dollars per citizen in bureaucracy (not to mention taxes) and attorney fees.