Great News! Democracy For America Is Onboard With Us!

[slinkerwink]

Hi, my name is slinkerwink, and I've been posting over on Dailykos about health care reform. I worked with FireDogLake Action until the start of the new year in the fight for the public option. Now, I'm working with nyceve, who is a well-known health care activist, at Dailykos.

We're pushing to fix the Senate bill and pass it. We're aiming for close to a million phone calls on February 24th and February 25th. We'll be telling Congress to fix the bill and then pass it. Right now, the only way that the Senate bill can pass is to fix it first. There are no votes in the House otherwise for the Senate bill.

Democracy for America will be joining us in this effort, and we're reaching out to other advocacy groups on this as well.

Democracy For America Onboard With Us To Make 1,000,000 Calls To Congress!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=293900809037">HERE'S A LINK TO THE 2/24 AND 2/25 1,000,000 CALLS FOR HEALTHCARE FACEBOOK PAGE, PLEASE SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

We will be calling Speaker Pelosi: Tell Speaker Pelosi to 1) fix the Senate bill in the House, and 2) then pass the Senate bill after the Senate passes the reconciliation fix from the House.

The ask for Harry Reid will be: Allow reconciliation to proceed immediately.


Are you ready?

Can we count on you?

Please send this out on Twitter.

Please post it on your Facebook page.

Will you stand up and make your voice heard?

Will you make just a few more calls?

Will you ask your friend, family and neighbors to help?

Can you turn this into one of the largest citizen mobilizations in the history of our country?

[WatchWhatISay]

1. What do you mean by "fix the bill"

Specifically, will a strong public option be included or not? And what else would that mean?

[slinkerwink]

3. We'd be pushing for that with Democracy For America

we'd also push for the Medicare buy-in, excising the excise tax, increasing subsidies, and getting rid of the Nebraska cornhusker kickback deal.

[daleanime]

6. If you can get those....

I spent two straight days on the phone:bounce:

[slinkerwink]

13. all we can do is to go big, bold, and take risks like the on-kick play

in last night's Saints game.

[slinkerwink]

4. we're now up to over 200 people in the group!

[slinkerwink]

2. Got questions? I'm here to answer.

[timeforpeace]

14. Define fix the bill and be specific. You seem to be avoiding a direct answer to this.

[slinkerwink]

16. We are pushing for

*public option
*Medicare buy-in
*getting rid of the excise tax
*increasing subsidies
*getting rid of the Nebraska cornhusker kickback deal
*national exchange

[timeforpeace]

17. Your "pushing for" does not equate to fixing the bill. You are not in Congress. You cannot fix the

bill. This is meaningless and intended to obfuscate the real issue, that of the President's unwillingness to fix the bill himself through negotiations with the Senate Dems.

[kestrel91316]

5. The Senate will NEVER be able to pass any sort of reconciliation bill with the House.

Repukes will not vote for cloture on it. We lack 60 votes.

[slinkerwink]

15. You don't need 60 for reconciliation. You only need 50 plus Biden.

[kestrel91316]

30. But don't you need 60 to end debate on it?

[slinkerwink]

33. Not so.

[Vincardog]

18. Reconciliation only takes 51 votes.

[Cleita]

7. I have to know first what fixes are acceptable to your group and if they

are acceptable to me and my peeps before I get on board. Right now any exchange type health plan with mandates needs to have a government run health insurance plan in the mix that everyone can buy into if they decide that is what they want. I would say make them get the CBO to rate the health plan suggested by HR 676 as the buy-in government plan, otherwise anything else isn't reform by any huge stretch of the definition. Since such a plan would be weighted with sick people as contrary to the private plans that cherry pick healthy people, I think the insurance rates would turn out to be competitive on an equal playing field yet everyone has a chance of being covered regardless of their health condition. However, we will never know unless CBO rates it.

[slinkerwink]

9. We're working with DFA on this. They've been pushing for the public

option as a part of the reconciliation package. We're supportive of that, and of the Medicare buy-in as well.

[frazzled]

8. And if you don't get 100% of what you want ?

You'll say KILL THE BILL? Just like the Republicans?

[slinkerwink]

11. it's not about that. The reality is that the House just doesn't

have the votes for the Senate bill. Pelosi is about 50 votes or more short. The House won't pass the Senate bill unless it's fixed first. That's why we're pushing for a reconciliation fix. This is the reality.

[mzmolly]

10. Hey Slinkerwink!

I'll gladly make calls. :hi:

[slinkerwink]

12. hey, oldtimer! Thanks for making calls :-)

[mzmolly]

19. Oldtimer

in more ways than one. ;) Nice to "see" you here. :D

[slinkerwink]

20. I'll be posting here more often

[mzmolly]

21. Great!

:toast:

[slinkerwink]

28. we need more progressive voices on this board

;-)

[BrklynLiberal]

22. Kick and rec...Bookmarked for later perusal and forwarding.

[slinkerwink]

24. thank you, BrklynLiberal!

[kjackson227]

23. I support your effort. I've joined and will be calling. Thanks.

[slinkerwink]

25. Awesome, thanks :-)

[ChiciB1]

26. GREAT TO SEE THIS MOVEMENT!! Heard About It A Little AND Am

so glad that you've brought this to the attention here at DU! So many of us have been scratching our heads for so long, plus feeling so HELPLESS!

Thanks Again!
:toast: :hug:

[slinkerwink]

27. glad to hear you're onboard with us :-)

[ibegurpard]

29. It's going to need a lot of fixing

I want to see a restoration of antitrust provisions for the insurance industry. I want to see strict regulation of the industry. A public option WAS the compromise that single payer advocates wanted. You don't throw out our compromise and expect to get our support.

[slinkerwink]

31. The house is supposed to vote on the anti-trust repeal tomorrow.

we'll see how the weather goes in D.C.

[kjackson227]

32. K & R

[slinkerwink]

34. Thanks for the K & R--We're up to over 1,000 people in the FB group

[slinkerwink]

35. we now have 1,555 members in the group! awesome :-)

[slinkerwink]

36. now 1,900!