FUSsa-talk Mailing List: Speaker Pelosi: "We Must Act"‏

[MADELINE SIMON (madeline-mpls]

FROM: Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers
MESSAGE: MAP President Rebecca Janke:

At thursday's bipartisan summit, President Obama gave Republicans one last 
chance to get on board healthcare reform or choose to become even more 
irrelevant while Democrats pass reform without them. Of course, Republicans 
chose to be irrelevant.

Now, Democrats will use reconciliation to pass healthcare reform and our 
state-by-state polling shows that if the bill has a public option in it -- then 
voters want it even if it gets zero Republican votes. Here's exactly what we 
asked:

What would make you more likely to vote for Democrats in the 2010 elections: If 
they pass health care reform that includes a public health insurance option but 
gets zero Republican votes OR if they pass health care reform without a public 
option but with some Republican votes?

State after state -- swing states, blue states, conservative states -- voters 
want a public option more than Republican votes.

As of friday morning, 24 Senators have signed Senator Bennet's Public Option 
letter calling for passing a public option using reconciliation. Now that 
Republicans have lost their last chance to support reform, it's time to get 
every Senate Democrat on board.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHO HASN'T SIGNED AND CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW:

(Same link as previous message: http://boldprogressives.org/home  Click on 
FEATURE CAMPAIGNS: RIGHT NOW.)

Speaker Pelosi's final remarks at yesterday's healthcare summit were clear: We 
must act and include a public option.

"Mr. President, I harken back to that meeting a year ago. At that time, Senator 
Grassley questioned you about the public option.

And you said the public option is one way to keep the insurance companies 
honest and to increase competition. If you have a better way, put it on the 
table.

Well, I bring that up because we have come such a long way... As a 
representative of the House of Representatives, I want you to know that we were 
there that day in support of a public option which would save $120 billion, 
keep the insurance companies honest, and increase competition.

We've come a long way to agreeing to a Republican idea, the exchanges... 
because the insurance companies opposed the public option. They couldn't take 
the competition.

We have in our bill market-oriented, encouraging-to-the-private-sector 
initiatives. I think the insurance industry, left to its own devices, has 
behaved shamefully. And we must act on behalf of the American people.

We have lived on their playing field all this time. It's time for the insurance 
companies to exist on the playing field of the American people."

When Speaker Pelosi calls for a way forward on healthcare that includes passing 
a public option, she's talking about using reconciliation to do it. That's why 
119 House Democrats, 24 Senators, and over 300,000 Americans have endorsed this 
strategy. But at least one of your Senators hasn't signed the Bennet Public 
Option letter yet.

GET YOUR SENATORS TO SIGN -- CLICK HERE FOR THE NUMBER AND A SAMPLE SCRIPT:

(Same link as previous message: http://boldprogressives.org/home  Click on 
FEATURE CAMPAIGNS: RIGHT NOW.)

We're at a critical time. Democrats in Washington need to see that we have 
backbone. They need to know that good policy is good politics. We're fighting 
for them to include a public option and get the job done, because passing real 
reform is the only way to victory in 2010 and beyond.

Please make the call. Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America

P.S.The polling we announced today with the Progressive Change Campaign 
Committee and Credo Action is availble here:  
http://act.boldprogressives.org/cms/sign/poll2_national_20100220/?DFA022610.

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This message was sent to Rebecca Janke at peace [at] tc.umn.edu.