Reminder to Self (And to YOU)
From Jane:
We went out to the FDL list this morning and together with our partners have raised $67,939 for progressive members of Congress who agree to draw a line in the sand over a public plan.
While the teabaggers got all the media attention, we’ve been working diligently with local bloggers in the districts of progressive members of Congress who were in safe Democratic seats, asking them to vote against any bill that did not have a strong public plan. No co-ops, no triggers. We wanted 40 of them to stick together and block health care reform from passing until there was a strong public option.
It worked….
Now that they have made the commitment in sufficient numbers to stop a bad bill from passing, the challenge is going to be holding progressives while they get strong-armed to vote for a compromised bill. Promises of district pork, funding for pet project, influence and downright threats are very persuasive. A fundraising effort like this sends a very clear message that this one matters. We’re watching, and if somewone says they “support” a public plan, they can’t cast a vote for some crappy Blue Dog/Senate Finance and think they can get away with it.
Jane says Reward good behavior. I am chipping in what few bucks I can spare to keep the progressives in line. Reward good behavior and leave a personal message that you punish bad behavior. You know I will, here at brendancalling and at the weekly.
Yes, I realize it sounds like I’m talking about training puppies. It’s a lot like that. To an insurance lobbyist, $69,000 is penny candy: together we can match that, and more that that outweigh it with threats of direct action. And we have a real opportunity to put the fear of god into these guys, especially now that it’s becoming clear the right wing won’t support anything Congress proposes, and that it’s the angry left the Democrats have to worry about.
That’s right: angry left. I’m angry, and I have damn good reason to be angry.
Reward good behavior. Let’s kill a bad bill and make ‘em bring us a good one.
August 19th, 2009 at 3:25 am
[...] While the teabaggers got all the media attention, we’ve been working diligently with local bloggers in the districts of progressive members of Congress who were in safe Democratic seats, asking them to vote against any bill that did not have a strong public plan. No co-ops, no triggers. We wanted 40 of them to stick together and block health care reform from passing until there was a strong public option. Now that they have made the commitment in sufficient numbers to stop a bad bill froRead more at http://brendancalling.com/2009/08/18/reminder-to-self-and-to-you/ [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
[...] Read the original post: Brendan Calling » Blog Archive » Reminder to Self (And to YOU) [...]