Folks, today is yet another do or die moment in the health care reform debate. In the next 24-48 hours we'll know if legislation can make out of House Committee and on to the floor for a vote.
I know all of this sounds terribly esoteric, but all you need to know is this; if legislation fails to make it either out of the House or the Senate for a vote before Friday, when the August recess begins, lobbyists and special interests will have three weeks of unfettered access to grind down lawmakers and turn their constituents against them.
So we're asking you take 5 minutes out of you busy day to do two things. 1) Make a few phone calls and 2) Become a Lobbyist.
CALL
Call Senator Barbara Boxer
(202) 224-3553
Call Senator Dianne Feinstein
(202) 224-3841
Call your Congress Member
BECOME A LOBBYIST
Call Arkansas Representative Mike Ross
(202) 225-3772
(202) 225-3772
Why Mike Ross? Because he's the head of the Blue Dog coalition which is blocking reform in the House. Now, instead of calling his office and beating up on him, call him and tell him you support health care reform, you want it before the August recess, and will support his reelection campaign in 2010 if a bill makes it to the floor of House and goes up for a successful vote.
No really, I'm not kidding about this. This is how and why lobbyists have so much influence. Money. Money. Money. Well, we're going to be our own lobbyists now. I know this sounds insane, but if enough of us pony up $5 to his reelection campaign for him to notice, suddenly we're a seat at the table. And no, I'm not suggesting bribery. We're not asking the Congressman to perform a specific act for a specific amount of money. I want to be very, very clear about this.
Here's a link to his donation page. Remember, only donate IF legislation is voted on in the House before the August recess and only if it contains a strong public option!
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