Health Care-oling Events
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Materials and Resources
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Organizing Story
We've been fighting hard in the Senate to win a strong public option in health care reform legislation. The latest news suggests that Senate Democrats have cut a deal to satisfy Joe Lieberman that would drop the public option as well as the Medicare buy-in alternative that was recently discussed. This is frustrating news--it's certainly not what we hoped for. And it's not yet final in the Senate--it's not clear they have 60 votes to proceed. So we're continuing our advocacy in the Senate with call alerts and other online organizing, building on the "Roadblock Rallies" we had in many states earlier this week.
At the same time, with backing from Harry Reid, President Obama, and reluctant support from many progressive senators, it seems likely that some version of this deal will move forward. Once the bill passes the Senate, it is expected to go to a conference committee, where the House bill (which included a public option) and the Senate bill will be combined. The final bill that comes out of conference could be stronger than the current Senate bill and could still result in real health care reform including the choice of a public health insurance option.
We'll only win a stronger bill if progressives in the House stand up and fight and demand it. Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Raul Grijalva said Tuesday, "If what the Senate is doing isn't corrected in conference with the House, I will not support the bill." That's the kind of strong positioning we need from House progressives, to counterbalance the leverage exerted by conservatives in the Senate. We need more House progressives to speak up in similar ways right away, to make clear that the Senate deal isn't the final word.
So we're organizing rapid-response events urging House progressives to tell Speaker Pelosi and House Leaders that we except a Conference Committee to fix this legislation, and can only support a final bill that includes real reform with the choice of a public option. We're choosing a tactic that's a little different and in keeping with the season-- singing holiday carols ("health care-ols") outside their offices, with re-written lyrics that support real reform with a strong public option. We'll engage in direct advocacy with targeted members of congress and their staff, and we'll invite the media.
The best date for these actions is this Friday, so that we're early enough to influence negotiations over conference. Events should take place sometime between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to maximize the likelihood that office staff are there and we can get reporters to come. We'll hold the events outside House progressives' offices.
FAQ:
More info:
GUIDE: http://pol.moveon.org/caroling/guide.html
BOB: http://pol.moveon.org/event/caroling
ORGANIZING STORY:
We've been fighting hard in the Senate to win a strong public option in health care reform legislation. The latest news suggests that Senate Democrats have cut a deal to satisfy Joe Lieberman that would drop the public option as well as the Medicare buy-in alternative that was recently discussed. This is frustrating news--it's certainly not what we hoped for. And it's not yet final in the Senate--it's not clear they have 60 votes to proceed. So we're continuing our advocacy in the Senate with call alerts and other online organizing, building on the "Roadblock Rallies" we had in many states earlier this week.
At the same time, with backing from Harry Reid, President Obama, and reluctant support from many progressive senators, it seems likely that some version of this deal will move forward. Once the bill passes the Senate, it is expected to go to a conference committee, where the House bill (which included a public option) and the Senate bill will be combined. The final bill that comes out of conference could be stronger than the current Senate bill and could still result in real health care reform including the choice of a public health insurance option.
We'll only win a stronger bill if progressives in the House stand up and fight and demand it. Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Raul Grijalva said Tuesday, "If what the Senate is doing isn't corrected in conference with the House, I will not support the bill." That's the kind of strong positioning we need from House progressives, to counterbalance the leverage exerted by conservatives in the Senate. We need more House progressives to speak up in similar ways right away, to make clear that the Senate deal isn't the final word.
So we're organizing rapid-response events urging House progressives to tell Speaker Pelosi and House Leaders that we except a Conference Committee to fix this legislation, and can only support a final bill that includes real reform with the choice of a public option. We're choosing a tactic that's a little different and in keeping with the season-- singing holiday carols ("health care-ols") outside their offices, with re-written lyrics that support real reform with a strong public option. We'll engage in direct advocacy with targeted members of congress and their staff, and we'll invite the media.
The best date for these actions is this Friday, so that we're early enough to influence negotiations over conference. Events should take place sometime between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to maximize the likelihood that office staff are there and we can get reporters to come. We'll hold the events outside House progressives' offices.
FAQ:
Q: Where should I post my "Health Care-oling" event?
A: The link to register your event is here:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/caroling/
Q: Is there flexibility on the date of this action?
A: Yes -- it could work to organize this event any time between Friday, 12/18 and Wednesday 12/23. But the earlier the better, and the suggested date is Friday, 12/18.
Q: Will MoveOn do central recruitment for this event, and what are the restrictions in order to get a central email recruit?
A: We'll do some central email recruitment for this event. However, note: The central email is helpful, but not at all necessary to have a successful action!
* RESTRICTIONS ON WHO CAN GET CENTRAL EMAIL: We're only doing central email recruitment for events that are targeting a House progressive, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid (see list below). And to get email, events must take place between Friday, 12/18 and Wednesday, 12/23, and the time must be between 11am and 4:30.
* MAIL SCHEDULE: We'll send a central email recruit early on Friday, December 18.
* BOB DEADLINE: The posting deadline is 5pm on Thursday, December 17.
Q: Are we trying to get media?
A: You should definitely invite the media, and if they come, that's great; but the primary goal of this event is direct advocacy -- to get at least a few people outside your rep's office telling them what we stand for.
Q: What materials are available to help with this event?
A: A guide with organizing tips, suggested songs, and media materials is here: http://pol.moveon.org/caroling/guide.html
Q: Should we ask the office for a meeting?
A: YES! It's a great idea to call ahead and ask for a sit-down meeting with congressional staff, especially if you have that kind of relationship with them.
Q: Which are the priority targets for this event?
A: With these events, we are showing House members -- especially progressive champs -- that we need them to strengthen the health care bill in conference committee. So it's especially important to hold events outside of progressive champ offices (and these are the only targets that we can send central email to recruit for). It's also important to hold events targeting House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, since they're in charge of convening the conference committee. Here are the progressive champs in the House that we should especially target:
Blumenauer_OR_03
Brown_FL_03
Capuano_MA_08
Carson_IN_07
Chu_CA_32
Clarke_NY_11
Clay_MO_01
Cleaver_MO_05
Conyers_MI_14
Cummings_MD_07
DeFazio_OR_04
Delahunt_MA_10
Doggett_TX_25
Edwards_MD_04
Ellison_MN_05
Farr_CA_17
Fattah_PA_02
Filner_CA_51
Frank_MA_04
Fudge_OH_11
Grijalva_AZ_07
Gutierrez_IL_04
Hare_IL_17
Hastings_FL_23
Hinchey_NY_22
Hirono_HI_02
Holt_NJ_12
Honda_CA_15
Jackson Lee_TX_18
Jackson_IL_02
Johnson_GA_04
Johnson_TX_30
Kilpatrick_MI_13
Lee_CA_09
Maloney_NY_14
McDermott_WA_07
McGovern_MA_03
Moore_WI_04
Nadler_NY_08
Napolitano_CA_38
Olver_MA_01
Pascrell_NJ_08
Payne_NJ_10
Pingree_ME_01
Richardson_CA_37
RoybalAllard_CA_34
Sanchez_CA_39
Serrano_NY_16
Sires_NJ_13
Speier_CA_12
Stark_CA_13
Thompson_MS_02
Tierney_MA_06
Towns_NY_10
Velazquez_NY_12
Waters_CA_35
Watson_CA_33
Watt_NC_12
Wexler_FL_19
Woolsey_CA_06
Yarmuth_KY_03
Also:
- House Speaker Pelosi
- Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid
