Freedom to Choose Public Option Possible If You Act

Great news! If you call your Senator right now you can demand an up-or-down vote on a public OPTION for health care. Get their phone number here, then follow this simple step-by-step process

Why Should You?

The freedom to choose a public, non-profit insurance company nationwide was declared dead by the aristocrats who run our media and our politics, but they screwed up and now it has suddenly become possible, but only if We The People make the Senate more afraid of us than they are of the insurance lobbyists.

You will recall that the extremely ugly Senate health care bill, in order to appease industry shills such as Joe Liebermann (I-CIGNA) and Evan Baugh (whose wife earns millions of dollars lobbying for insurance companies ... did you know that?) included a mandate to buy insurance from the same for-profit insurers that are causing the problem in the first place. This piece of insanity died when Scott Brown entered the Senate, running on the promise to vote against the bill.

But when Brown joined the Senate, Joe became irrelevant. Baugh became so irrelevant that he's quitting the Senate to send more time with his lobbyist wife. Those millions need to be spent somehow! Now, by the strange rules of the Senate, it opens the way to passing the bill via up-or-down vote, via the reconciliation process, the same way that the George W Bush tax cuts for the rich got through. The question is, does the Senate have the guts to go for an up-or-down vote?

That is to say, are they more afraid of the voters or the insurance companies?

Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado has taken the dare. He's circulating a letter to Harry Reid, in favor of passing a health care bill through budget reconciliation - which provides for an up-or-down vote, where the side with the most votes wins (...hey, that's a strange concept! letting the side with the most votes win?)

How to Do It

We can all, in a very positive way, give the Senate something to fear. A telephone call works better than an email or an internet petition because it takes more of your time - so Senators don't get as many of them. That means they pay more attention to your call! Call your Senator and demand an up-or-down vote on the public option!

You can check your Senator's latest position here. If your Senator is on board, great! Call him or her and thank them.

But if your Senator is not yet sure about voting for what the American people want - the freedom to choose to buy health insurance through a Medicare-type public insurance plan. It's easy! If you've never called a Senator before, just get their phone number here, then follow this simple step-by-step process.
Be polite! but be firm. Don't sound angry - no-one likes a sorehead but you have the right to demand your Senators get an up-or-down vote on this.