Health Care

Multiple Progressive Assaults On DiFi’s Health Care Wavering

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The past couple days on Calitics, we’ve had Jason Rosenbaum detail grassroots efforts over Dianne Feinstein’s confusing comments about and reticence to sign on to comprehensive health care reform.  First he highlighted Health Care for America Now’s petition urging Feinstein to get on board with health care reform.  Then he deconstructed Feinstein’s official statement on health care, which was unsatisfactory.

Feinstein is an important part of this debate.  She doesn’t sit on any of the relevant committees, but she has cachet in Washington, and with real health care reform coming down to just a handful of votes, her views will be crucial to the debate going forward.  At a time when 85 percent of respondents to a Field Poll support a public health insurance option to compete with private industry, Feinstein must not be allowed to ignore the will of her constituents, as she did in her vote to authorize the war in Iraq.

Fortunately, practically every progressive organization in the state and even the country is hammering Feinstein for her naysaying, and demanding that she stay true to the principles she laid out, including controlling costs, expanding coverage and stopping the bad practices of the insurance industry, by endorsing a public health insurance option as part of any reform package.  In addition to Health Care For America Now, MoveOn created an ad and drove phone calls to Feinstein’s office.  Today CREDO Mobile joined the fray with a petition asking her to support the public plan, and the return receipt after you sign offers a one-click retweet of a Twitter message to spread the word, which is innovative.  The Courage Campaign also has a letter calling on DiFi to stand with the President and support a public option.  Courage Campaign also offers one-click forwarding of the message to Twitter, Facebook and MySpace (MySpace still exists?).

Health care reform is the make-or-break issue of this year, and Dianne Feinstein needs to hear from every one of her constituents about it.

(In addition, Firedoglake is whipping the public option in the House, with the goal of finding 40 Democrats who will commit to opposing any bill that DOESN’T have a strong public option contained in it.  Presuming that all Republicans will vote against any health care reform, this would have the effect of changing the incentives in Congress, currently tilted toward what the most conservative elements of the Democratic coalition would accept, and move them instead toward what the liberal base of the coalition will demand in exchange for their vote.  There are lots of California Democratic House members on their list, so head over and get to the phones!)

7 thoughts on “Multiple Progressive Assaults On DiFi’s Health Care Wavering”

  2. I seriously had just about an identical post drafted up yesterday, but we hit some technical difficulties and had to deploy our email this morning instead of yesterday.

    We teamed up with CREDO on our action and are using identical letter language.  We will be delivering out joint signatures on Monday to Sen. Feinstein’s offices.

    Senator Feinstein is notoriously hard for her constituents to get through to, but the collective hammering of her on the same issue, with nearly identical language is inspiring to see.  These groups are not messing around either, calling her words “unacceptable”, saying she is “undermining” President Obama and that we “can’t afford” to have her “undercutting momentum for reform.”  

  3. I read on TPM that Snarlin’ Arlen has endorsed a public option:


    Specter: Schumer Has It Right On The Public Option

    By Brian Beutler – June 25, 2009, 4:15PM

    Speaking moments ago to a large and animated crowd of union organizers and health reform advocates in a brewing house just North of the Capitol, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said he supports a public insurance option.

    “Schumer has it right about having a public component,” Specter said.

    Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has taken a lead role on negotiations over the public option in the Senate Finance Committee, and earlier this year proposed a compromise: the committee’s health care bill should include a public plan, he said, but one that competes on a level playing field with other insurers. Such an entity wouldn’t be able to use its sheer size to set prices the way Medicare does–but it could nonetheless incur savings in a host of other ways, and in so doing drive down the cost of health insurance in the private market.

    Perhaps more importantly, though, the Schumer proposal is in line with the principles of the major reform campaign Health Care for America Now–and, as such, just about every major health care and labor organization in the country

    Let’s knock DiFi off the fence.

  4. See

    http://bgladd.blogspot.com/200…

    “Some reform advocates have long argued that we can indeed [1] extend health care coverage to all citizens, with [2] significantly increased quality of care, while at the same time [3] significantly reducing the national (and individual) cost. A trifecta “Win-Win-Win.” Others find the very notion preposterous on its face. In the summer of 2009, this policy battle is now joined in full fury. I will try to add some constructive argument to the fray…”

    Fairly comprehensive. Critical commentary welcomed.

    BTW- I now have a particular interest in California issues more broadly, since, while I live in Vegas, my wife has had to take a job in Walnut Creek CA. I hope to join her there as soon as practicable.

    http://open.salon.com/blog/bob…

  5. In my e-mail to Dianne Feinstein I said I voted for Clinton for health care reform.  I voted for Obama for health care reform.  If Democrats like Feinstein block reform, I will reregister as an independent.  I will never vote for Feinstein again.

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