Photo by Reggie Mundakis, Pacific Progressive
By now you’ve probably heard that Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) was a “yes” vote on the health care bill last night. She put out a statement last night explaining:
But it was hearing the personal stories from people in my district that ultimately convinced me to support this bill. In my fourteen years in Congress, I have never seen my constituents reach out so intently and so persistently in support of a particular piece of legislation.
Much of that “intent and persistent” outreach was mobilized late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, after reports circulated that Sanchez wasn’t on Capitol Hill and was being listed by House leadership as a “no” vote. The Courage Campaign, where I work as Public Policy Director, asked her constituents to call her offices Sunday morning, an ask we later took statewide. OFA joined in, and even organized a protest at her Santa Ana campaign office pushing her to vote for the bill.
Reports indicated that about 250 people showed up to the office, including a number of folks who pulled over to join the protest after driving by it on Harbor Boulevard.
Clearly the statewide mobilization targeting Sanchez played a role in getting her to vote for the bill. What we don’t know is just what her intentions were in all of this. Was Sanchez genuinely planning to vote no, or even undecided? Or was this an attention-seeking ploy on her part, as some have charged?
Whatever the answer, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Sanchez has damaged herself with this whole affair. Her constituents will be happy she voted yes, but annoyed that there was any question about that outcome, and frustrated that Sanchez was playing coy with the media and the public up until the eve of the vote.
Maryland Democrat and DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen has argued Dems should go on the offensive, touting the bill and its benefits between now and the election. That’s particularly good advice for Sanchez, whose district has a 31% uninsured rate, 17th highest in the country.
Whether a stunt or a genuine uncertainty about the vote, Loretta Sanchez damaged her standing in Orange County and among California Democrats. She’ll need to work to restore that support between now and November.
You can see Loretta Sanchez’s full statement over the flip.
March 21, 2010: Rep. Loretta Sanchez Issues Statement on Passage of Historic Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) today issued the following statement regarding her historic vote in support of H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and H.R. 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010:
“This was probably the most difficult vote I’ve cast during my time in Congress. After decades of failed attempts at reform, this Congress was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally fix our broken health care system. And just like any once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, there was a lot of pressure to deliver a perfect bill, one that would be cost-effective and deficit-neutral while increasing health care quality and decreasing the number of uninsured.
“Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that this bill is far from perfect. It does not provide a public option, which I believe is critical to achieving genuine reform. And it doesn’t adequately reimburse California hospitals for the cost of providing care to Medicare patients. So I had a choice: stand up for my ideal vision of health care and vote against this legislation, or accept a less-than-perfect bill because it is an important step toward improving our health care system from the unsustainable status quo. It is for this reason that I deliberated long and hard before casting my vote.
“Everyone knows the purely rational reasons why we need reform. Rising costs are hurting our families, burdening small businesses, and making us less competitive in a global economy. But it was hearing the personal stories from people in my district that ultimately convinced me to support this bill. In my fourteen years in Congress, I have never seen my constituents reach out so intently and so persistently in support of a particular piece of legislation.
“They called me with stories of children who died waiting for transplants and grandparents who couldn’t afford to pay for their medication. They wrote letters about pregnant mothers who couldn’t provide their babies with basic prenatal care and fathers who lost health insurance for their families when they lost their job. Just as touching were the calls from constituents who do have health coverage but were concerned for their neighbors who were not as fortunate. These were the people I had in mind when I cast my vote for this bill. Tonight, I stand by their stories and my decision.”
Loretta Sanchez has a reputation of seeking attention. You see it with the costly, narcissistic holiday cards that she has sent out (just this year, she switched to an electronic card). And the attention seeking also manifests itself in her crazy behavior like rummaging through her purse for Politico (see the video on the link below):
http://latinopoliticsblog.com/…
And if you have ever been in the same room with Rep. Sanchez breathing the same air, you will note the shrill voice and flirty demeanor, even when it isn’t appropriate. I know that I’m not the only one who has noticed this bizarre and sometimes child-like behavior.
Great pictures of the rally here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page…
Glad to see so many groups coming together for that critical last push – that’s how it should be in CA for November I hope
But it is important to know that OFA, HCAN and others have been making sure she has gotten phone calls, emails, office visits, heard personal stories from people in her district for months. When she says “persistent” I am pretty sure that means more than the last 24 hours.
Sanchez was right to oppose this bill, as it is a payoff to big pharma and big insurance. A mandate without price controls that uses the IRS as a corporate bill collector is not health care reform. Real health care reform would have been single payer or a public option, two ideas Obama vigorously opposed. He wouldn’t even let these plans come up for a vote because he was afraid they would pass.
In addition, this bill tramples all over a woman’s right to choose. Last time I checked Roe v Wade was the law, yet Obama repeatedly uses women’s reproductive rights as bargaining chips. He did it during the negotiations for the stimulus package and again last night. They aren’t his rights to give away!
The bill also prevents undocumented/illegal immigrants from buying health insurance with their own money. Obama gave in to ugly anti-immigrant sentiment and tossed human rights out the window. Under this bill, California will still have millions of uninsured people using the emergency rooms, but Obama couldn’t care less about California because he thinks we have nowhere else to go. He thinks we are slaves. I can stay home on election day!
You guys are lemmings following a trail of crumbs! You are mistaken if you think every liberal Democrat is on board with this. Against my better judgment I voted for Obama, but no longer will I vote for somebody I know is a sexist with no core values just because he has a (D) after his name.
Re: “I’m inclined to thinks that this is a pattern of “attention seeking” w/ Loretta Sanchez ”
Where did you get your degree in psychiatry, and when did you meet with Rep. Sanchez to diagnose her with Attention Seeking? Missing some obscure procedural votes on a Saturday, for which her vote was not needed, is not a cry for attention, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.
When women don’t do what they are told, especially women in politics, they are often described as having mental conditions or emotional afflictions. During the campaign Hillary was repeatedly called crazy. I remember an episode of Bill Maher where Larry David, Adam Goldberg and Maher “diagnosed” Hillary as Bipolar and Borderline.
Sexism as usual…
I’d like to take back almost everything I said earlier about the health care bill. Although I would have liked single payer or a public option, and I am unhappy with the assault on choice, I realize that for now this is a good start.
I am happy that we Democrats finally have some momentum and have been able to shut down the right wing. They have been calling the shots for so long, especially here in CA. I am so tired of it.
I plan to volunteer for Brown, and I hope many others do too, because he will never have as much money as Whitman. Volunteers will make the difference!
I know some on both sides of the aisle prefer their members to jump in lock step. However a considerable number of members—progressives as well as moderates—had trouble with this bill. With the exception of a few , her constituents who wanted health care/insurance reform will be neither annoyed nor frustrated by her thoughtful process. In fact, they will be happy that she listened to them and voted yes. The only damage she sustained was not in the process but in her actual vote. Loretta had a decent record of getting independent and some Republican votes in her district. The vote did not help her prospects with these voters. She knew the risk and voted yes anyway. The yes vote will help with the base if she gets the message out, I agree with that point.
Keep in mind this is not a lock Democratic district. She has a Republican Vietnamese assemblyman who will have unlimited funds in this race.
Your source on the attention issue has an obsession with Sanchez and is hardly objective.
Unless the same analysis is being used against Kucinich and all the other people who were undecided or against until late in the game than its unfair at best and either sexist or a cheap shot at worst.
And I think the headline of Sanchez bowing to massive pressure is not accurate. Clearly the contacts had impact–as did calls from the SOS & POTUS–but bowing is hardly an accurate description.