I am proud to announce that last night, the Ventura County Central Committee became the first committee nationwide to approve the FireDogLake resolution only supporting such healthcare reform as contains at least the choice of a robust public option.  Robert Cruickshank’s Central Committee in Monterey had the resolution on the agenda, but did not get to it before the scheduled adjournment.

This is part of a national effort to get Democratic clubs and central committees nationwide to adopt similar resolutions over the coming month, and forward them on to Congressmembers whose districts are geographically aligned with the county/club making the endorsement.  My brother and fellow Calitician Dante Atkins helped rewrite the language of the resolution so that it fit with California resolution rules.

If you are a member of a Democratic or progressive club–or, better yet, a member of your Central Committee–I highly encourage you to submit the same or very similar resolution to your local club/committee as well, in order to leverage maximum pressure on your representatives.

The text of the resolution adopted by the VCDCC was as follows:

WHEREAS, the heath care system of the United States is in crisis, with almost fifty million Americans lacking any health insurance, tens of millions more lacking adequate coverage, and millions more who do have private coverage paying increasingly unaffordable premiums, resulting in inadequate access to care and premature death, illness, or financial ruin for millions of Americans; and

WHEREAS, public polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans want health care reform to offer the choice of a robust public option similar to Medicare in order to, in the words of President Obama, “keep the insurance companies honest,” while co-ops or so-called “triggers” are inadequate in and of themselves to address the health care crisis by creating significant competition for the medical insurance industry; and

WHEREAS, Republicans and their allies in the health insurance industry have organized and funded groups of extremists to disrupt efforts on the part of the Democratic majority and administration to reasonably discuss the issue with the American people, and have demonstrated an utter unwillingness to compromise in any way to pass meaningful health care reform;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee urges Democratic members of Congress to vote for only such healthcare reform proposals as contain at least the choice for a robust public plan at all stages of the legislative process including conference and reconciliation, and encourages Democratic legislators to use any available parliamentary means to pass such reform;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee shall send a copy of this resolution to all members of Congress who represent at least a part of the geographic region of which this Committee is the officially sanctioned body of the Democratic Party.

The resolution will be forwarded on to Elton Gallegly and to Lois Capps.  Capps has not signed the FDL pledge even though she represents a D+10 district; FDL is also placing phone pressure on 106 Democratic representatives in such districts to encourage them to sign the pledge for a public option.