Public Option in Danger

The public option will provide much-needed competition and choice for health care. And with the majority of Senators, Representatives, and the American people supporting a public option, its passage would seem inevitable.

But in fact, the public option is in real danger.

That's because the quiet threat of a filibuster effectively holds the public option hostage. Through the filibuster, Senators can delay debate on the public option indefinitely, preventing the Senate from ever holding a democratic, up-or-down vote on the issue.

On behalf of the people of Colorado, we've written an open letter to all United States Senators asking them to stand up for people and not the profits of the insurance industry. If you agree that the public option deserves an up-or-down vote in the Senate, then please take a moment to sign our letter below calling on members of the Senate to refrain from filibustering.

In a speech before Congress on the issue of health care reform just over a month ago, President Obama asserted that "I am not the first president to take up this cause -- but I am determined to be the last."

There is no doubt that we have an historic opportunity to reform our health care system, once and for all. We believe the public option is a crucial part of any real reform of the health care system.

But with powerful special interests determined to halt reform, the specter of the filibuster is set to derail our efforts.

Here is a copy of the letter:

Dear United States Senators,

As Colorado's elected officials and concerned Americans, we urge you not to filibuster the public option.

A public option is a crucial part of real reform. It would inject choice and competition into our health care system, both of which are lacking now. Moreover, it is backed by a majority of Senators, Representatives, and the American people.

Even if you oppose a public option, we urge you not to hold it hostage with the threat of the filibuster. Stand up for the people, not the insurance industry, and give the public option the up-or-down vote it deserves.

Sincerely,

Sen. Michael Bennet, Gov. Bill Ritter, Sen. Mark Udall and the Undersigned

By signing our open letter, you can send a strong message to the Senate: Some of you may oppose reform, but don't hold the public option -- and the will of the American people -- hostage through the threat of the filibuster.

Sign our open letter calling on Senators to give the public option the up-or-down vote it deserves.

Together, we can communicate how meaningful a public option would be to our families.

 

Follow Gov. Bill Ritter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RitterForCO

Follow Sen. Michael Bennet on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BennetForCO

Follow Sen. Mark Udall on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarkUdall

Comments

[AviatorDave]

Nothing meaningful will be passed, too many people's rates will be jacked up so the whole thing is going to fail:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33420480/ns/politics-health_care_reform

[jaycbird]

I want them to RISK the filibuster and put it up to a vote and let the chips fall where they may for those that blocked reform!

[edva]

Thank you so much for your efforts, Sen. Udall, Sen. Bennet, and Gov. Ritter. I am proud to be a Coloradan!

[elkabong]

Campaign finance is the disease - everything else, merely a symptom. You know it. I know it. Do something about it.

[JustBNice]

Our elected officials will never pass a bill for campaign finance reform.

Why would they ?

We need to elect the common man/woman to Congress.

[janiceh]

Without a decent public option insuring more than 30 million Americans, the Democratic brand will be scarred for a long, long, long time.

[wblack]

A public option, it is claimed, is necessary to allow for competition ... you know, it seems to me this necessary competition actually once existed in the market -- this was before the day of Government regulation making the provision of insurance mandatory for all employers, before the action by corporate execs who demanded that their medical expenses be comped by corporations thus spawning the regulation ...

The average (reasonably healthy) American man or woman, baring the unforeseen catastrophic calamity or terminal illness, back in the day (oh -- 1940 till around 1990 and long before as far as you care to go back) rarely if ever visited a doctors office. Normal seasonal colds and flu do not require treatment by a doctor as most physicians advice is of the common sense variety, i.e. bed rest, and keep hydrated till it runs its course ...

Myself, I went from 1979 till 2003 without seeing a doctor.

It seems to me that this is much panic and fuss over nothing. Boycott insurance period. Tell the Government you'd rather risk-manage your own life like a big boy, or girl.

Surely you do not trust the Government (since when have they delivered anything under budget or cheaper or even efficiently) who got you all into this mess, and surely you do not trust all the terror tactic tales spawned by the Insurance Industry ...

I think you all are being taken for a ride ...

[itolduso]

You will be charged three or four times (or more) what someone with insurance would pay. I wouldn't mind cutting out the insurance companies and paying cash IF the Dr.s & hospitals would charge a FAIR price. The motives for charging so much more for uninsured patients has nothing to do with actual costs, it has to do with them billing local, state, & federal government for 'indigent care'- the higher they jack up those prices, the more taxdollars they get. Hell of a racket.

[koodetat]

"Surely you do not trust the Government (since when have they delivered anything under budget or cheaper or even efficiently) who got you all into this mess..."

Why is it then that Canadian single payer insurance is cheaper per capita than our system is now?
Why is it that our premiums are set to double in the next decade?
Why is it that it cost me almost nothing to get free healthcare when I lived in London?

Just because you managed to get away with never paying $50 for a check-up doesn't mean the other 300 million of us are so lucky. Being self-centered shouldn't blind you to the fact that other people who need affordable, fair healthcare.

[watchingduck]

1. "baring the unforeseen catastrophic calamity or terminal illness" ? Isn't that a fairly fundamental issue?
2. How does one "risk manage" for cancer or ALS?
3. While a few people may go to the doctor excessively, it seems like the more serious problem is that many people are not seeing doctors enough, or at all.
4. Some things are too important to be left to corporate management. There is no significant proof that corporations manage anything better than the government.

[truthmatterstoo]

Some bright minds here tonight, Lets plan our action for this week and next week. We may need to go to DC with thousands of protesters unlike anyhting that has ever been seen before!

[truthmatterstoo]

Excellent putting the numbers together. We can not give up....we must be louder and continue the fight.
Thanks for the hard work.

[RightsGuy]

Here's the rest of the list:

2,212,674 Bayh,Evan ID D
2,209,252 Graham,Lindsey SC R
2,020,516 Roberts,Pat KS R
1,937,842 Gregg,Judd NH R
1,936,771 Boxer,Barbara CA D
1,935,759 Wicker,Roger MS R
1,916,425 Vitter,David LA R
1,843,332 Nelson,Ben NE D
1,817,428 Isakson,Johnny GA R
1,772,079 Lautenberg,Frank NJ D
1,744,191 Reed,Jack RI D
1,732,889 Shelby,Richard AL R
1,712,830 Bingaman,Jeff NM D
1,692,289 Snowe,Olympia ME R
1,553,845 Feingold,Russ WI D
1,470,789 Mikulski,Barbara MD D
1,436,580 Martinez,Mel FL R
1,434,041 Inhofe,James M OK R
1,410,413 Coburn,Tom OK R
1,390,133 Enzi,Mike WY R
1,358,794 Levin,Carl MI D
1,358,024 Corker,Bob TN R
1,321,802 Crapo,Mike ID R
1,282,609 Brownback,Sam KS R
1,269,714 Carper,Tom DE D
1,218,518 Murray,Patty WA D
1,135,751 Dorgan,Byron ND D
1,121,979 Hagel,Chuck NE R
1,118,047 Bennett,Robert UT R
1,013,662 Cochran,Thad MS R

Thank you to Philip Taylor who posted these on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/16/obama-weekly-address-two_n_204236.html

[dems08]

I can't find the page on opensecrets that has these numbers...

link?

[RightsGuy]

Congress is directed by Corporate Interests
opensecrets.org

You can find how much your Senators and Representatives have received from corporate interests here: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.php

Here is a list on healthcare and insurance contributions received.

$37,117,548 Obama,Barack

$17,563,956 McCain,John AZ R
15,747,735 Kerry,John MA D
8,298,887 Specter,Arlen PA D
6,260,466 Baucus,Max MT D
6,053,840 McConnell,Mitch KY R
5,551,547 Harkin,Tom IA D
5,052,273 Lieberman,Joe CT I
5,014,639 Hatch,Orrin UT R
4,662,222 Brown,Sherrod OH D
4,515,337 Dodd,Chris CT D
4,334,201 Grassley,Chuck IA R
4,331,057 Burr,Richard NC R
4,213,855 Kyl,Jon AZ R
4,178,299 Cornyn,John TX R
4,109,512 Kennedy,Edward M MA D
4,037,004 Alexander,Lamar TN R
3,900,134 Ensign,John NV R
3,576,721 Cardin,Ben MD D
3,340,082 Rockefeller,Jay WV D
3,286,198 Conrad,Kent ND D
3,247,794 Coleman,Norm MN OLD R
3,245,066 Schumer,Charles NY D
3,159,183 Chambliss,Saxby GA R
3,050,694 Smith,Gordon OR R
2,880,528 Hutchison,Kay Bailey TX R
2,870,616 Durbin,Dick IL D
2,817,100 Lincoln,Blanche AR D
2,650,628 Voinovich,George OH R
2,634,653 Bunning,Jim KY R
2,565,701 Feinstein,Dianne CA D
2,535,864 Landrieu,Mary LA D
2,518,631 Menendez,Robert NJ D
2,515,612 Lugar,Richard G IN R
2,510,887 Reid,Harry NV D
2,398,142 DeMint,James W SC R
2,369,666 Collins,Susan M ME R
2,357,319 Nelson,Bill FL D
2,356,135 Bond,Christopher S (Kit) MO R
2,347,178 Sessions,Jeff AL R
2,320,746 Stabenow,Debbie MI D
2,275,049 Wyden,Ron OR D
2,251,954 Thune,John SD R
2,227,269 Johnson,Tim SD D

[RightsGuy]

Here are a few legislators who are blocking healthcare reform:

Quoted from:
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/bill-moyers-single-payer-plan-health-ca

Howie Klein has a rundown of all the money that the people who are blocking real reform in health care have received from the health care industry.

Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $4,026,933)

Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $2,833,731)

Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $2,758,468)

And when you just go right to Big Insurance, the non-presidential candidates who got the biggest legalized bribes were the 7 senators who have been tasked with the job of killing single-payer:

Ben Nelson (DLC-NE- $1,196,799)

Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $1,184,113)

Joe Lieberman (DLC- CT- $1,036,302)

Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $1,035,530)

Chuck Schumer (D-NY- $981,400)

Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $929,207)

Chuck Grassley (R-IA- $884,724)

[TeeLolly]

I hope that at the very least, Reid will for once in his life show a little courage and force those wishing to filibuster to actually do it--and not just put his hands up in the air saying "we don't have 60 votes." He's proven one thing--that Dems can't govern when given overwhelming power. It's time to lead for once.

[-swift]

It's pretty terrifying that the life and death of health care reform, and the resulting actual life and death of thousands of people, is in the hands of Senator Reid.

[shipoftheline]

ki// it all and start over.

[socialtalker]

no, it will never happen if the public option dies now.

[janiceh]

The public option has been "in danger" since single-payer was taken off the table. Congress has been trying to figure out a way to drop it ever since.

[ron46032]

The public "option" should never have been on the table in the first place. It is un-American. Only Socialists want it.

[socialtalker]

what's unamerican about it, please explain that.

[RightsGuy]

Not true.

[sheaintsayin]

Very American to take care of our mutual best interests; health care goes hand-in-hand with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, for me and my fellows, females and males alike!

I guess I'm just a total femisocialista!

[themuse]

You are correct. Single payer is the only way to have real reform.

[ahornick]

And if they stop action in Congress with non-stop talking leading up to the November elections, we will find out if the majority of the voters really want a public option. If they do want a public option, even more Republicans will have to find jobs as insurance company lobbyists (there aren't many other jobs out there because of them). And maybe go round, the Democrats will not waste time with half measures on public option lite and negotiations with shadows, because if the Republicans are destroyed at the voting booth, just maybe the Democrats will fear the voters more than the Republicans and the lobbyists.

Take the dare!!!!

[truthmatterstoo]

I just believe if Public Option gets voted down , that America will blow like a volcano. And I do not believe whoever votes against it can possibly be re-elected­...includi­ng Republicans too. We should start getting people to run against the incumbents that fight the PO.

[ahornick]

I agree it will be time to "clean house" again regardless of party.