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As mentioned in Jane’s earlier post, Rep. Pete Stark, the (usually) reliably progressive East Bay congressman, won’t take the pledge to vote against any healthcare plan without a strong public option, and will be holding a fundraiser with healthcare lobbyists today.
Stark was elected to the House the day Nixon was elected to a second term, and won his last election with 74% of the vote. His district has a PVI of D+22. In other words, he has nothing to lose by taking the pledge, and nothing (at least comparitavely) to gain by raising some extra cash.
So, in addition to calling his DC and NorCal offices (202-225-5065 and 510-494-1388 respectively) and and asking him why he’s schmoozing it up with healthcare lobbyists but not vowing to fight for real reform, take a moment to flood his Facebook wall with same.
Click here to go to Rep. Stark’s Facebook page.
And after that, go to visit obstructionist Blue Dogs Mike Ross, John Barrow, Baron Hill, Bart Gordon, Jim Matheson, Charlie Melancon Jr., and Zack Space and ask them why they’d rather help their friends in the insurance business than the millions of uninsured Americans, and millions more who are insured yet must fight with their provider for adequate coverage.
How to post on an elected offical’s Facebook wall, just in case you don’t know:
Sign into Facebook, go to their page via the links above, click "Become a Fan" (you can always un-fan them right after if you understandably don’t want your friends to think you’re a fan of Mike Ross,) then write something in the "Write Something" box, and click "Share".
Why posting on elected officials’ Facebook walls is better than emailing them:
I like this method better than emailing members, namely because staffers can’t delete wall posts without a risk of people getting upset that they’re trying to hide the fact that constituents are demanding that they support healthcare reform. Calling is of course great because unlike email they can’t just filter it into a folder, but the visible plea that you get on Facebook puts them in a difficult situation of having to either host a difficult question or be faced with accusations of censoring them.
So, here’s my post on Rep. Stark’s page:
and here’s one on Rep. John Barrow’s page:
Please take 30 seconds and join in some wall-bombing.
We at dotPAC are also running ads on Facebook in these obstructionists’ districts this week, and in Rep. Stark’s as well until he takes the pledge. It’s very easy to make your own ads, and ten bucks targeted to a district can go a long way. For more info on how to do that, there are some instructions in this diary on DK.
19 Comments
Facebook bomb!
Looks like his Wall has been scrubbed.
Obama calls on bloggers.
Here we are, and here we’ve been, and here we’ll be.
Read and please suspend your disbelief! *g*
“Default position of inertia” nails it, IMO.
FDL front-pagers, back-pagers, commenters, et al are all over this. But I submit that it’s a good strategy to engage rather than dismiss us. We can make the difference.
On to the Wall.
I’m not one of Stark’s constituents, but here’s what I wrote on his wall:
I didn’t know Stark was an atheist. Another reason to like him. You’re going after the wrong person. Stark had a better plan than the one currently under consideration. He’s a cosponsor of the bill, nevertheless. The public option, which is just another suite of insurance plans which the government rather than the private sector charges you premiums for, is still in the bill and is not likely to change. It could be so much better than this, as Stark has noted.
And here’s what I put up on my own page. It took two posts.
That’s a pretty lousy headline up on FDL. There must be a better way to bring in readers than to call for the bombing of a sitting U.S. Congressman.
Absolutely. Without a doubt.
Someone commented on my page that members of congress get enough money from health care lobbyists to pay for premium health care coverage.
Perhaps we could get someone to add another amendment that members of congress must use their donations from the health care industry to pay for their health care, and not tax-payers’ funds? (Unless, of course, a particular member does not receive enough from the industry, and would thus be under-insured, and would still need his or her “public [sic] option.”
i added a comment too, and yes, it looks like they’re scrubbing his wall.
to those who say we’re hitting the wrong target, I say go jump in a lake. The fact is that these people are supposed to be representing constituents, not just their corproate funders.
After 30 freakin’ years of promises about health care reform, the fact that i have to pressure ANY democrat to keep such an important promise is offensive. So if pete stark isn’t willign to stand up for what he and his party have been promising FOR THIRTY YEARS OR MORE, then he deserves all the shit that gets hurled at him.
KEEP YOUR PROMISE DEMOCRATS.
Nice people.
I just checked. My comment is still there, as are many others, but they’re on the “fans” [sic] page, not on the main wall.
Re: Apachetrout @#7 Yeah, I was surprised when I saw it too…
You just have to click over to the “Just Fans” to see all of it.
Stark will be there when it counts and this is a waste of time and effort. Some focus on actual opponents of a good bill might be better.
FDL’s front page encouraging the bombing of a US Congressman? Wow! Jane, you better change this headline fast because it is absolutely ridiculous.
change this headline, please, and stop giving fodder to the crazies.
It is morally repugnant to profit off the misery or ill health of Americans. It’s criminal that medical bills to the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX make up 62% of all bankruptcies filed in the U.S. each year. Americans spend 2.5 Trillion Dollars a year on Health care. The overhead at the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is upwards of 35% of the health care dollar spent each year in the U.S. That is approximately $900 Billion a year the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX uses for BRIBING CONGRESS and their lavish lifestyles, huge salaries plus perks and bonuses. All the while milking the hard-working men/women of this great nation of their hard earned money.
On the other hand Medicare has an overhead of 2%, Canada’s system is 1.5%, Europe’s 2.5% on average. The money that could be saved by eliminating the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is estimated at $900 Billion a year. Enough money to help pay for putting all Americans on MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
We have to fight back and call, write e-mails, letters-to-editors, Congress and to the White House to let them know how Americans feel about the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX that currently provides the health care in this country.
Here are some Senators and blue dog(dems) who are on the wrong side of Health Care reform. Give them a call and demand,
“MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NOW!”
Thanks to Dateline_Molly for this chart that shows how much money was paid to Senators by the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX to OBSTRUCT health care refrom. Link Now, when I call each member I can quote to them how much money they were PAID/BRIBED by the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX to throw their constituents under the bus and deny them SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE.
(blue dogs)
Ross D-AR, Boucher D-VA, Kind D-WI, Pomeroy D-ND, Tanner D-TN
Polis (CO), Titus (NV) and Altmire (PA)
These are the problem Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee: John Barrow (GA-12), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Bart Gordon (TN-04), Baron Hill (IN-09), Jay Inslee (WA-01), Jim Matheson (UT-02), Charlie Melancon LA-03, Zack Space (OH-18) and Bart Stupak (MI-01).
Joe Lieberman I-CT, Chuck Grassley R-IA, Lindsey Graham R-SC,
Susan Collins R-ME, Olympia Snowe R-ME, David Vitter R-LA,
Saxby Chambliss R-GA, Tom Coburn R-OK, Jon Kyl R-AZ,
John Thune R-SD, Richard Lugar R-IN, Jim DeMint R-SC
Jeff Sessions R-AL, Richard Shelby R-AL, Mel Martinez R-FL,
John McCain R-AZ, Mitch McConnell R-KY, Jim Inhofe R-OK,
Lamar Alexander R-TN, Dick Burr R-NC, John Cornyn R-TX
Mark Pryor D-AR, Thomas Carper D-DE, Mary Landrieu D-LA,
Max Baucus D-MT, Kent Conrad D-ND, Ben Nelson D-NE,
Maria Cantwell D-WA, Kay Hagan D-NC, Blanche Lincoln D-AR,
Ron Wyden D-OR, Evan Bayh D-IN, Diane Feinstein D-CA,
Arlen Specter D-PA
Here are the toll-free numbers for the Capitol Hill Switchboard:
(House and Senate)
1-800-828-0498
1-866-338-1015
1-866-220-0044
1-800-473-6711
Also give the President a call or write an e-mail:
White House Comments Line:
1-202-456-1111 M-F 9:00-5:00 est. (NOT A TOLL-FREE #)
President Obama’s e-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Nothing rattles the Congress and White House more than informed CITIZEN/VOTERS ringing the phones off the hook for real health care reform. Call the House, Senate and the White House and demand,
“MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NOW!”
SEMPER FI!
Melancon is from a coastal Louisiana town near New Orleans.
If EVER a state needed insurance reform it’s Louisiana-health AND homeowner.
Must have his nose up Jindal’s ass!
Now,when Jindal sneezes or stops walking,abrupptly, Charlie may need some healthcare!