This morning that doctor, Howard Dean, spoke at the Netroots Nations convention in Pittsburgh and explained why he supports Obama's health care efforts and what the rest of us can do to try to salvage the health care reform bill. He seems a lot more optimistic about this than I am. He does mention, though, a list of Democratic senators not supporting health care reform. Although the list is incomplete-- Blanche Lincoln, a health care reform foe, isn't on it because she made some amorphous statement about supporting it under threat of exposure-- here are the names (with their donations from Big Insurance added in; Blanche has gotten $495,283):
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE)- $465,944
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)- $82,250
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)- $246,223
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)- $534,746
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)- $1,231,299
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)- $404,731
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)- $828,787
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)- $1,190,463
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)- $369,490
Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN)- $602,752
Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)- $206,690
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT)- $1,033,402
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)- $213,800
And here is my letter to Senator Feinstein
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I am writing to tell you that I expect you to vote for health care reform, INCLUDING a public option, just like our Democratic President promised during his campaign.
I came to your website to send you this note and was amazed that I did not see a giant section on your homepage about health care reform. Is that because you have taken nearly half a million dollars ($369,490 to be exact) from the industry?
Look, I am an Independent who left the Democratic party because of a lack of principle shown me by my Democratic representatives; you included. Your refusal to fight for a public option, with every fiber of your elected being, means you don't deserve to be my Senator anymore.
Get on board with the public option, fight hard to get it passed, neuter any filibuster, and maybe, just maybe, you can help insure a few million people. Oh, and get re-elected, because clearly that is your reason for being.
And lastly, why make folks opt-out of your newsletter by UN-checking the box directly under this form? Why not allow them to opt-in? Signing us up for your newsletter, surreptitiously, as the default is slippery, slimy, and rather illustrative of your desire to remain in power and not help your constituents, all the while trying to operate under our radar.
Public option. Support the party that elected you, and our President!