MSNBC : 4 House Caucuses make joint statement: HC must include public option

[grantcart]

Reporting 12:00 PDT. MSNBC reports that four caucuses -The Progressive Caucus, The Hispanic Caucus, The Asian Caucus, The Black Caucus had a conference call with the Prsident to communicate that they are in solidarity that health care reform MUST include a public option - they are invited to meet with the President before his Congressional Address.


Looks like a carefully staged public parade building to Wednesday's speech.

[Vincardog]

1. Make him do the right thing

[Skidmore]

5. He never once said during the campaign that he wouldn't do the right thing.

He told us to hold our government accountable and the biggest cesspool of unaccountability has been the legislative branch.

[whistler162]

69. What make him sign the bill once it has exited the

house and senate?

Sounds like a few congressmen need to watch Schoolhouse Rock - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ!

[Critters2]

2. Yay!!!! nt

[MNDemNY]

3. They should expand on that..NO TRIGGER !

[rudy23]

9. Amen. That's very important.

With triggers, a real public option will never happen.

[babylonsister]

12. The progressives did yesterday...

snip//

Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, a public option built on the Medicare provider system and with reimbursement based on Medicare rates-not negotiated rates-is unacceptable. A plan with negotiated rates would ensure higher costs for the public plan, and would do nothing to achieve the goal of providing choice and competition to keep rates down. The public plan with set rates saves $75 billion, which could be lost if rates are negotiated with providers. Further, this public option must be available immediately and must not be contingent upon any trigger.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8624379&mesg_id=8624379

[MNDemNY]

14. Good, thanks, Sister.

I hope our President holds as firm.

[roguevalley]

21. good, babylonsister. this is making me ill.

[Hekate]

47. Me too. I hit a notably low point a couple of days ago, and DUers helped talk me down

I can wait till Wednesday, now. And I'm staying away from Olbermann in the meanwhile.

Hekate

[Honeycombe8]

70. DITTO! nt

[mzteris]

4. good, good, good,

and double damn good!

[Beetwasher]

6. Yup, Can You Feel The Momentum??? They Are "MAKING" Him Do It!

Meanwhile, the Repub nutbags have run out of steam after they blew their wad mid August. LOL!

Timing is everything.

[defendandprotect]

58. Still . .. no one has called Democrats out to demonstrate for single payer -- !!!

but the GOP has made sure all their thugs are out there -- !!!

[MNDemNY]

7. Prediction: Despite this, the bus wheels will hit us squarely.

After all, we must compromise. Baby steps, play nice, be Bipartisan, don't get pushy, we can wait, it's better than nothing!.


FUCKED AGAIN.

[quantass]

8. The problem isnt not having the PO..its Including a Trigger -- NO TRIGGER please

[David__77]

10. The left must make a show of force.

There is no other way. That means immovable demands.

[defendandprotect]

59. Democrats for single payer/MEDICARE FOR ALL should have been demonstrating all month long!

No one has called Democrats out -- not unions, not women's groups -- no one!

[ItNerd4life]

11. What about the WHITE caucus. Dang, we never hear from the white caucus. nt

[alsame]

13. Is that you,

Pat Buchanan? :rofl:

[grantcart]

18. Its called the US Senate lol

[Ken Burch]

52. And in the House, it's called the Blue Dogs

n/t.

[me b zola]

54. It's called the republican party

[diane in sf]

57. I'm the white caucus and I say public option, no trigger!!!

[defendandprotect]

60. Turn on your TV . . . you hear from the WHITE caucus every day, 24/7 . . .!!!

the white MALE caucus ...

[joeycola]

15. BRAVO!!!

[DarthDem]

16. Well Done!

Some real heroes in the House are making their presence felt, just as the Senate is, as usual, tied up in knots and being held hostage by members representing tiny fractions of the country's population. Go Reps! I'm heartened that the president is going to meet with them before his speech.

[thereismore]

17. Thank you to all these beautiful white and brown people!

:fistbump:

[cliffordu]

38. What about my people, the goat people??

[uponit7771]

19. NICE!!!

[Stinky The Clown]

20. How much overlap in those four groups?

I unequivocally endorse and applaud this, but I have to wonder .... how many members are in more than one of those caucuses? I can imagine, for example, a person "qualifying" to be a member of the Progressive, Hispanic, and Black caucuses (caucii?). Surely one can be Progressive and any one of the three ethnocentric caucuses.

[grantcart]

24. here are the lists

Black Caucus: http://thecongressionalblackcaucus.lee.house.gov/member_info.html
42 members


Progressive Caucus: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=166&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=164
83 members

Hispanic Caucus: http://velazquez.house.gov/chc/
24 members


Don't know how many overlap -


but also there are others who are not in any of these caucuses who also want public option

[rurallib]

22. The only one missing is the White caucus - that would be the repuglicans

[grantcart]

35. the US Senate

[mvd]

23. K&R, nice to see progressives united

I'm not going to get on Obama unless in the speech he drops a guaranteed public option. He needs to hear from us.

[polichick]

25. Hmm - interesting. nt

[Thrill]

26. Good. If they don't stand up. He'll move more and more to the right like Clinton

This needs to happen on these wars as well.

[polichick]

27. msnbc just said these groups are being asked to "take one for the team"...

...that they rise and fall with the success of the president.

Hope they got this wrong.

[kenny blankenship]

30. "Not this time. "

For some reason I can't put my finger on, this phrase seems strangely appropriate.

Stand firm Public Option advocates.

[grantcart]

34. it has reached a critical mass

[Phx_Dem]

28. Yay! I'd rather keep status quo than regulate insurance companies

if there is no public option! Woo hoo.

:sarcasm:

[freddie mertz]

29. Hopefully this will influence the president.

This will be the last straw for me, and many others.

[GrantDem]

31. I am thankful for their stand, however...

they need to expand and rule out support for a non-sensical reform killing "trigger".

[grantcart]

32. the progressives already have - and I believe that the four caucuses are

presenting a united front - so the answer is I think that is part of the message.

[GrantDem]

33. I read one of the previous posts after submitting mine.

Good!!!

[senseandsensibility]

36. We need to support these members

any way we can.

[pleah]

37. K&R

[cliffordu]

39. I think you have it Gc....I told a neighbor to hold fast a week or so ago -

Obama ALWAYS waits for the idiots to fight their -image- of him, and once they get really tied up in their own bullshit - kerblooey.

I get the feeling this might be the most substantive, best speech he'll give, which is saying something....

And I'll bet when he gets done, the DINO'S are going to be on board or they'll get primaried.....

I'd hate to be the congresscritter who helped block this.

Looks good to be all rogue and all, but business is business.

[grantcart]

40. The speech will be aimed at 4-5 Democratic senators

Are they really going to let the greatest piece of Demcratic legislation in 50 years die?



They are being painted right into a corner. Public Option or die.



None of them will cross and vote for the filibuster, and it will pass without reconciliation


(wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of Republican Senators who are pissed at the way they are being handled to sign on).

[depakid]

41. It won't pass without reconciliation

And yes, Democrats have a long history of screwing up major legislation. They did it during the Clinton administration- they did it to Jimmy Carter, and there's every reason to believe that they'll do it to Obama.

And why not? Who's going to hold them to account or make them pay some consequences?

[grantcart]

42. The will not need reconciliation - the Republicans will not have enough

votes to sustain a filibuster and the Health Care bill will only need 50 votes.


One thing to vote against the bill, and a couple may, but it is entirely something different to cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans to not allow the bill to come up with a vote.


There is pork, there is committee chairmanships and there is getting legislation you need for your state passed. In the end peer pressure within the caucus will outweigh any other consideration when it comes to the vote on cloture.

[depakid]

44. Dems cross the aisle ALL THE TIME to vote with Republicans!

Lieberman even campaigned for McCain and still has his chairmanship.

Seems like you're confusing Democrats with a disciplined and effective party. They've proven time and again to be neither

[grantcart]

45. not on cloture - and not on this historic bill

anyone who does will not be a chairman - wait and see - they will allow them to save face but not support a filibuster.


BTW what bill did Lieberman vote for that actually defeated a Democratic bill? (not that I have any love for Lieberman, Conrad, Landrieu, Bayh et al)

[cliffordu]

43. YEP, YEP AND YEP.

[Hekate]

46. Well well well. FDR, I think Eleanor's got that groundswell you said you needed...

... to "make you do it." Well well well.

Hekate

[avaistheone1]

48. Is there a women's caucus?

If there isn't there should be. Women get the short end of the stick in receiving medical attention, and services. Many health plans don't cover mammograms for women, birth control or abortion. In addition women are given subpar cardiac care in comparison to what men receive. Even health research on women is inadequate in comparison to research on men. I would love to see a women's caucus form and come out strong for the public option.

[Hekate]

49. Yes. I found a link -- my Rep is the co-chair-- it began in 1977...

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/March/20070319123122hmnietsua0.3999292.html
19 March 2007

Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues "Truly Bipartisan"
Women from both political parties work to promote shared interests

By Michelle Austein
USINFO Staff Writer

Washington -- Women in the U.S. Congress hold differing views, yet most work together in a bipartisan fashion as members of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues to promote better opportunities for women worldwide.

Caucus members draw attention to women's issues internationally by working to assist women's groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries and to increase funding for these groups. Members of the caucus were instrumental in the March 6 approval of a House resolution commemorating International Women's Day, which was March 8. The resolution "recognizes and honors the women in the United States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle for equality in the face of adversity."

"This is a historic time for the Congressional Women's Caucus," Congresswoman Lois Capps said in a March 6 press release announcing the organization's 30th anniversary. "Serving under the leadership of the first woman speaker with a record number of women members, the Women's Caucus is uniquely poised to have a greater voice than ever before in shaping the agenda of the Congress and the nation." >snip<

All 74 female members from the House of Representatives (including three nonvoting delegates) are invited to participate in the caucus. Although the Senate does not have a women's caucus, the 16 female senators often meet together informally. >snip<

During the group's history, caucus members from both parties have worked together to create landmark legislation. This includes the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which grants employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave for the birth of a child or the care of a child, spouse or parent who has a serious health condition, and the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which provides safeguards for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. >snip<

[defendandprotect]

61. May have missed the info in article . . . who heads this? Dem/Repug?

[Hekate]

67. It's deliberately bipartisan, & co-chair Lois Capps is a Democrat....

The article states they focus on issues they can find common ground on, which means they steer away from abortion legislation and toward things like the FMLA. From the list of issues they have gotten involved in, it looks like more than a symbolic group to me.

This article was simply the one that surfaced most quickly when I did a quick google. There will be others as well.

Hekate

[malletgirl02]

50. Caucses

This is all good, but why aren't they writing a bill with the public option in it and then forcing Obama to sign it? I won't be impressed until I see an actual coherent unified bill come out of Congress.

[Ken Burch]

51. Finally. Some guts.

Good for the caucuses.

[Hosnon]

53. Hooray! Obama agrees with them, they just have to make him do it. nt.

[ooglymoogly]

55. Always cogent, keeping us posted...kr nt

[defendandprotect]

56. We need to get Baucus and Grassley out of there . . . and anyone else

laden down with "for profit" insurance/health care industry money --

We need to keep talking about campaign finance BRIBERY --

[Better Believe It]

62. No trigger, open to everyone and Medicare rates. We need 50 Senate votes for this.

Biden casts the tiebreaker

[David Zephyr]

63. The progressive block within the House can shut down Obama's deal-making with the Insurance Cartel

It's simple. Obama doesn't get his showpiece legislation without a hell of a lot of Republicans and that won't happen.

Thankfully, MoveOn is applying pressure now, too.

[ljm2002]

64. Good for them! I would include...

...public option WITHOUT a trigger. It must be there from the gate.

[tekisui]

65. knr!~

[treestar]

66. The House was never a problem was it?

The problem is the Senate.

[whistler162]

68. And which bill have they placed it in?