Who Are the 13 Senate Democrats Holding Out On the Public Option?

[Barack_America]

A nice round-up from TPM

The Waverers

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) has perhaps more power than any single person in Congress to shape the direction health care reform will take. And though he tells his supporters in Montana that he "wants a public option," he's also been at the helm of negotiations over legislation that will almost certainly not include a public option.

By all accounts, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) would support a health care bill with a public option--but he's not about to make a big fuss if the final legislation doesn't create one.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), like his Delaware colleague, isn't a public option foe--but nor is he a particularly staunch ally. "I don't need it either way," Tester told the Associated Press today. "I could either support it or not support it. It's all in the design."

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) isn't particularly eager to see a public option--but like so many Senate centrists, he doesn't rule it out. However, Warner, like Tester, enjoyed a lot of electoral support from the progressive grassroots, and so tends to obscure the issue when asked whether he'd support a government run insurance plan.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) has a problem. Though a well known pol in Arkansas, she's up for re-election next year and, according to recent polls, she's running in a statistical dead heat with two relatively unknown Republicans. So though she's articulated an openness to a public option in the past, she's also suggested she might just vote against the whole package.

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), unlike his Arkansas colleague, is not up for re-election next year, and so says, "A public option plan is something that is still on the table and something could support, but it should be designed in a way that increases and does not eliminate competition."

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) hasn't said much about the public option lately. Several months ago he insisted he was "agnostic" about it. Progressives are concerned that he'll be influenced by his wife, who sits on the board of Wellpoint--one of the country's largest insurance companies.

Continue on to read about "The Mysteries" and "The Haters".
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/who-are-the-13-senate-democrats-holding-out-on-the-public-option.php?ref=fpa

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. Contact'em HERE:

AR - Lincoln
355 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
[phone]
Fax [phone]
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

IN - Bayh
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
[phone]
[phone] fax

OR - Wyden
Washington, DC
223 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3703
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact /

VA - Warner
459A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact

MT - Baucus
Washington D.C.
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
[phone](Office)
[phone] (Fax)
http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=iss...

DE - Carper
United States Senate
513 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://carper.senate.gov/contact /

WV - Byrd
Washington Office
311 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3954
http://byrd.senate.gov/contacts /

AK - Begich
Washington, DC
825C HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
Washington DC, 20510
Phone: [phone]
http://begich.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm

AR - Pryor
Washington, D.C. Office
255 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://pryor.senate.gov/contact /

FL - Bill Nelson
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://pryor.senate.gov/contact /
http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

LA - Landrieu
Washington, DC328 Hart Senate Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Voice: [phone]
Fax [phone]
http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

ND - Conrad
Senator Kent Conrad
530 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-3403
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Online: http://conrad.senate.gov/contact
E-mail: https://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

NE - Ben Nelson
Washington, D.C.
720 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://bennelson.senate.gov/email-issues.cfm

Tester
724 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm

CA - Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
TTY/TDD: [phone]
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAc...

[Barack_America]

2. Brilliant. Thank you.

:fistbump:

[skipos]

12. ! contacted them all! nt

[Bonn1997]

13. Is it worth contacting them if you don't live in their state?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. I tend to fax them --

I am worried there are filters of sorts that keep the online email forms with the "wrong" zip from reaching their destination.

I think it it totally worth contacting them becasue if some shithead in North Dakota votes against ti, I am completely effected by it out here in CA.

[deminks]

3. K N R

:kick:

[Barack_America]

5. Thanks!

:hi:

[kjackson227]

4. done! K&R

[onenote]

6. a little misleading

First, not all 13 are opposed to the public option. Indeed, only 2 have definitively come out as "no". And while I don't like the fact that the others are either "waverers" or "mysteries", the fact is that they are not the only members of the Senate who will vote for a bill whether or not it has a public option.

The key is getting the votes for cloture. So in contacting these offices (or in my case, contacting my Senators, Webb and Warner), my message has been (1) support a public option and (2) even if you can't do that, support cloture and urge your colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle to support cloture.

[Alhena]

8. Cloture? You mean there's a chance for 60 votes on that?

I don't see it with all the wavering from Landrieu, Lieberman, Feinstein, etc.

[onenote]

9. link to feinstein saying she'd oppose cloture?

And to others not listed in the article linked by the OP?


edited to add link to updated story about Feinstein's position:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/27/161032/676

[backscatter712]

11. We don't need 60, we need 51 for reconciliation.

Since the GOP's not willing to act like grown-ups on this, reconciliation it is.

[Alhena]

7. Dianne Feinstein was against it a month ago - is she still? link

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/24/MN4N18U122.DTL

[RagAss]

10. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$