Progressives Want To Put The Blue Dogs To Sleep

Progressive groups like moveon.org are on the attack against anyone they consider to be a "Blue Dog" (Conservative) Democrat:

Dear MoveOn member,

If the final health care reform bill doesn't include a public option, it'll be because of conservative Senate Democrats like Blanche Lincoln.

After taking more than $700,000 from Big Insurance and HMO interests, she was one of just a handful of senators who vowed to filibuster health care reform until the public option was removed—and just Friday, she denounced it again.1

But now we've got a huge opportunity to replace her, and to send a powerful message to Washington that obstructing progressive legislation has heavy political costs.

She's up for reelection this year, and Bill Halter, the state's progressive lieutenant governor, is deciding right now whether to challenge her in the Democratic primary.2 Can you sign our petition to Bill Halter telling him we'll have his back if he decides to run?

http://pol.moveon.org/billhalter/?id=19040-17182837-ve9dPhx&t=3

The petition says, "We've had enough of Democrats like Blanche Lincoln who listen to big corporations instead of their constituents. We urge you to challenge her in the primary and we'll work hard to support you if you do."

We asked MoveOn members in Arkansas about this race, and over 90 percent said that we should urge Halter to run and support his campaign.

Jennifer P. from Little Rock told us, "Lincoln never met a special interest she didn't like. It's hard to express just how awful she has been as a senator. I don't know of anyone who will vote for her if she shows up on the November ballot."

By contrast, according to MoveOn member Bill C. from Pocahontas, Halter is "more electable and much more likely to support progressive legislation."

As lieutenant governor, Bill Halter led the successful campaign to establish a state-run lottery with all proceeds donated to tens of thousands of college scholarships for Arkansas students.3 He also recently helped organize a free medical clinic that provided care for more than 1,000 uninsured Arkansans.4 And he's spoken out strongly against anti-gay ballot measures in Arkansas.5

But he's facing a tough fight, because Lincoln has raised millions in campaign contributions from corporate interests and has more than $5 million in the bank.6 So we need to show Bill Halter that progressives will support him if he decides to run.

Click here to sign the petition:

http://pol.moveon.org/billhalter/?id=19040-17182837-ve9dPhx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Adam, Ilya, Michael, Kat, and the rest of the team

On February 24th MoveOn.org organized what they called a "Virtual March" flooding calls into congress:

Dear MoveOn member,

WOW.

News reports said that word of yesterday's Virtual March had Congress preparing for gridlock.1 And we definitely didn't disappoint—phones were ringing off the hook all day with voters demanding real health care reform.

So if you got a busy signal yesterday, no worries—you can try again today and add your message to the 1,124,457 that poured in yesterday.2

If you couldn't get through or haven't called yet, can you call Sens. Kerry and Brown today? Let's keep the momentum going—tell them you're adding your voice to the more than one million yesterday demanding that Congress finish health care reform this year.

Here's where to call:

Senator John Kerry
Phone: 202-224-2742

Senator Scott Brown
Phone: 202-224-4543

Then, please report your call by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSMA_1.FSMA_2&cp_id=1290&id=19114-17182837-GDtd12x&t=3

Thank you to every one of you who marched yesterday. It was an incredible show of support for finishing health care reform and couldn't have come at a more crucial time.

Americans from all walks of life—members of labor unions like SEIU and the United Food and Commercial Workers, blog readers from Daily Kos, health care supporters from Democracy for America, Health Care for America Now, ProgressNow, Young Americans for Healthcare Reform, and so many others—took action.

There's more to this message but I had to stop there for a moment and show you something. Remember, they were upset with Blanche Lincoln reporting that she took $700,000 from big insurance and HMO, (something I'm not disputing but haven't been able to confirm). Now look at the list of progressive groups listed in the above paragraph. $700,000 from special interest groups are bad according to MoveOn. Let's look at some of those whom they supported that "took action".

SEIU - so...$700,000 is bad, but $2,684,931 is OK.

Health Care for America Now - This one's not as bad, only $210,000 for '09. Ignore that though, they're progressives so it's OK, right? Notice that in '08 they only spent $80,000.....I'm sure it's just a coincidence that they spent $130,000 more in '09. It surely didn't have anything to do with the health care debate raging all last year.

How about Democracy for America, (of course we're supposed to be a republic but never mind that) - apparently they got short changed, no pun intended, by Obama's stimulus. They only spent $30,000 in '09. However, if you look at year '08 they spent $495,000. Also if you look at the chart which shows from '03 - '09 you may notice something.

2004, (election year) was a big year for this group.

2006 wasn't bad either, (congressional election in which Democrats destroyed Republicans, deserved of course since Republicans had virtually stopped being conservative altogether at that point.)

During 2007, (Obama announces run for White House), and 2008, (the presidential election), Democracy for America spent over $1,000,000 on lobbying.

Forget everything you just saw though. Remember, if you are considered a "conservative" Democrat by the progressive left and don't support the public option $700,000 makes you a special interest puppet.

However, if you support the progressive agenda and lobby $2,924,931 in 2009 alone then it's OK. Even if Rasmussen reports that 56% of people oppose Obama's health care reform vs. only 41% who approve. I guess that if the progressives want to push Obamacare then it's OK since they claim it's what's best for the majority, often referred to as the "common good".

"Every dictator who ever lived justified the enslavement of his people based on the theory of what was best for the majority" - Ronald Reagan CPAC speech, 1974

Here's the remainder of the moveon.org message that I cut off earlier to show you the lobbying facts.

And their voices reminded Congress yet again why we need to get health care reform done, and done right. We asked marchers to complete this sentence "I'm marching because..." Here's what a few folks had to say:

...my kids and my granddaughter deserve health care for their lifetimes. -K D,

...Health Care is a human right. -C C,

...I'm tired of living in fear about what my solo policy doesn't cover. -R O,

...my 23-year old son can't afford health insurance. -A M,

...no one should lose everything because they get sick -P S,


...I can no longer afford my health care. -K K,

...if not now, when?! -P R,

Americans can't afford to wait for health care reform. Our system is broken and fixing it is truly a national emergency. With the president's summit today, this could be our last, best chance to push for reform and get it done. So let's keep the calls coming.


If you haven't yet or weren't able to get through yesterday, can you call Sens. Kerry and Brown right away?


Then let us know how it went here:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSMA_1.FSMA_2&cp_id=1290&id=19114-17182837-GDtd12x&t=4

Thanks for all that you do.

–Kat, Michael, Peter, Lenore, Ilyse, and the rest of the team

No MoveOn.org, Thank you.

Note: I erased the names and towns of the people making the comments to protect the brainwashed and ignorant who actually think the government taking over health care will solve any of those problems.

One last thing regarding the Scott Brown vote for the jobs bill. I won't defend or attack him here. I'll just let you hear him make his case and decide for yourself.

Scott Brown explains vote for jobs bill.