The thing is, I actually really like the "Standing Up For the Public Option" campaign. It makes great sense to have the 65 Representatives refuse to vote for a bill without the compromise measure that is having a public option (it being a compromise between nothing and single-payer).
As such, I gave $1 per line item on the Actblue page.
As for the latest pie fight hubbub, I really don't care whether someone's getting paid or acknowledges it or anything; as far as I'm concerned, all they need to do is acknowledge that they're working with/for an organization SOMEWHERE (in diaries, in their profile, in their sigline) and everything's fine. Who cares whether they're doing it for free or getting paid?
What I don't like, though, is the latest Lobbyist Skeletons campaign that FDL is having.
First of all, it's really not necessary as long as the 65 Democrats hold fast. Do you really think there are 27 Republicans in the House who are willing to vote for a Democratic health bill even if it doesn't have a public option? I'm sure co-ops more than qualify as rationing-inducing socialized medicine for most of the House GOP, and let's not forget that senior citizens already have government healthcare and will thus be vulnerable to the Democratic death panels.
In short, if the House brings a bad bill to the floor, they might, might get Joe Cao, Christopher Smith (if there are absolutely no provisions even hinting at reproductive choice, otherwise he'll fight to the death against it) and Mike Castle to along with it; maybe even one or two other Republicans.
No way in hell they get 27.
However, the lack of necessity is minor in comparison to my primary problem with this new campaign:
They're going after a whole bunch of co-sponsors of H.R. 676, the single-payer healthcare bill, as corporate sellouts
Specifically, 26 of them, Neil Abercrombie, Tammy Baldwin, Xavier Becerra, Howard Berman, Robert Brady, Steve Cohen, Danny Davis, Mike Doyle, Eliot Engel, Al Green, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Patrick Kennedy, Dale Kildee, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Ed Markey, Kendrick Meek, Gregory Meeks, George Miller, Ed Pastor, Jared Polis, Bobby Rush, Tim Ryan, Jan Schakowsky, Bobby Scott and Peter Welch.
These members of Congress are on board with eliminating private insurance and bringing us in line with the rest of the developed world that of course spends half as much of their GDP on healthcare as we do and still beat us in all statistical areas.
Hell, with single-payer and a reduction to a "mere" 12% of our GDP going to healthcare, we could easily have zero wait times and cover everyone.
But apparently these 26 have healthcare lobbyist skeletons in their closets?
Maybe because they stuck the health insurance lobbyists who dared tried to lobby them in the closet to think about their poor career choice and subsequently forgot to have their staffs ever let them out. I'll grant you that's a possibility.
But come on. These guys aren't in bed with the health insurance industry.
Neither is John Dingell. The man's been reintroducing the national health insurance bill his dad first sponsored like 70 years ago for over 50 frickin' years
And Henry Waxman? The Henry Waxman who's been leading the fight against the insurance companies? Digging through their dirt in a tireless effort to change the narrative?
As dday says
Henry Waxman's move last week to ask insurance companies for their full records on compensation and perks is as consequential as any member of Congress has made in the fight over health care reform, because it has the potential to change the entire narrative around the issue
Sure, some people on their list (Dan Lipinski, in particular), need some pressure.
But let's try to focus on those who need pressure, okay?