Whisper! Granted, it's on the front page of one of the nation's largest circulation newspapers, but fortunately no one reads newspapers, anymore!
Get out your trench coats, and start hanging out on foggy street corners. Surreptitiously hand off coded notes, while quietly passing in large crowds. No eye contact! And don't be seen discussing this in public!
Well, the L.A. Times sort of took care of the first part. Shifting public perception, on the other hand, is a very good idea. It could start by ceasing to pretend that it's possible to work with Republicans. Maybe, just maybe, that's already happening. Maybe Rahm Emanuel is just playing bad cop. Certainly, job creation and banking reform should be near the top of any list of political priorities, while deficit reduction is an absurd and dangerous worry, as we attempt to recover from the Chicago School/Reaganomics/Bush-Cheney economic disaster. But it's not as if lack of adequate health care will just stop contributing to some 45,000 premature deaths, every year. It's not as if health care costs won't continue to skyrocket, contributing to nearly a million personal bankruptcies, each year.
Health care reform still matters. A lot. Both for the policy and the politics. And the latter is the key point. Because even if Rahm Emanuel had said health care reform is dead, he is not the one that matters, right now. Nor, for that matter, is his boss. Their jobs aren't on the line, this year. But Speaker Pelosi's gavel is. And while it would take an extraordinary turn of events for the Senate majority to be threatened, such a turn is no longer out of the question. But even if it were, Majority Leader Reid's job is on the line, not because of the threat to his majority, but because of the threat to his Senate seat. The White House may or may not want to be involved, but Congress is. Two bills need reconciling. They've been passed. One, in particular, needs major fixes. There is a way. Whiny Republican hypocrites will do what they do best. But there is a way. So, the only question is that of will. Because there is a way.
So, don't tell anyone, but the process is still working. Quietly. Discreetly. Surreptitiously. In whispers. Okay, on the front page of a major daily newspaper, but other than that. The only thing that seems to matter is that the people that matter on the process understand that the people that matter on the policy still think it matters. A lot.
You know what to do.
Capitol switchboard: (202)224-3121
Akaka, Daniel - (D - HI)
(202) 224-6361
E-mail: senator@akaka.senate.gov
Baucus, Max - (D - MT)
(202) 224-2651
Web Form: baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Bayh, Evan - (D - IN)
(202) 224-5623
Web Form: bayh.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm
Begich, Mark (D - AK)
(202)224-3004
Web Form: begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailSenator
Bennet, Michael - (D - CO)
(202) 224-5852
Web Form: bennet.senate.gov/contact/
Bingaman, Jeff - (D - NM)
(202) 224-5521
E-mail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Boxer, Barbara - (D - CA)
(202) 224-3553
Web Form: boxer.senate.gov/contact/
Brown, Sherrod - (D - OH)
(202) 224-2315
Web Form: brown.senate.gov/contact/
Burris, Roland - (D - IL)
(202) 224-2854
Web Form: burris.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
Byrd, Robert - (D - WV)
(202) 224-3954
Web Form: byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html
Cantwell, Maria - (D - WA)
(202) 224-3441
Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Cardin, Ben - (D - MD)
(202) 224-4524
Web Form: cardin.senate.gov/contact/
Carper, Thomas - (D - DE)
(202) 224-2441
Web Form: carper.senate.gov/contact/
Casey, Robert P., Jr. - (D - PA)
(202) 224-6324
Web Form: casey.senate.gov/contact/
Conrad, Kent - (D - ND)
(202) 224-2043
Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/webform.html
Dodd, Christopher - (D – CT)
(202) 224-2823
Web Form: dodd.senate.gov/webmail/
Dorgan, Byron - (D - ND)
(202) 224-2551
E-mail: senator@dorgan.senate.gov
Durbin, Richard - (D - IL)
(202) 224-2152
Web Form: durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Feingold, Russell - (D - WI)
(202) 224-5323
E-mail: russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov
Feinstein, Dianne - (D - CA)
(202) 224-3841
Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.Home
Franken, Al - (D - MN)
(202) 224-5641
E-mail: info@franken.senate.gov
Gillibrand, Kirsten - (D - NY)
(202) 224-4451
Web Form: gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
Hagan, Kay - (D - NC)
(202)224-6432
Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/?p=contact
Harkin, Tom - (D - IA)
(202) 224-3254
Web Form: harkin.senate.gov/c/index.cfm
Inouye, Daniel - (D - HI)
(202) 224-3934
Web Form: inouye.senate.gov/abtform.html
Johnson, Tim - (D - SD)
(202) 224-5842
Web Form: johnson.senate.gov/contact/
Kaufman, Ted - (D - DE)
(202) 224-5042
Web Form: kaufman.senate.gov/services/contact/
Kerry, John - (D - MA)
(202) 224-2742
Web Form: kerry.senate.gov/contact/office.cfml
Kirk, Paul - (D - MA)
(202) 224-4543
Kohl, Herb - (D - WI)
(202) 224-5653
Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html
Klobuchar, Amy - (D - MN)
(202) 224-3244
E-mail: senator@klobuchar.senate.gov
Landrieu, Mary - (D - LA)
(202) 224-5824
Web Form: landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Lautenberg, Frank - (D – NJ)
(202) 224-3224
Web Form: lautenberg.senate.gov/contact/
Leahy, Patrick - (D - VT)
(202) 224-4242
E-mail: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Levin, Carl - (D - MI)
(202) 224-6221
Web Form: levin.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Lincoln, Blanche - (D - AR)
(202) 224-4843
Web Form: lincoln.senate.gov/webform.html
McCaskill, Claire - (D - MO)
(202) 224-6154
Web Form: mccaskill.senate.gov/contact/
Menendez, Robert - (D - NJ)
(202) 224-4744
Web Form: menendez.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
Merkley, Jeff - (D - OR)
(202)224-3753
Web Form: merkley.senate.gov/contact/
Mikulski, Barbara - (D - MD)
(202) 224-4654
Web Form: mikulski.senate.gov/mailform.html
Murray, Patty - (D - WA)
(202) 224-2621
Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Nelson, Bill - (D - FL)
(202) 224-5274
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Nelson, Ben - (D - NE)
(202) 224-6551
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Pryor, Mark - (D - AR)
(202) 224-2353
Web Form: pryor.senate.gov/contact/
Reed, Jack - (D - RI)
(202) 224-4642
Web Form: reed.senate.gov/contact/
Reid, Harry - (D - NV)
(202) 224-3542
Web Form: reid.senate.gov/contact/
Rockefeller, John - (D - WV)
(202) 224-6472
E-mail: senator@rockefeller.senate.gov
Sanders, Bernie - (I - VT)
(202) 224-5141
Web Form: sanders.senate.gov/comments/
Schumer, Charles - (D - NY)
(202) 224-6542
Web Form: schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/contact.html
Shaheen, Jeanne - (D - NH)
(202) 224-2841
Web Form: shaheen.senate.gov/contact/
Specter, Arlen - (D - PA)
(202)224-4254
Web Form: specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Stabenow, Debbie - (D - MI)
(202) 224-4822
Web Form: stabenow.senate.gov/email.htm
Tester, Jon - (D - MT)
(202) 224-2644
Web Form: tester.senate.gov/Contact/
Udall, Mark - (D - CO)
(202)224-5941
Web Form: markudall.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
Udall, Tom - (D - NM)
(202)224-6621
Web Form: tomudall.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
Warner, Mark - (D - VA)
(202)224-2023
Web Form: warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact
Webb, Jim - (D - VA)
(202) 224-4024
Web Form: webb.senate.gov/contact/
Whitehouse, Sheldon - (D - RI)
(202)224-2921
Web Form: whitehouse.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Wyden, Ron - (D - OR)
(202) 224-5244
Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact/