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Get Paid To Vote Against Obamacare
If it doesn’t include a public option. Kevin points out that Blue America has raised almost $200,000 to distribute to Dems who pledge to vote against any reform bill without a public option. Since Kevin’s post this morning, the total has risen to $277,000. Kevin observes,
The Blue America money helps make the promise to vote against any bill without a public option more credible. Right now, no one believes it. Everybody thinks that, in the end, liberals will cave and vote for it regardless. But with this money in place, which is going to people on condition that they vote against any bill without a public option, it makes it genuinely hard for them to turn around and vote Yes after all. It helps turn a meaningless threat into a credible one.
We can only hope. Also, Kevin explains the politics of the Democratic proposal to split the healthcare reform package into two bills.
Cross-posted at Conventional Folly
14 Responses to “Get Paid To Vote Against Obamacare”
“We can only hope.”
You approve of bribes?
Wont work anyhow, they can't buy votes in the elections Congress will be facing in 2012. What good will that money do if they lose the election?
It's a bargaining tactic, pure and simple. At what point will Democratic opponents of the public option in the Senate show their cards? And I don't mean in supporting a co-op or suggesting that “the votes for a public option aren't there.” I'm wondering if – and when – Senate Dems like Baucus, Nelson and Conrad say that they will support a Republican filibuster against the public option.
Polimom
That money should offset the millions spent by private health lobbyists to “support” legislators who vote against reform.
Either bribes from both sides are wrong or there not. Cherry picking is disingenuous.
HemmD — bribes from both sides are wrong period. I detest the power of the lobbyists over our government. I detest this as well. It's just more of the “well, they do it, so I will” mantra that's carried us all to the brink.
Considering the fact that the health-care industry is spending $1,400.000 a day you have to wonder why Mr Adesnik decided to “the story” here is a week long, grass-roots fund raiser that has raised $277,000.
Or maybe wonder isn't the right word…
“It's just more of the “well, they do it, so I will” mantra that's carried us all to the brink.”
Work to reform or reboot the system all you want (sounds like you think we need public financing of elections), but you can't begrudge those that play the game honestly.
Also: Were all the people that donated to the Obama and McCain campaigns last year guilty of bribery?
Chris — I wasn't aware that these funds were for current campaigns. Did I miss something?
However, if you're going to argue this route, then I'll play along and suggest that funds might be similarly (and perhaps more productively) raised as bait to entice Republicans to stop being oppositional for the sake of it.
How about $5K per Repubican leader who publicly refutes the more ridiculous of the misinformation that's been spinning around out there?
Polimom, the funds would be used to support future campaigns for backers of the Public Option.
Your idea for fundraising for Republicans would be good for an independent or Republican organization looking to push the Public Option. But it's just not going to be something a Democratic fundraising group, like ActBlue, is going to do.
Polimom,
I'm not happy with the way political financing works, but it's clearly within the rules of the game to raise money for legislators who share your views on a specific issue. As I understand it, the Blue America funds are for current campaigns (which are always in progress if you're a House member.)
SteveK, I decided that this was “the story” because I thought Kevin's post was insightful. Given that Kevin is a bonafide, Bush-hating liberal who blogs for Mother Jones, I don't think that suggestions of spin doctoring will fly. Do I, as a Republican, enjoy watching Democrats raise money to fight each other? Sure. But that was news for a liberal blog, too.
Polimom — People are allowed to give donations to politicians who do things they support. Blue America is simply gathering money in small increments to put together and say “this is the thing we support”. I guess any political contribution could be considered a bribe, but the other option is only to run publically funded campaigns. Is that what you are suggesting, in a round-about way? The difference between this “bribe” and the bribe used by the health insurance lobbyists is not just the scale, but that this is coming from individual people, not from corporations.
Well as long as campaign dollars are ridiculously defined as 'speech', you can expect this. That is a court precident I think was truly wrongly decided.
Health reform without a Public Option would be like Medicare Part D without the ability to negotiate prices with the drug companies… a costly failure.
Funny how some of the concerned conservatives see Blue Americas grass roots fund raising as 'bribary' while at the same time ignore and/or minimizing the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars the health care industry has invested (bribed) congress critters.And this investment was made EVEN BEFORE the Health Reform issue was on the table!
Now they're spending $42,000,000 a MONTH to mislead and distract America on the issues at hand and $1,400,000 / day buys a lot of silly segues and pointless distractions.
It's no surprise that some would approve of bribery. They still support this junk health care effort, after all.
Meanwhile, what was that about splitting the health care legislation into two bills?
Leave it to the Dems to do it wrongly, and to remain prepared to stoop ever lower in their behavior (with the “reconciliation” stunt):
“The first would have all the controversial provisions and would go through the reconciliation process, where it needs only 50 votes. The second would go through the normal process[,] and therefore need 60 votes, but since it includes the stuff that's widely popular[,] it would pass[,] anyway.”