Price Of Admission To The Big Tent

by digby

There’s a lot of talk these days, and books being written, about what it means to be a majority party Democrat living under the Big Tent. It requires coalition building and compromise and negotiation, for sure. But there are some issues that are so fundamental to what being a Democrat is, by definition, that if you don’t support them, you aren’t one. Health care for kids is one of those things — it’s simply not negotiable.

The DCCC is running a telephone and radio campaign to persuade Republicans who who voted against it to switch their vote and overturn the veto when it comes to the floor. They are trying to get 15 GOP House members to vote with the large number of their brethren who are already on board this extremely popular legislation. They are hopeful they can persuade some of them to split with the administration.

But there are five Democratic Bush Dogs who have also said they will continue to vote no on this bill and help Bush sustain his veto, whom the Democratic leadership cannot persuade to behave like Democrats. So this morning Blue America and BlogPac are going to take a crack at it and send these so-called Democrats a message — a full time working mom with a sick kid who depends upon S-CHIP, named Michele James, has recorded a call for constituents of these five Bush Dogs in the hopes they will put some pressure on their representatives to switch their vote. (You can hear one of the calls here.)

We would appreciate your help. If you would like to donate to this campaign, you can contribute via this ActBlue page.

And if you can make some calls yourself, that would be helpful as well. The five Bush Dogs will be hearing from their constituents at their local offices — and if you are one, please contact your congressman today! But I’m sure their Washington offices could use some pressure from the rest of us.

Jim Marshall (D-GA)–Washington, D.C. Office (202)225-6531; Macon, GA Office 1-877-464-0255; Tifton, GA Office (229)556-7418.

Baron Hill (D-IN)–Washington, D.C. Office (202)225-5315; Jeffersonville, IN Office (812)288-3999; Bloomington, IN Office (812)336-3000.

Gene Taylor (D-MS)–Washington, D.C. Office (202)225-5772; Bay St. Louis, MS Office (228)469-9235; Gulfport, MS Office (228)864-7670; Ocean Springs, MS Office (228)872-7950; Hattiesburg, MS Office (601)582-3246; Laurel, MS Office (601)425-3905.

Bob Etheridge (D-NC)–Washington, D.C. Office (202)225-4531; Raleigh, NC Office (919)829-9122 or 1-888-262-6202; Lillington, NC Office (910)814-0335 or 1-866-384-3743.

Mike McIntyre (D-NC)–Washington, D.C. Office (202)225-2731; Lumberton, NC Office (910)735-0610; Fayetteville, NC Office (910)323-0260; Wilmington, NC Office (910)815-4959; Bolivia, NC Office (910)253-0158.

I’m going to be calling Gene Taylor’s office myself. I lived for a time in his district as a kid, in Bay St Louis. It barely exists anymore, sadly, because it was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. There are many hard working families in Mississippi who were living hand to mouth before the disaster and are still trying desperately to work their way back to where they were. I suspect quite a few of them depend upon S-CHIP for their kids’ health care.

I’m going to remind Congressman Taylor what the definition of being a Democrat is. It seems he’s forgotten.

Again, you can contribute to this campaign go here.

Other bloggers are involved as well: FDL, Down With Tyranny, Open Left, C&L

more to come…

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