The fight for meaningful healthcare reform continues and Arkansas has turned into a crucial battlefield. In a state where polls show eighty percent of state Democrats supporting a pubic option, Senator Blanche Lincoln and Congressman Mike Ross, a leading Blue Dog, have consistently stood with the insurance industry in opposing the government plan.
In response, the indefatigable Jane Hamsher, a peerless political blogger and tireless advocate for a public option, has created an ad to remind Lincoln and Ross that Democratic voters, not Blue Cross Blue Shield CEOs, are the ones who put them in office.
Here’s the ad, produced by FireDogLake Action:
FDL Action will run the ad in Arkansas, where 60 percent of Arkansas Democrats statewide and nearly 100 percent of Democrats in Mike Ross’s district will see it repeatedly for the next two weeks on prime time network TV.
Please consider contributing to help run the ad on the air as many times as possible to let these legislators know that if they won’t act like Democrats, we’ll find someone who will.
And here are some other ideas, drawn largely from a recent post of mine, for how to effectively work for true healthcare reform:
Add your name to the Progressive Democrats of America’s “Healthcare, Not Warfare” petition.
Write your newspaper editor and call for national healthcare.
Join one of the many Facebook groups in support of a public option, particularly the one trying to organize a march on Washington for a public option.
Donate to and volunteer for HCAN, the group that I think is doing the most effective organizing on the ground for universal healthcare especially in the districts of Blue Dog members of Congress and so-called “centrist” Senators whose support is crucial to passing a strong healthcare bill.
PS: If you have extra time on your hands and want to follow me on Twitter — a micro-blog — click here. You’ll find (slightly) more personal posts, breaking news, basketball and lots of links.
