Please share your opinions on Al Franken's leadership on behalf of the public option.
Al Franken has long been known as a progressive hero. And he fills the seat of Paul Wellstone -- someone who was willing to exert bold progressive leadership even when it wasn't popular among his congressional colleagues.
But Franken is now on the verge of supporting a health care bill dictated by Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson. It has no public option and requires millions of Americans to buy insurance from private corporations -- even if it is too expensive. It is a huge giveaway to giant corporations and an expansion of corporate power.
Our question to Minnesota voters: Has Sen. Al Franken fought strongly enough for the public option? And would you support pressuring him to be stronger?
Our next grassroots steps will likely entail pressuring progressive senators to say they will block any final bill (after the House-Senate negotiations) unless it has a public option. But before we add Franken to the list of those who need pressure, we want the opinion of our Minnesota members.
Please share your opinions on the right.
THREE FACTORS TO CONSIDER:
1) The public option is currently not in the Senate bill because Sen. Joe Lieberman threatened to block this bill from moving forward.
If Al Franken and other progressive senators threatened to block a bad bill, President Obama would face a choice: Strong-arm senators like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson to support the final bill, which has huge popular support OR strong-arm progressives into supporting a bill with 33% support. The smart choice is obvious. But it's up to progressive senators to force that choice.
2) The PCCC and Democracy for America released recent polling that made big news nationally. It showed:
- Voters want the public option: 59% to 31%.
- Mandates without a public option: 33% to 56%. A voter revolt against the current Senate plan.
- Democratic voters support primary challengers to members of Congress who vote for a bill without a public option: 84% to 8%.
- If a public option does not pass Congress, 33% of Democrats will be less likely to turn out to vote in the 2010 general election, while 22% of Republicans will be more likely.
- Voters say Obama didn't fight Lieberman hard enough: 63% to 29%. (Democrats: 87%)
- 81% of Democrats want Joe Lieberman stripped of his powerful committee chairmanship.
3) Al Franken has already shown he can be bold in the Senate. He took on the military-industrial complex with his successful amendment protecting victims of gang rape who work for military contractors like Halliburton. When Republicans thought they were scoring political points by daring Democrats to sign up for the public option, Franken took to the Senate floor and said he would.
And as Joe Lieberman talked about health care and ran out of time, Al Franken used his power as a senator to object to giving Lieberman more time -- a bit of sweet justice for Lieberman who is currently using his power as a senator to hurt the health care of millions of people.
But now on the key question of whether Al Franken will use his leverage as a progressive senator to secure the public option -- and force President Obama to lay down the law with Lieberman if he withholds his vote -- will Franken show boldness?
Your thoughts will help us plan our next activism steps.
