Democratic efforts to assemble the necessary 60 votes to open the process of killing American medicine hit some big bumps yesterday, but the payoff for the big government left are so huge that Harry Reid isn't about to call off his search for the right bribe for senators like Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln and Indiana's Evan Bayh.
Politico reports that it took Reid next to nothing to gain Bayh's absolutely necessary vote to proceed to the next phase of passing Obamacare. Bayh could have had anything he wanted, including the end of the public option, but he sold his blocking vote for next to nothing:
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) didn’t like the tax on device manufacturers, who employ 20,000 people in his state. Reid has promised to change the tax — and now, Bayh has said he would keep an open mind on the opt-out, in part because his objections to the tax were addressed.
“I would be giving you a much different answer about the motion to proceed if they didn’t address that,” said Bayh, who had been viewed as a wild card.
Thus it appears that Senator Bayh sold the real interests of every Indiana senior, doctor, and individual with existing private insurance down the river in exchange for some adjustments to a tax hike on manufacturers employing 20,000 people?
There are 2,851,000 employed people in Indiana. The unemployment rate is 9.3% If Obamacare passes it will directly impact all of those people, employed and unemployed, greatly increase the cost of insurance for everyone who has it, and force thousands of people to go unwillingly into the so-called "public option." It will drive up the costs of doing business making it much more difficult for existing employers to hire the unemployed and for new businesses to get started which might do the same.
There are close to 1.1 million Social Security beneficiaries in Indiana, the vast majority of whom almost certainly receive Medicare benefits --benefits which will be dramatically cut by Obamacare. Evan Bayh can stop that with a simple "no" vote on the approaching vote to open debate.
There are more than 10,000 doctors in the Hoosier state, and almost certainly more than 75% of them oppose Obamacare. Evan Bayh is throwing them all under the Obamacare bus.
Because Obamacare is so close to defeat, every Democratic senator will be completely responsible to his or her electorate for whatever passes as each one of them can in fact stop it right now with a simple declaration. Some, like Senator Bayh, are looking for political cover and may be contemplating a "no vote" after getting the bill past its procedural obstacles.
Which is why it is crucial for Indiana voters and voters in other key states like Colorado with Senator Michael Bennet and Arkansas with Senator Blanche Lincoln to communicate to those senators and their staffs that you know the score and that head fakes like the one being tried out by Senator Bayh in the Politico article will not work.
Call them all via the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121. Tell them to vote no on the motion to proceed to the bill.
Here are the key Democratic senators who need to be contacted, especially by voters in their own states:
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln
DC Phone: (202) 224-4843
Local Phone: Dumas (870) 382-1023, Fayetteville (479) 251-1224, Little Rock (501) 375-2993, Jonesboro (870) 910-6896, Texarkana (870) 774-3106
Link to E-mail
Sen. Mark Pryor
DC Phone: (202) 224-2353
Local Phone: Little Rock (501) 324-6336
Link to E-mail
Colorado
Sen. Michael Bennet
DC Phone: 202) 224-5444
Local Phone:
Denver Metro Office: (303) 455-7600 Toll Free: (866) 455-9866 Fax: (303) 455-8851
Colorado Springs Office: Phone: (719) 328-1100
Link to E-mail.
Connecticut
Sen. Joe Lieberman
DC Phone: (202) 224-4041
Local Phone: (860) 549-8463
Link to E-mail
Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson
DC Phone: (202) 224-5274
Local Phone: Orlando (407) 872-7161, Miami-Dade (305) 536-5999, Tampa (813) 225-7040, West Palm Beach (561) 514-0189, Tallahassee (850) 942-8415, Jacksonville (904) 346-4500, Broward (954) 693-4851, Fort Meyers (239) 334-7760
Link to E-mail
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh
DC Phone: (202) 224-5623
Local Phone: Evansville (812) 465-6500, Fort Wayne (260) 426-3151, Hammond (219) 852-2763, Indianapolis (317) 554-0750, Jeffersonville (812) 218-2317, Southbend (574) 236-8302
Link to E-mail
Louisiana
Sen. Mary Landrieu
DC Phone: (202) 224-5824
Local Phone: Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395, Lake Charles (337) 436-6650, New Orleans (504) 589-2427, Shreveport (318) 676-3085
Link to E-mail
Montana
Sen. Jon Tester
DC Phone: (202) 224-2644
Local Phone: Billings (406) 252-0550, Bozeman (406) 586-4450, Butte (406) 723-3277, Glendive (406) 365-2391, Great Falls (406) 452-9585, Helena (406) 449-5401, Kalispell (406) 257-3360, Missoula (406) 728-3003
Link to E-mail
Nebraska
Sen. Ben Nelson
DC Phone: (202) 224-6551
Local Phone: Omaha (402) 391-3411, Lincoln (402) 441-4600, Scottsbluff (308) 631-7614, Kearney (308) 293-5818, South Sioux City (402) 209-3595
Link to E-mail
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad
DC Phone: (202) 224-2043
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 258-4648, Fargo (701) 232-8030, Grand Forks (701) 775-9601, Minot (701) 852-0703
Link to E-mail
Sen. Byron Dorgan
DC Phone: (202) 224-2551
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 250-4618, Fargo (701) 239-5389, Minot (701) 852-0703, Grand Forks (701) 746-8972
Link to E-mail
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson
DC Phone: (202) 224-5842
Local Phone: Aberdeen (605) 226-3440, Sioux Falls (605) 332-8896, Rapid City (605) 341-3990
Link to E-mail
Virginia
Sen. James Webb
(202) 224-4024
1-866-507-1570
Link to E-mail.
West Virginia
Sen. Robert C. Byrd
DC Phone: (202) 224-3954
Local Phone: Charlestown (304) 342-5855, Eastern Panhandle (304) 264-4626
Link to E-mail
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