Demand Medicare4All!
Nancy Pelosi has never brought Medicare4All to the house for a vote. Because it takes a majority of the House to confirm a Speaker, just 15 members of the 100 member Caucus could force her to do so, unless she wants to let a Republican assume House leadership. Yes, this is playing hardball but in the face of the COVID crisis when millions are losing health insurance due to layoffs and peoples lives hang in the balance; the stakes could not be higher.
It is highly likely that doing so would create a public storm of support since over 70% of all Americans support it, including a majority of Republicans. Once it passes the House it will go to the Senate where Republicans will be forced to take responsibility for trying to stop it at their own political peril. Should Democrats win the Senate runoff elections in Georgia in January, they will have 50% of the seats in the Senate where VP Kamala Harris, as Senate president, has the deciding vote in a tie. Democrats have nominated Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House once again without a challenge. Her confirmation vote takes place the first week of January. This is our leverage. Either we use it now or give up on the most likely progressive win to come down the pike.
IF YOU HAVE TIME AND ENERGY, CALL ONE OR ANOTHER HOUSE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS MEMBER. Call the House Switchboard (202) 224-3121 and ask for one or more of the following and use the above messager:
Raul Grijalva (AZ-03)
Ro Kahanna (CA-17)
Maria Newman (IL-03)
Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Rashida Tlaib (MI-13)
Ilhan Omar (MN-05)
Cori Bush (MO-01)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
Jamaal Bowman (NY-15)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
It is highly likely that doing so would create a public storm of support since over 70% of all Americans support it, including a majority of Republicans. Once it passes the House it will go to the Senate where Republicans will be forced to take responsibility for trying to stop it at their own political peril. Should Democrats win the Senate runoff elections in Georgia in January, they will have 50% of the seats in the Senate where VP Kamala Harris, as Senate president, has the deciding vote in a tie. Democrats have nominated Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House once again without a challenge. Her confirmation vote takes place the first week of January. This is our leverage. Either we use it now or give up on the most likely progressive win to come down the pike.
IF YOU HAVE TIME AND ENERGY, CALL ONE OR ANOTHER HOUSE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS MEMBER. Call the House Switchboard (202) 224-3121 and ask for one or more of the following and use the above messager:
Raul Grijalva (AZ-03)
Ro Kahanna (CA-17)
Maria Newman (IL-03)
Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Rashida Tlaib (MI-13)
Ilhan Omar (MN-05)
Cori Bush (MO-01)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
Jamaal Bowman (NY-15)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Did you know? There's an easy way to make your emails to Congress more effective!
According to the Congressional Management Foundation, "personalizing" an action alert's message before pressing 'submit' is one of the most influential ways to get Congress' attention. In fact, their research shows that to influence Congress' decisions, offices only need to receive 50 personalized emails from constituents on an issue instead of 200. So be sure to add who you are and why you care about the issue before clicking 'submit.' Adding those few sentences makes a big difference!
According to the Congressional Management Foundation, "personalizing" an action alert's message before pressing 'submit' is one of the most influential ways to get Congress' attention. In fact, their research shows that to influence Congress' decisions, offices only need to receive 50 personalized emails from constituents on an issue instead of 200. So be sure to add who you are and why you care about the issue before clicking 'submit.' Adding those few sentences makes a big difference!
