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Back in June, Sen. Rockefeller made a prophetic statement about health care reform legislation. Now it's August, a Jr. Sen. has been seated from Minn. (go, Franken, go), and Sen. Rockefeller's statement is as true as ever:
"There is a very small chance any Republicans will vote for this health-care plan. They were against Medicare and Medicaid [created in the 1960s]. They voted against children's health insurance.
"We have a moral choice. This is a classic case of the good guys versus the bad guys. I know it is not political for me to say that," Rockefeller added.
"But do you want to be non-partisan and get nothing? Or do you want to be partisan and end up with a good health care plan? That is the choice."
At the time, we said Sen. Rockefeller had nailed the Republicans. Turns out, there's more than few obstructionist Senate Democrats who want to be "non-partisan and get nothing," too.
Consequences
This week, feeling pressure from a Democracy for America advertisement running in his district, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) inexplicably lashed out at this grassroots group as an "outside interest group" before indulging a bipartisan fetish:
July 31, 2009 - Following is a statement released today by Jake Thompson, Senator Ben Nelson's spokesman, in response to an ad running in the Nebraska media concerning Senator Nelson and health care.
"Nebraskans don't need outside special interest groups telling them what to think. Senator Nelson has nothing but praise for Nebraska groups working toward health care reform. Unfortunately, he says, these outside groups undermine the sincere and dedicated efforts of people in our state.
[snip]
Nebraskans know Ben Nelson is an independent thinker. He also has a long record in the governor's office and the U.S. Senate of bringing people together and working constructively so important legislation becomes law. Today, he's looking to support bipartisan legislation that reduces health care costs, boosts the quality of care and expands coverage to people who can't obtain it now."
The primary partner with DFA in running this ad is the PCCC (Progressive Change Campaign Committee). Here is their hard-hitting response:
Response, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee
"Ben Nelson just called a Nebraska small businessman whose health insurance went up 42% an out-of-state special interest, while never disputing that he is bought and paid for by health and insurance interests who gave him millions to vote against his own constituents. If Ben Nelson stands behinds his spokesman's words, he just proved himself a fundamentally corrupt and out-of-touch politician who feels perfectly comfortable lying to his constituents and going to bat for private insurers who fear competition and want to rip off the people of Nebraska."
"We will be increasing our Nebraska ad buy on Monday morning."
Visit HealthCareCantWait.com now and join me (and 20,000 others!) in signing a call for Senate action. Let the Senate know, we can't wait, we need health care reform now.
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