TPMDC PCCC
Wisconsin Recalls
PCCC And DFA Launch $100K Ad Buy For Wisconsin State Senate Seat (VIDEO)
National Democratic money is flowing into the Wisconsin state Senate recalls, with a new $100,000 ad buy from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America, in just a single targeted race.
Republicans currently control the chamber by a majority of 19-14. Democrats hope to gain a net three seats and win a majority in a backlash against GOP Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation. In other words, control of the chamber is up for grabs.
The ad features a local family in the central Wisconsin district of GOP Sen. Luther Olsen, who is facing Democratic state Rep. Fred Clark in an August 9 recall election, complaining of budget cuts that will result in the closure of the elementary school where their children have gone -- and where Olsen's children previously went to school.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2011 Elections, Democracy for America, Fred Clark, Luther Olsen, PCCC, Recall, Wisconsin , Wisconsin Recalls, Wisconsin State Legislature
Elizabeth Warren
Progressives Launch Draft Elizabeth Warren Effort, Immediately Raise $30K In Campaign Cash
Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the expenditure of TARP, Elizabeth Warren.
It was inevitable, given the strong feelings of support Elizabeth Warren inspires in the left: A matter of hours after President Obama appointed someone else to lead the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the left is already hauling in thousands of dollars in campaign cash and begging Warren to run for Senate in Massachusetts.
The process is about to take the next leap, as supporters of a Warren campaign against Sen. Scott Brown launch an online ad campaign. For her part, Warren has not yet said if she'll run, though she's left the door open.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, Elizabeth Warren, MA-SEN, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Commitee, Scott Brown
NM-1
PCCC Backs Its First 2012 Candidate: Eric Griego (NM-1)
One of the nation's leading progressive groups has picked the first candidate it will endorse in 2012: New Mexico state Sen. Eric Greigo, the only declared Democrat in the race to replace Rep. Martin Heinrich (D), who's leaving the House to run for Senate.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has raised hundreds of thousands of national dollars for candidates across the country, chose Greigo as its first challenger candidate of 2012 in an email sent to its national list Thursday.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Eric Greigo, NM-1, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Commitee
New Hampshire
While GOPers Debate, Progressives Blitz NH With Medicare Message
Mitt Romney
The Republicans who gather on stage in New Hampshire Monday night for their first major presidential primary debate are all scrambling to position themselves on Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system.
And thanks to a blanket of advertising in New Hampshire by progressive groups, primary voters in the Granite State watching tonight's debate will be confronted with the Democratic view of Ryan's budget -- namely, that it forces seniors and the poor to bear the burden of the federal budget woes while making life easier on the rich.
Major progressive groups are flooding New Hampshire with Medicare messaging, previewing the fight for Medicare they hope to have with the GOP next year. Online or on the air, it will be hard for primary voters tuning in to the debate to avoid the progressive position on the Ryan budget, providing contrast for the Republicans on stage who are expected to heap praise on Ryan, even while the big names try to put at least some distance between them and Ryan's unpopular proposal.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Democracy for America, Medicare, New Hampshire, NewHampshireGOP, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Medicare
PCCC Ad On Medicare Not Getting Pulled, Despite NRCC Complaints
The liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee has won a round against the National Republican Congressional Committee -- with the liberal group turning back an effort to get an ad targeting Republican proposals on Medicare pulled from broadcast.
As Greg Sargent reported, the NRCC wrote a letter to WMUR in New Hampshire and Comcast, complaining that a PCCC ad attacking Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) for having "voted to end Medicare" was false and demanding that it be taken down.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, Charlie Bass, House '12, Medicare, NH-02, NRCC, New Hampshire, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Medicare
Progressives Take Medicare Fight To NH Republican (VIDEO)
Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) has become the latest Republican to face his vote for Medicare-ending House budget in the form of a TV ad. In the first major ad buy since Democrats used the issue to pull off a surprise win in the NY-26 special election, progressives are targeting Bass over his vote for Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) budget plan, which eliminates Medicare and replaces it with a voucher system.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America say they hope to do significant damage to Bass, as well as bolster their choice to replace him, Ann Kuster. She's the progressive star who barely lost to Bass in 2010 after defeating Sen. Joe Lieberman's presidential campaign chair for the Democratic nomination. Kuster's running again this year.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ann Kuster, Charlie Bass, Democracy for America, Medicare, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Elizabeth Warren
Number Of Democrats Calling For Warren Recess Appointment More Than Doubles
Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the expenditure of TARP, Elizabeth Warren.
As Republicans have stepped up their attempts to prevent Elizabeth Warren's confirmation as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democrats and progressives are building steam behind their call for President Obama to go around the GOP's obstruction.
In the past week, the number of Democratic lawmakers who have signed a letter calling on Obama to use his recess appointment powers to install Warren at the head of the newly-created CFPB has more than doubled from the 36 who were on the list last week.
The formal announcement of the new number of signatories -- which is expected to include some members of House Democratic leadership -- will come at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday. Progressive groups are already calling the amped up recess appointment support a victory for their pro-Warren grassroots organizing efforts.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: CREDO, Carolyn Maloney, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Recess appointments
Deficit
Progressive Groups: Polls Show Deficit Panic Is Republican Illusion
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
A day after House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) confirmed that cuts to Medicare are a part of deficit reduction negotiations, progressives are out with new polling they say shows Democrats falling into a Republican trap.
The fresh numbers from Ohio, Missouri, Montana and Minnesota jibe with what national polls have shown in the past: Americans are far more concerned about job creation than they are about deficit reduction. Progressives say that shows Democrats should be leaving the deficit panic to the GOP and getting back to an agenda that protects entitlements and stimulates job growth.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, CREDO, Deficit, Democracy for America, Entitlements, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, MoveOn, Ohio, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Medicare/Medicaid
Poll: Voters Ready To Penalize Democrats Who Mess With Medicare
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Voters in key Senate swing states don't want cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits -- and they're prepared to exact revenge on politicians who vote in favor of them.
That's according to new Public Policy Polling (D) numbers from Ohio, Missouri, Montana and Minnesota, where Democratic Senators face what could be tough reelection fights. The polling, published first by TPM, was sponsored by a coalition of progressive groups.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, Amy Klobuchar, CREDO, Claire McCaskill, Democracy for America, Entitlements, Jon Tester, Medicare/Medicaid, MoveOn, PCCC, Polls, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Sherrod Brown
Social Security
New Polling Says Overwhelming Majority Wants Social Security Left Alone
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)
Ask the voters and they'll tell you: Social Security cuts are off the table when it comes to cleaning up the budget mess in Washington.
Fresh polling from Ohio, Missouri, Montana and Minnesota published first by TPM show voters in the states overwhelmingly oppose any cuts to the Social Security entitlement program, even in the name of reducing the national debt. The coalition of progressive groups which sponsored the survey say the polls send a clear message to the Democratic Senate incumbents up for reelection in each state: cut Social Security and you'll incur the wrath of an angry electorate.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: CREDO, Democracy for America, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, MoveOn, Ohio, PCCC, Polls, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Social Security
Wisconsin Protests
National Progressives Amp Up Recall Air War In Wisconsin (VIDEO)
National progressive groups are launching a new series of television ads in Wisconsin calling for the recall of Republican state senators.
The new $100,000 campaign by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America comes on the heels of weeks of spending by the two groups hoping to boot some of the senators who voted to kill collective bargaining for thousands of state workers at the urging of Gov. Scott Walker (R).
The new ads will run on broadcast and cable in the Milwaukee and Green Bay media markets. As with past Wisconsin ad campaigns by the PCCC/DFA partnership, the size and scope of the campaign will be determined by online donations. Each group has about 25,000 members in Wisconsin and the pair have around 1.7 million members nationwide.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Wisconsin Protests
Wisconsin Protests
Progressive Groups Step Up Recall Ad Campaign (VIDEO)
They've asked the voters, they've filled the airwaves and now they're getting down to business: Starting Thursday, a coalition of national progressives is openly calling for the recall of several Republican state Senators in Wisconsin with new TV ads aimed directly at them.
Recall fever is catching among the Wisconsin left these days. The state Democratic party has collected just about half of the signatures necessary to make a run at recalling eight state Senators eligible to have their terms cut short (Wisconsin law says only a politician who's been in office for a year or more can be recalled.)
The progressive coalition of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America is banging the recall drum, too, after spending more than a half-million dollars on TV ads lambasting the Republican state Senate and Gov. Scott Walker (R). Now the groups are launching the first TV spots to call for recall directly.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Wisconsin Protests
Wisconsin Protests
Progressives Get Serious About Wisconsin Recalls
Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.
A coalition of progressive groups are taking their threats to recall several Republican members of the state Senate in Wisconsin to the next level this week.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America say they've raised more than a half million dollars from a TV ad the groups have been running in two Wisconsin media markets for a week. Now they plan to take that money and refocus their attention on recalling three Republican Senators.
PCCC and DFA first raised the recall threat last week, launching an automated phone campaign to gauge voters interest in recall in several state Senate districts. The response? Voters are ready to give their Senators the boot -- and the PCCC and DFA are ready to help.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Wisconsin Protests
Wisconsin Protests
Progressive Pro-Union Ad In Wisconsin Raises $225K In A Day
If the money pouring in is any indication, supporters of union workers in Wisconsin like the TV ad campaign launched by two national progressive groups on Wednesday.
The groups behind the ad, which targets Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the Republican majority in the legislature, tell TPM they've raised "over $225,000" from "10,000 grassroots donors" since the ad and its accompanying online fundraising campaign went live yesterday.
Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Wisconsin Protests
Wisconsin Protests
Progressive Groups Take Aim At Walker In Wisconsin TV Campaign (VIDEO)
On the heels of their nascent campaign to (maybe) recall five GOP state Senators in Wisconsin, a coalition of national progressive groups is going on the air with ads aimed directly at embattled Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the state GOP.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America are sponsoring the ad, which will air in the Milwaukee and Madison markets on broadcast and cable for the rest of the week. The sponsors tell TPM that the buy will allow the message to reach as much as 57% of Wisconsin voters.
PCCC and DFA have already raised more than $160,000 for the AWOL state Senate Democrats in just the last week alone, and PCCC says they expect the TV spot to bring a "significant" new round of fundraising. As money comes in, PCCC and DFA will expand the markets for the TV ad and extend its run. The ad is running alongside an online fundraising effort run by PCCC and DFA.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Wisconsin Protests
Wisconsin Protests
Progressives Target GOP State Senators In WI With Recall Threat
Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.
A pair of national progressive groups are firing the first shots in what could become a full-scale recall campaign against Republican state Senators in Wisconsin, TPM has learned.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America are launching a robocall campaign to test the waters for the immediate recall of several state Senators as well as Senate President Michael Ellis and moderate Senator Dale Schultz, who voters would be able to recall in a year under Wisconsin law.
The robocall, voiced by a New London, WI teacher, will be dispatched to 50,000 constituents of Republican Sens. Luther Olsen (District 14), Robert Cowles (2), Dan Kapanke (32), Schultz and Ellis.
The calls gauge voter interest in recalling their Senator.
Topics: Democracy for America, PCCC, Recall, Wisconsin Protests
Labor
Progressive Leaders Press Obama To Use Bully Pulpit In Public Worker Fight
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Leading progressives in the Democratic party are pressing President Obama to get more involved in the fight over public worker rights playing out in Wisconsin and other states across the country.
Obama has publicly sided with state and local government employees against laws meant to crush their right to collectively bargain. But his political shop has run hot and cold on the question of involving him more publicly in the protests.
The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday both called on him to speak out more loudly -- or even join the protesters in Wisconsin.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Keith Ellison, Labor, PCCC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Progressive Community, Progressives, Raul Grijalva
CA-36
Poll: In Race To Replace Harman, Progressives Say They Have The Edge
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn
A new poll from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee shows voters in the southern California district soon to be vacated by Rep. Jane Harman (D) are ready to support a candidate who's going to protect traditional entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
PCCC is national political group best known for its efforts to push the Democratic Party and its leaders to the left on issues like entitlements, taxes and military spending.
Harman is leaving Congress later this month to take a job leading a Washington think tank. Her departure will trigger a special election in the Los Angeles district Harman represents.
Several Democratic candidates have emerged to take Harman's seat, but two well-known candidates are seen as the front-runners: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn. The PCCC poll shows Bowen ahead by four points, but also includes a "significant undecided" vote that PCCC says suggests the race is "wide open."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: CA-36, Debra Bowen, Jane Harman, Janice Hahn, PCCC, Polls
Social Security
Progressives Target Lindsey Graham Over Social Security
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will go live Saturday with a new TV ad, targeting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over his position on Social Security.
Graham's one of many Republicans withholding his vote to raise the country's debt ceiling unless the legislation is paired with significant spending cuts.
"I will not vote for the debt ceiling increase until I see a plan in place that will deal with our long-term debt obligations, starting with Social Security, a real bipartisan effort to make sure that Social Security stays solvent, adjusting the age, looking at means tests for benefits," Graham said on Meet the Press earlier this month.
Topics: Barack Obama, Lindsey Graham, PCCC, Social Security, Tea Party
PCCC
Poll: Voters Would Rather Tax The Wealthy Than Cut Social Security
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) with GOP leaders
Voters last week sent Washington a strong message about fixing the federal budget, according to exclusive numbers from a new poll obtained by TPM: Raise taxes on the wealthy and cut the military budget before you touch the nation's largest entitlement program, Social Security.
The survey of voters who cast ballots last Tuesday -- conducted by Democratic pollster PPP and commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee -- found that when respondents were given the choice between cutting the defense budget, raising taxes on the wealthy and cutting Social Security to reduce the deficit, just 12% said they'd like to see the entitlement program cut. Forty-three percent said they'd prefer to see taxes on the wealthy go up, and 22% said cutting the huge defense budget was the best way to go.
The PCCC hailed the result as evidence that voters are not ready to embrace the conservative economic agenda, even after they just voted a huge number of new conservatives into Congress.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bush Tax Cuts, Deficit, PCCC, Social Security, Tax Cuts
Filibuster
In Election Week, Majority Agrees It's Time To Scrap The Filibuster
Still from "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" (1939)
Even though they just got done creating a government in Washington where gridlock is expected to be the norm instead of the exception, voters surveyed this week are overwhelmingly opposed to the filibuster, the procedure most often used bring the Senate to grinding halt.
Exclusive results of of a new poll conducted for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee by venerable Democratic pollster PPP show 64% of voters contacted Tuesday and Wednesday said it was time to get rid of the legislative blocking maneuver used so often by Republicans since 2009. Just 23% said they'd like to preserve the practice, which President Obama has often decried and some Democrats have moved to abandon with little success.
The widespread opposition to the filibuster crosses party lines, the survey showed. Among Democrats, who saw much of their legislative agenda tied up in the Senate by Republican filibusters this year, 77% called for an end to the practice of effectively requiring a 60-vote majority to pass bills. Fifty-seven percent of Republican respondents said they opposed the filibuster, as did 61% of independents.
For PCCC's Adam Green, the survey is a signal that his group's push to end the filibuster doesn't end just because the Senate's Democratic majority shrank on Tuesday night.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Adam Green, Barack Obama, Filibuster, PCCC
Russ Feingold
Wall Street Reform Backers Seek Feingold's Support
Russ Feingold
Progressive backers of financial reform are pushing Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) to reconsider his protest vote against imposing tougher rules on Wall Street.
Feingold opposed the Senate's regulatory reform bill because in his view, by lacking provisions that explicitly limit the size of major financial institutions, it didn't go far enough. But with House and Senate negotiators now ironing out the differences between their two bills, progressives see an opportunity to strengthen the final legislation...if only Feingold considers changing his vote.
Americans for Financial Reform and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are separately pushing Feingold to reconsider his vote provided two key provisions, strengthening the bill survives. PCCC members are petitioning Feingold to say that he'll vote yes, if and only if tough derivatives regulations remain in the legislation, and negotiators add a strong version of the so-called Volcker rule to the bill.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Financial Reform, PCCC, Russ Feingold, Scott Brown, Volcker, Volcker Rule
AR-SEN
Primary Day PCCC Ads Slam Lincoln As 'Not A Real Democrat'
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter (D)
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is going up with primary day ads attacking Sen. Blanch Lincoln (D-AR), which it says will be seen by hundreds of thousands of Arkansas voters by the times the polls close tonight.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: AR-SEN, Bill Halter, Blanche Lincoln, PCCC
Progressives
Public Option's Fate Foretold In Sputtering Campaign To Get Senators On Board
A campaign to rally 50 senators to publicly declare that they support using reconciliation to pass a public option seems to be losing momentum -- even as the group behind the campaign insists it's getting more commitments from senators every day.
That group, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, says it has 41 senators on the record. But a closer look suggests some of the latest additions are senators who only conditionally support a public option being passed through reconciliation. And the staff of one senator on this list tells TPMDC he can't commit to it.
Topics: Democrats, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, Health Care, PCCC, Progressives, Public Option
Public Option
Progressives To Target Durbin After He Suggests Whipping Against Public Option
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
The group leading a renewed push for the public option tells TPMDC it's planning to target Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) for saying yesterday that he may urge Democrats against passing a public option.
Durbin told reporters Wednesday that, in order to get health care passed quickly, leadership may ask Democrats to oppose all amendments -- including any with a public option.
"We have to tell people, 'You just have to swallow hard' and say that putting an amendment on this is either going to stop it or slow it down, and we just can't let it happen," Durbin said, according to Roll Call.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Dick Durbin, Health Care, PCCC, Public Option
Public Option
How Outside Groups And Vulnerable Dems Gave The Public Option A New Pulse
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
The public option has been alive, then dead, then alive, then dead so many times now it's enough to make your head spin. Right now it's somewhere in between--an undead public option, still beloved by a large majority of Democrats, but, for now, lacking the political leadership needed to usher it through the legislative process. Nevertheless, the fact that it has a pulse is remarkable in and of itself...so how did we get here all over again? Though the latest action is all in the Senate, the momentum re-emerged in the House.
"We had heard on the House side that [Colorado Rep. Jared] Polis was talking behind the scenes with folks about why a public option wasn't being pushed," says Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee--one of several progressive pressure groups (including Democracy for America, and Credo) pushing the public option.
That touched off a symbiotic relationship. If Polis, and fellow public option supporter Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) would work the inside game in the House, the groups would build pressure from the outside, and together they could build a formidable list of signatories to a letter.
Topics: Budget Reconciliation, Chuck Schumer, Democrats, Harry Reid, Health Care, Jay Rockefeller, Michael Bennet, MoveOn, PCCC, Public Option, Senate, Sherrod Brown, White House
Budget Reconciliation
Amid Health Care Chaos, Progressives See Opening For Public Option Revival
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Health care be on life support in the House of Representatives, but as Democrats work to revive it, some progressives see an opening to bring back an element of reform that flatlined weeks ago: The public option.
They say health care reform should pass, but only after an amending bill has been passed through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process--and that amending bill should include the public option.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has delivered a strategy memo to the Chiefs of Staff of all Senate Democrats outlining this course.
"The best thing Democrats could do in 2010 is fight big corporations like insurance companies and Wall Street," the memo reads. "On health care, the path forward is obvious."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Budget Reconciliation, Democrats, Filibuster, Health Care, House of Representatives, PCCC, Progressives, Public Option, Senate
Health Care
Progressives Begin To Pressure Feingold On Public Option
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI)
Last week, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee asked its members if it was time to pressure left-leaning Senators to fight for a public option during the conference negotiations for a final health care reform package.
The answer from PCCC's 300,000-plus members? Heck yes.
In Wisconsin, home to Sen. Russ Feingold, the group has already begun its efforts to push Feingold, with some local progressives threatening the pull their support from the three-term Senator if he supports a final bill that doesn't include a government-run insurance plan.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Health Care, PCCC, Russ Feingold
Democracy for America
Poll: Vast Majority Say Anti-Public Option Dems Should Face Primaries
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
Here's a snapshot of the electorate, at the moment when a small handful of Democrats have teamed up to tank the public option. A new Research 2000 poll, commissioned by Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee finds that the overwhelming majority of likely voters believe Democrats who vote against the public option should face primaries from their left.
When asked: "If a Democratic member of Congress votes against a public health insurance option, would you want a more progressive candidate to run against them in a Democratic primary?" 84 percent of respondents said "yes," 11 percent said "no," and 5 percent said they weren't sure.
Those are fairly striking numbers, particularly given last night's news that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is standing in the way of public option alternatives. Lieberman, along with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) joined forces several weeks ago, insisting they'd filibuster a health care reform bill if it included a public option. That threat laid the groundwork for a new compromise, but Lieberman's saying even that's a no-go.
The overall survey, which will be released later today, polled 802 from December 11 through the 13th--it's margin of error is 3.5%. For the above question, which went to Democrats only question, 256 were polled, yielding a 6.1% margin of error.
Topics: Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, Democracy for America, Henry Waxman, Joe Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, PCCC, Progressive Community, Progressives, Public Option
Health Care
Progressive Group Takes Aim At Lieberman For Obstructing Public Option
Whether he's in Connecticut or Washington, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) won't be able to hide from his controversial position on the public option. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will run the below ad in Lieberman's home state and the District of Columbia, starting tomorrow.
"Joe Lieberman promised Connecticut voters in 2006 that he would support core Democratic issues like health care reform," said PCCC co-founder Adam Green in a statement. "This tongue-in-cheek ad holds Lieberman accountable for putting his own ego ahead of the overwhelming will of Connecticut voters who demand a public health insurance option."
The initial buy is $40,000, to be supported by additional online fundraising.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Health Care, Joe Lieberman, PCCC, Progressive Community, Progressives, Public Option, Senate
Health Care
Nevada Robocall Thanks Reid For Including Public Option In Senate Health Care Bill
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will sponsor a robocall in Nevada, thanking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for including a public option in the Senate health care bill.
Here's the script:
"Hi, I'm Lee Slaughter. For nearly 20 years, I've taken care of patients who need critical care here in Nevada. I've seen private insurance companies cut off medical care for so many of my patients.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)That's why I'm very thankful that Senator Harry Reid has included a public health insurance option in his health care bill. He shocked the political world by being so bold on this issue.
If you want to join me in thanking Senator Reid, and letting him know that we'll stand with him as long as he keeps fighting for a public option, please press one on your keypad.
Topics: Harry Reid, Health Care, NV-SEN, PCCC, Public Option, Senate
Health Care
WH Says Obama Supports Senate But President Unlikely To Talk Health Care For A Few Days
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer
The White House wants everyone to know President Obama "completely supports" the Senate leadership as a final bill emerges this week.
In response to TPMDC and other outlets reporting that the White House is pushing back against efforts to include a public option in the merged bill, the White House press shop issued a rare late-night blog post from Dan Pfeiffer.
But Obama himself is unlikely to chime in for several days. He's meeting with his national security team about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, then heading to Florida for a meeting with troops.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Barack Obama, Health Care, PCCC, Public Option, White House
Health Care
Progressive Group Ad Targets Obama For Imperiling Public Option
Responding to news first reported by TPMDC, that the White House is pushing back on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's inclination to include an optional government insurance program in the Senate's health care bill, one of the left's most hardline progressive groups is taking aim directly at President Obama.
In an unprecedented move, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will air a new TV ad, and is gathering signatures on an emergency petition, warning the administration not to support a health care compromise, favored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), that could kill the public option.
The spot will air at least 100 times in Maine, augmented by an online fundraising drive. The group's recent ad targeting Snowe helped them raise over $100,000.
The petition reads, "Every day, insurance companies deny care and let people die. Getting one Republican senator's vote is not worth delaying reform -- too many real lives are at stake. We need you to fight and state clearly that anything less than a strong public option is not change we can believe in."
Over the course of the health care debate, liberal groups have targeted key senators standing in the way of reform. But though many on the left have long felt that the White House hasn't done enough to ensure the creation of a public option, PCCC is the first organization to make Obama the focus of a pressure ad. You can read their email to supporters below the fold.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Health Care, PCCC, Progressive Community, Progressives, Public Option, Senate, White House
Health Care
Progressive Group Unveils Public Option Ad Asking 'Is Harry Reid Strong Enough'
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has been ramping up its campaign for a public option in the last several weeks, will run the below ad in Nevada this week, urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fight for the public option as he takes the lead in designing a health care bill to bring to the Senate floor.
PCCC is raising funds this week in the hope of running the ad 200 times in Las Vegas on cable and broadcast networks. It will begin airing on Wednesday. You can read a letter from PCCC to its supporters below the fold.
Reid's staff has scoffed at similar efforts in recent weeks, saying that while Reid is working to build consensus for a public option, he will not likely respond to strong-arm tactics.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Harry Reid, Health Care, PCCC, Progressive Community, Progressives, Public Option, Senate, Senate Finance Committee, Senate HELP Committee
Health Care
Progressive Groups Prep Ads To Pressure Reid on Public Option
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Remember a couple weeks ago when I reported that progressive groups were organizing a campaign--including television ads--to pressure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to include the public option in the Senate health care bill, and to enforce party unanimity against GOP filibusters?
Well, check out a new letter, available below the fold, from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to its supporters.
Bold progressive Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) helped us deliver nearly 90,000 petition signatures to Sen. Harry Reid on Wednesday....PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)We demanded that Reid stand up to conservative Democrats who are threatening to help Republicans block an up-or-down vote on the public option. CNN, ABC, Huffington Post, Washington Post, and others covered the event....
This weekend, we'll be filming a TV ad in Nevada featuring one of Reid's constituents who desperately needs the public option. It will be powerful. More on that next week...
Topics: Harry Reid, Health Care, PCCC, Progressive Community, Progressives, Public Option, Senate
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