DFA & MoveOn provide incentive for GOP to let Franken be seated

By now you've read or heard that despite Al Franken winning the court case, the GOP intends to keep him out of the Senate. The folks at Democracy for America and MoveOn came up with a great idea, and some of you will already have read the note from Charles Chamberlain, the Political Director of Democracy for America:

DC Republicans have plenty of incentive to keep Al Franken from being seated. So DFA found a way to flip the incentive. They're teaming up with a brand new partner, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), to launch the "Dollar a Day to Make Norm Go Away" Campaign.

If thousands of people donate just $1 a day every day that Norm Coleman refuses to concede, then dragging it out doesn't seem like a good idea for the GOP anymore.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

All the donations will go to directly to the PCCC - the new group formed by former MoveOn and their partners to help bold progressive candidates run effective campaigns and win.

“After a seven-week trial, 1,717 exhibits, 142 witnesses and 19,181 pages of pleadings, motions and briefs, the trial court left little doubt about its decision,” writes the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Rachel E. Stassen Berger.

“Point by point, the judges dissected Coleman's case in their 56-page decision Monday. Point by point, they dismissed it. The double-counting Coleman alleged existed during the recount? Unproven, the judges wrote. Coleman's objection to using an Election Day count in lieu of lost ballots from a Minneapolis precinct? Dismissed, the judges declared. His complaints that the state voter-registration system was not up-to-date and was flawed? No, they wrote, it's ‘trustworthy.’"

The GOP is prolonging the fight for political reasons, but former Senator Norm Coleman's participation is disenfranchsing the voters of Minnesota who are served by one Senator during this pointless posturing. I'm not sure Coleman feels he has any choice, but I know I do.

Reform health care in the U.S.A. now

Released: Thursday, March 26, 2009 BURLINGTON, VT

Howard Dean launched a new campaign yesterday evening on a Democracy for America conference call with thousands of supporters across the country. The former chair of the DNC called on Congress to pass healthcare reform which includes a universally available public option, such as Medicare.

"Healthcare reform legislation rises and falls on whether the American public is allowed to choose a universally available public option, like Medicare, or not."

"If we are allowed to choose a public option like Medicare, the bill will be real healthcare reform. If we're not, we could be back fighting about it for another 20 years before anybody tries again."

~Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Dr. Dean's announcement comes at a time when insurance companies and HMO's have vowed to fight President Obama on his campaign promise to include a publicly available option in the healthcare reform he wants passed by Congress this year.

"The battle against real healthcare reform already begun. Our Stand With Dr. Dean campaign will ensure that policy makers in DC hear from every American, not just big money who will stop at nothing to retain the status quo."

~Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy For America.

As a first step in the campaign, Dr. Dean asked supporters to add their name to a petition statement at www.StandwithDrDean.com. The campaign will be run by Governor Dean and Democracy For America. This is the beginning of a multi-pronged campaign which will generate broad based support for a public option through neighborhood canvasses, meetings with legislators, running ads in targeted districts, and more. The organization expects to deliver over 250,000 signatures to members of Congress in the weeks to come.

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I know it’s fashionable in certain circles to say government can’t get things done - but big insurance has had decades of control over our medical decisions and costs, and they sure aren’t getting it done right. We pay more per capita than any other nation, yet the results are high costs and millions with no coverage at all. Let’s put an end to bureaucrats at insurance companies making decisions about our medication and treatment now, those decisions should be left to skilled doctors and nurses interested in our well-being, not accountants and CEOs interested in their bottom lines.