Over the last many weeks Progressives have not only been told that single-payer is "off the table", but now many are attempting to convince us that even a viable pulblic option is a non-starter. Lost on them seems to be the fact that poll after poll shows a wide majority of Americans support the idea of more choice through competition, something the health insurers have obviously not provided. Well, some Progressive groups are tired of being in the majority of public opinion but apparently in the minority of lawmaker thought. Now, they are fighting back with ads to try and put pressure on those who would ignore the will of the people.
First we have Max Baucus, the writer of the bill in the Senate Finance committee which just so happens to be the only bill out of five that leaves out a public option. Of course, when you are bought and paid for that is easy to do:
Of course, when you cannot afford millions to buy off a Senator and need real reforms, you do not find all of this as amusing as the Republicans and private insurers do. So, with that in mind Progressives are firing back for real reform and targeting Baucus with a new ad:
Two progressive groups continue their attacks on centrist Democrats today with an advertising campaign targeting Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), whose role in attempting to forge a compromise health-care bill with Republicans has raised the ire of many liberals.
The ad from the Progressive Campaign Change Committee and Democracy for America comes as Baucus's Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on a bill that likely will not contain a so-called public insurance option, which many liberals consider crucial to reform but which is strongly opposed by Republicans and private insurers.
The ad will be run in Montana and Washington, D.C., and features a young, uninsured father who faces more than $100,000 in medical bills because of a congenital heart defect.
And another group is putting up billboards that are easy to recognize:
It isn't exactly subtle, but it certainly is likely to catch the attention of passersby. The liberal pro-reform Health Care Action Now coalition has drawn up a billboard targeting health insurance companies for "making our country sick."
The protest billboard is aimed at industry practices that often lead to insurance denials based on an individual's health status, age or pre-existing conditions.
With a huge majority of Americans that support the public option because they realize that the health insurers have fleeced their consumers it is past time lawmakers caught up with the American people. Sure, average working Americans do not have millions of dollars to give them, but they do after all work for us. It is time we donated to efforts such as this and let them knowt their behavior is being watched, and we will not give them a pass this time.
