From: Roger Long <prodems@...>
Subject: [PeaceVigil] lobbying report
To:
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009, 11:56 AM

Dear fellow PDA members,       On Thursday July 9, 2009, two fellow PDA Members and myself, also a Move On member joined a Move On delegation in the lobby of Michigan's US Senator Debbie Stabenow for what was supposed to be an effort to lobby for a strong health care public option. However, much to my delight and surprise all 9 of us spent about 90% of the hour with the senator's staffer lobbying for single payer healthcare.       Our demands for single payer healthcare were met by the staffers response that Senator Stabenow would vote for single payer, if it were brought to the floor of the senate. However, it is not an option at this time. Not enough members of congress are supporting it and senator Baucus refuses to put it on the table. We argued that if senator Stabenow supported single payer she should be actively pushing it via the media, articulating the need for it and explaining how it would work to the American people. In turn an educated populace could help to grow the movement to a size that would get the legislation passed. To this the Senators staffer said that he could not speak directly to that point on behalf of the Senator, but that he would be sure and relay our message.       In addition, I had asked, Why she had not signed on to Senator Bernie Sander's single payer legislation and he again reiterated the fact that they did not have the votes. He then went on to inform me that a member of the Senate can not just simply cosponsor legislation without that legislation going through a process first. I found his counter to be quite unsatisfactory, but my lack of knowledge regarding legislative procedure left me without further recourse.       When a public option was discussed we demanded a plan that was government run which did not include any involvement from the private sector. The staffer pointed out that there were many public option plans, and that the senator would support the one that she felt was best for the American people. We raised the fact that the conservatives were trying to implement a trigger that would only support a government run plan if the health care companies failed in their promise to provide comprehensive and affordable health care to all. To this the staffer responded by stating that Senator Stabenow was not in favor of a plan that would include such a trigger.       I felt that the overall effort went well and the majority of us speaking stayed on point and clearly articulated our collective position. I wanted to share this experience with you in hopes that it may aid in your future lobbying efforts. Good Luck!  Roger Long 248-506-7374