In addition to writing my two senators, I sent a note to Maine’s Senator Olympia Snowe. This is why:
Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is the only Republican in the Senate who has publicly said she could support a government run public health insurance option if the market fails to adequately insure everyone.
That’s not exactly on the same page as President Obama and Democrats, who want a public option right off the bat. And in recent weeks, Snowe has veered toward a proposal by the moderate Democrat Kent Conrad to create a series of regional, non-profit insurance co-ops to compete with for-profit insurance companies instead of a public insurance option.
But hers will be an extremely important vote if either Sen. Teddy Kennedy, D-Mass., or Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, are too ill to make a health care reform vote.
Snowe has been locked in intense, closed-door negotiations with Conrad and other moderate Democrats, as well as Republicans like Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Mike Enzi of Wyoming in search of a bipartisan plan.
But beyond policy, Snowe and other moderates are bristling at the time table set by President Obama – he wants bills passed through the House and Senate before the bodies leave for their August recess on August 7.
Write to Senator Snowe. Be respectful and supportive. Tell her she’s right, and to stick to her guns.
And write to your senators, even if you think they’re going to vote for ObamaCare. If enough of us tell them we don’t want his healthcare reform, they will back off.
Update: She refused to be bullied into rushing the legislation. Writing to her is more important than ever. Tell Senator Snowe that ObamaCare is not the answer.