Organizing For America Pleased With Blanche Lincoln For Public Option Stance, Encouranges Continued Pressure

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After sitting on the fence for several months, and facing pressure both within the Senate and from outside interest groups, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) hopped off this week, and agreed that a health care bill should include a public option.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed. “This is great news for the Arkansas families and small businesses who need our broken health care system fixed,” reads a letter from President Obama’s political arm, Organizing for America.

But the special interests and lobbyists for the status quo will only intensify their pressure — and we need to show Senator Lincoln that her constituents appreciate her courage and are counting on her to stand firm.

Please take a moment and call Senator Lincoln….

When the senator hears that folks from across the state are calling her offices and encouraging her to stand strong, she’ll know she has the public backing in Arkansas to take whatever the Washington lobbyists and entrenched opponents of reform can throw at her.

This is the second time this week we’ve seen Obama’s outside political apparatus using its influence to support a public option. And in this case it seems to indicate that, in addition to being pleased with Lincoln’s position, there remains some doubt about her steadfastness. Which is understandable. In her letter to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette she articulated support for either a public option, “or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan.”

You can read the full letter below the fold.

Friend —

This week, Senator Blanche Lincoln wrote a letter to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to affirm her support for real health care reform, including a quality, affordable public insurance option available to those who want it.

This is great news for the Arkansas families and small businesses who need our broken health care system fixed. But the special interests and lobbyists for the status quo will only intensify their pressure — and we need to show Senator Lincoln that her constituents appreciate her courage and are counting on her to stand firm.

Please take a moment and call Senator Lincoln. She has offices across the state, and your call will be most effective if you call the one nearest to you:

Little Rock: 205-375-2993

Dumas: 840-382-1023

Texarkana: 870-774-3106

Jonesboro: 870-910-6896

Fayetteville: 479-251-1224

Washington, DC: 202-224-4843

After you make your call, click here to tell us how it went. ( http://ar.barackobama.com/lincolncall )

When the senator hears that folks from across the state are calling her offices and encouraging her to stand strong, she’ll know she has the public backing in Arkansas to take whatever the Washington lobbyists and entrenched opponents of reform can throw at her.

Spiraling health care costs are overwhelming families, shackling businesses, and leaving millions without coverage. That’s why President Obama is pushing for action this year — and why we need Senator Lincoln to stay strong and stand up for the people of Arkansas.

http://ar.barackobama.com/lincolncall

Thank you for all your hard work,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America

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