Wanted: An Ask for Phone Calls
I just got this email:
Marcy —
President Obama recorded a video to speak directly to you about his economic recovery plan.
America is facing an urgent and unprecedented challenge. The economic crisis requires bold and immediate action.
Watch President Obama’s video and share it with your friends and family:http://my.barackobama.com/recoveryvideo
And I’ve also gotten friends inviting me in the last week to watch some other Obama videos together–that is, I’ve been invited to House Parties to discuss this. That means people are doing just as Obama (or David Plouffe) asks in their email alerts.
But I still haven’t been invited to call my Senators or Congressman (all of whom, granted, have voted for stimulus, but Debbie Stabenow voted for a stupid Tom Coburn amendment forbidding any stimulus money being used for musems and parks–I do plan on chatting with her about that and if you’re a Michigander, you should too!). Nor have I been invited by Barack Obama to call Sanctimonious Joe’s latest gang–Joe, Haggis, the Bad Nelson, and Susan Collins–to ask why they’re opposed to funds that will help states avoid cutting back necessary services, or why they’re opposed to constructing schools.
Mobilizing the millions of people on Obama’s email list is great. But isn’t it better to mobilize them to do the same thing the wingnuts are mobilizing their people to do–talk to members of Congress? Wouldn’t it be better to use that list to press for a more progressive (and effective) stimulus package?
I would answer yes. But add, the netroots can mobilize too.
I got it too. Sadly, in the video he says the bill will save jobs for teachers, etc. But much of that has been cut from the senate bill (40 Billion cut from aid to states). I am feeling pretty double-crossed.
I would agree, though I wonder if there’s some of that in the additional house party materials mentioned here. I suspect that for those who get this in email but aren’t attending house parties, this may be targeted more at getting them invested and immunizing them against the garbage from the Republicans and the media.
Here’s a talking point on stimulus from Bill Gates.
Found in his 2009, first annual letter on how the Gates Foundation is progressing.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org…..risis.aspx
“Governments face revenue shortfalls at the same time their citizens need government services more than ever. A great example of this is education. Recent improvements taking place in K-12 education could be reversed because of budget cuts. State-funded two-year and four-year colleges will see record demand but may also face spending cuts. As governments respond to the crisis, they need to protect these investments even as they spend to stimulate the economy. In the United States only the federal government can do deficit spending and increase its investment in long-term goals like education. I am impressed with the way President Obama has talked about the need to do both and has his team looking at investments that fulfill both goals.”
That makes too much sense. The Four Compromisers of the Apocalypse don’t have that kind of sense.
When I called Ms Collins office in Bangor yesterday I was told that she considered all that she had recommended cutting as “pork”. Asked for her definition of pork the person was unwilling/unable to tell me only saying that everyone should make up their own mind as to what pork is. OFFS!
She was just reelected so she gives not a sweet pidoodee.
Glad to see you’re protesting to whatever degree.
Personally, I don’t think it’s much of a stimulus at all. It will help some in dire straits, make a couple ripples here and there, and feed (from my last read) now some $350b (almost half) to tax cuts a sop for 3 repub votes.
They’ve cut back green tax credits, research, and more. And they’ve more than doubled nuke power tax credits from original bill. What’s the principle here?
Does anyone in Washington understand the difference between a jobs bill and a stimulus?
From Obama, no specifics, no principles and no real stands declaring a vision for 21st economy. What’s he committing to? Where does his rhetoric back up his claims for grid… their $18b won’t even plant seeds for that thing.
Personally, I find his pleas an insult to my intelligence, same for his calling this thing “change” the voters wanted. I’ve very disappointed.
I’ve contacted both NM Senators expressing so. I hope they torpedo the fucking thing, and telling everyone w/earshot the same thing.
If the bastards wont vote for the damn thing with the tax cuts in I say ef ‘em and pass the damn thing without the tax cuts. $117billion is way too much for one vote.
I see no value in house parties at this point. After a stimulus package passes, that’s the time to do house parties to help people understand what was done and how they can best benefit from it.
The House bill was one that truly had Americans’ best interests in mind. What the Senate is doing is an abomination.
It’s not up to Pres. Obama’s supporters to have house parties. We did our part by getting him elected, getting him nearly 800 million dollars and giving him increased majorities in both the House and the Senate. It’s up to him now. It’s up to him to put a stop to this monster of a bill, go back to the House and tell them to take their original bill and break it up into smaller stimulus packages. Start with an infrastructure stimulus, Part 1, if you will, and put in that package everything that has popular support, then roll it out and send it to the Senate. Simultaneously, others in the House should be working on other component packages and rolling them out. It makes it much more difficult for Republicans to nitpick and obstruct. Make the tax cuts a separate stimulus package. Make a relief package, education package, technology package, energy package, state aid package, hybrid/electric auto rebate package, etc. etc. Then let the Republicans fight against each separate and distinct package and let them defend their tax cut package.
During all of this, Pres. Obama needs to be out in the media day and night, as should members of the House and Senate, explaining the purpose of each package, its contents, and its benefits. They need to be out there fighting for us. Republicans have shown that they are not willing to work together so the bi-partisan schtick has to stop being a top priority.
If anything, what people should be doing is protesting in the streets and shutting down the Capitol switchboard with calls, and writing letters to the editor. The netroots needs to be taking it to them too with a focused effort by the most prominent bloggers. Front page stories, many of them, and a strong push back. And now. Yesterday.
All of this can be done very quickly. Some of the packages should get through pretty quickly and at least there would be something passed and starting to work ASAP.
The best thing that could happen would be for the Dems to kill this monster bill right now. 42% of the total in tax cuts is simply ridiculous and the compromises made are beyond reasonable. And even after getting so much, Repubs are still out there lying and smearing and trying to get more. So-called moderate Democrats are empowered even after they have clearly shown that they will sell us out. It’s time to let the real Democrats run this show.
Well said, & I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t see any reason why the folks who turn up for a video-watching party couldn’t on their own initiative turn it into a Congresscritter-calling party once they’ve watched the show.
I got two off-topic points for any late-nighters out there
first, I saw a blurb with a story somewhere that says the stimulus bill will be subject to a cloture vote after the conference, if so maybe harry reid really is the worst senate leader in my lifetime …
and I got an update about that slight positive bais in the universe
I never suspected something like this could happen
I still ain’t convinced it’s real …
I’ll be goddamned if I wasn’t asking myself the same goddamn question yesterday. Where the hell is Obama’s vaunted intertoobz/email horde? Several months ago I happened across an event on CSPAN featuring Joe Trippi. Trippi was holding forth on how Obama had this awesome infrastructure built up from the campaign that would be a true weapon for him once he got in the WH and had to deal with Congress.
It is way past time to unleash this horde on Congress in re: the stimulus. Lieberman is ferkin killing us with these cuts. Where the hell is the goddamn horde? Unleash them!
Sheesh, people, just face the facts: it’s time to give up on Obama. I sent him $400 to get him elected, and he’s been a massive disappointment. Give up on him providing any real leadership, and start doing the leading yourselves. It’s time for the netroots and grassroots to take matters into our own hands .. call your Senators and Representatives every day until they do it our way.
Call every day, until they do it our way.
I’m a little late getting here. But I just want to point out a different perspective.
Citizen lobbying is related to the threat that voters may vote against someone if they cast their legislative vote the wrong way. Too many lobbying campaigns emphasize the call to the legislator, and downgrade the part about educating voters to actually know what legislators are doing and judge them accordingly.
I’d assume that at almost any Obama house party, people would come up with the idea of calling legislators on their own. On the other hand, if you ask people to call their legislators, most of them will not come up with the idea of simultaneously trying to educate their neighbors about the issue.
I get furious with some of my environmental friends because they get all excited about sitting down with some legislator who bullshits them, but then when it comes time to hold them accountable for their policies and actions, they don’t want to hurt the feelings of the legislator they sat down with.
It comes down to voters. The phone call is just a proxy. Inform voters, and legislators will figure it out.