Archive for October, 2009:
Message from Mitch Stewart: “That was fast”
From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:
On Thursday, Vice President Biden called out the insurance industry's escalating war on health reform in a special message to OFA, and asked for your help in fighting back.
Sure enough, the insurance industry is already stepping up the attack: Reports just leaked from a closed-door meeting where insurance industry lobbyists frantically warned Republican members of Congress that it was not in their interest to "ever vote for this thing" and said supporting reform is like "giving comfort to the enemy." USA Today is reporting that groups opposing reform are lobbying at "a record pace" -- and the Associated Press notes that they've already spent an astounding $32 million on TV ads this year.
This is what we're up against. President Obama, Vice President Biden, and all of us together through OFA are fighting back -- but success depends on having the resources Cheap Cialis to win.
Can you chip in $25 or more today to power our campaign?
In this fight, the insurance industry has their war chest and insider lobbyists. We have you. I know who I'm betting on.
Let's win this thing.
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
The President’s Weekly Address: “Working with Small Business to Drive Recovery”
Health Reform Message from First Lady Michelle Obama
The White House released a new web video today featuring First Lady Michelle Obama. In the video, Mrs. Obama shares a personal story about youngest daughter Sasha’s health scare as a baby and explains why the President’s plan is essential to families and women in particular. The video also features Roxi Griffin, a cancer survivor who’s now being forced to choose between paying for medical tests and being able to afford to stay in her home (so far, she’s choosing her home), and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius who explains how our current health care system discriminates against women when Provigil pharmacy it comes to the services insurance plans cover - often not the services women need - and how they regularly charge women more than men for the same care. Watch it below:
The fight
Earlier today, Vice President Joe Biden sent out the following email:
We've got a fight on our hands. Powerful insurance companies are pulling out all the stops to defeat the President's plan for health reform. They're spending seven million bucks a week on lobbyists, blanketing the country with deceptive TV ads, and just funded two high-profile "reports" to distort what reform would mean for you.
I know their game. I was in the Senate the last time health reform came around, and I saw the special interests savage our efforts. Frankly, under the old rules of Washington they were nearly impossible to beat. But now, thanks to you, the rules are changing. All the lies, scare tactics and lobbyist shake-downs in the world are no match for the incredible work of Organizing for America supporters like you. That's exactly what frightens them so much -- and it's what Barack and I are counting on.
After decades of false starts, we're now just a short time from finally passing real reform. Every member of Congress will soon have to cast their vote. As real change draws near, you can bet the insurance companies will hold nothing back. That means OFA will need the extra resources to beat back whatever attack they can dream up next. Here's the bottom line: it's not time to let up -- it's time to double down.
Can you donate $25 or more to power OFA's fight for change as we head into the final round?
When I talk about you changing the rules in Washington, here's what I mean: This week, crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill are shaping a comprehensive reform proposal. At the same time, the insurance companies' phony reports are grabbing headlines and their lobbyists are twisting arms. But your work is keeping them from setting us back.
On Tuesday, OFA supporters around the country organized more than 1,000 local outreach events and generated an astounding 330,000 calls to Congress from constituents telling their representatives that "it's time to deliver." From my years in Congress and my conversations with Senate colleagues this week, Buy Cialis I can tell you with confidence that your message broke through and you helped keep us on track.
If this fight were only about guaranteeing the choice of secure, quality, affordable care for every American, it would be worth everything we could throw at it. But as Barack reminded us this week, this fight for change is now about something even bigger: a test of whether or not "we as a nation are capable of tackling our toughest challenges, if we can serve the national interest despite the unrelenting efforts of the special interests; if we can still do big things in America."
I believe we can. And Barack believes we can. But what really matters is whether you believe we can. If you do, now is the moment to make it happen. Please contribute today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/FinalRound
Thank you,
Vice President Joe Biden
“Off the hook”
A message from Mitch Stewart, sent out very late last night:
It's late; I know you've gotten a lot of messages from us recently, and everyone here at OFA headquarters is pretty tired. But the last reports of calls and commitments are just coming in from events on the West Coast, and I wanted to share the news with you.
As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country.
Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible.
I'm looking at the numbers, and with almost all of the reports now in, the tally wasn't 200,000 calls placed or pledged -- it was 315,023. You did it.
Take a moment to watch the President's inspiring words to OFA volunteers on this incredible day.
Your voice was overwhelming -- with reports in the media of congressional offices "completely crushed with calls." CBS News described your effort as an "onslaught." And a congressional aide was quoted with a common response, saying their office was deluged by "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA."
You set a new OFA record, you caught the national media's attention, and you certainly put Congress on notice. But you know that's not what really matters.
The message I sent earlier Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription talked about a woman, Jenny U., whose insurance company cut off her coverage because they decided her kidney donation to her sick daughter counted as a "pre-existing condition." What really matters is that today you brought America one giant, irreversible step closer to being a place where no one will ever have to suffer that kind of injustice again. That's what all the messages, late nights, and phone calls ultimately add up to. It's what makes everything we do together worthwhile -- and it's why we'll keep fighting together until the job is done.
Watch President Obama's special message to you from a call party in New York:
http://my.barackobama.com/TTDreport
Thank you, so much, for being part of the team.
Sincerely,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
P.S. -- Here are just a few stories from "Time to Deliver" events across the country:
This evening I and three other volunteers got together and made calls. As I was calling, one of the women I spoke with told me that she was inspired by my story -- shared in the email earlier that day -- to get her entire family to call Congress. She didn't know it was me on the phone, but she said she just couldn't stop saying "this isn't right" when she heard my story. It gave me so much hope -- during the evening we made 213 calls and got 64 commitments to call tomorrow.
-Jenny U., Missouri Volunteer
Seeing the tally go up, hearing voter after voter agree to call, and listening to the real excitement people have about finally fixing this broken system, I was reminded why we do this. Each of us can only give so much -- but when we all do it together, we move mountains. Health insurance reform, here we come.
-Sean Knox, California New Media Director
I want to recognize the folks in this room -- and folks watching online -- who are helping us to do exactly that. And I want to thank all the Organizing for America volunteers for making calls, knocking on doors, and keeping up the fight. You know why this is so important. ... We are nearing the finish line -- and with your help, we're going to cross it.
-President Barack Obama
Amazing.
We wanted to reach 100,000 calls to Congress. We more than tripled it.
What... a... night. Here in New York, people were lined up for blocks just to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Individuals were greeted at the door with a long, rectangular card. Each card had information about the President's plan as well as five unique numbers for event attendees to call.
The evening started off with New York State Director of Organizing for America, Melissa DeRosa, giving the 101 on what OFA does and why it is so important. While she was saying it, you were doing it. After Melissa, Ugly Betty actress and Generation 44 committee member America Ferrera took the stage as a voice for youth activists nationwide. She emphasized the importance of young people taking part in the dialogue and action that improves our country.
Following America, Dr. Manisha Sharma spoke to the crowd as both a physician and a patient. Dr. Sharma spoke about the importance of health insurance reform, and reminded us that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. She committed, as a physician, to support health insurance reform now, and re-expressed President Obama's statement that now is the "Time to Deliver."
OFA then took the stage. Julia Shannon, the OFA New York Field Director, led an open phonebank among the crowd with her colleagues Keith Kinch and Geoff Berman. Cell phones were handed out, and people started calling through the lists on their cards, asking even more New Yorkers to contact Congress themselves, in the true spirit of Organizing for America.
The Buy Accutane phonebank was a perfect transition to introduce Democratic National Committee Chairman, Governor Tim Kaine. The Chairman recognized Organizing For America and the importance of their work at the DNC. He also highlighted all the energy that you have shown moving from the Presidential race to the new health reform campaign.
Next up: President Obama brought his energy (and his mop) to the stage.
President Obama thanked everyone from OFA, both present here at the Hammerstein Ballroom and on our webcast, for their continued knocking on doors and phone calls. He reminded us that even the most restrictive version of health reform yet passed through committee would guarantee coverage for over 29 million uninsured Americans. He welcomed honest debate and bipartisan participation, but drew the line at rooting for failure. He explained that when we all have work to do to clean up the mess we inherited, it's not time to stand around on the sidelines and complain, it's time to grab a mop. The crowd erupted in cheers. The spirit of participation and the excitement was truly incredible.
Thousands of people joined in, and still, we have events going on coast to coast. This is what organizing is all about. Thanks for an amazing night.
Rohit
Open Thread: 234,752 and Counting . . .
Watch Live: President Obama at a “Time to Deliver” Call Party
President Cheap Accutane Obama is scheduled to speak live at a New York call party starting at 8:05 p.m. Click here to watch a live webcast of the event.
We’re Fired Up and Ready to Go for the President’s Speech!
We are fired up and ready to go here in New York City! We hit our 100,000 goal EASILY today, and still so many of you are active on the phones. Can you believe it? As a reflection of your hard work, we moved our goal up to 150,000 calls to members of Congress, and we ended up beating that, too.
Now, we have put the bar at 200,000 calls, and you broke through that as well! This is unbelievable.
With that said, we still have a few hours to go before the president speaks. It's been amazing watching the results of all the events going on across the country.
You can still be a part of this milestone day. Click here to find an event near you. Click here to call your member of Congress now.
On an interesting note, I was able to stand at the podium where the president will speak and saw the view he’ll see while addressing the audience.
Pretty amazing. Enjoy the pictures.
Buy cheap Accutane Online />
People are already lined up outside of the venue, fired up about the amazing things you've done on the ground today. The president will be speaking tonight at 8:00 p.m. EDT and you can watch it here live.