Last night, Democrats lost Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in a bitter special election. This is already a sad day for all of us who loved Ted Kennedy. But to make it even worse, conservative Democrats and Washington talking heads are claiming that the loss happened because Congress was "too far to the left."
They're wrong again -- and we can prove it.
We had Research 2000 poll voters immediately after the Election ended: Even Scott Brown voters want Democrats to be bolder and they want healthcare reform that includes a public option.
You read that right. By a margin of three-to-two, former Obama voters who voted for Republican Scott Brown yesterday said the Senate healthcare bill "doesn't go far enough." Six-to-one Obama voters who stayed home agreed. And to top it off, 80% of all voters still want the choice of a public option in the bill.
The message is clear, there is only one way out of this mess if Democrats want to win in 2010. It's time to pass healthcare with 51 votes in the Senate using the budget reconciliation process. And it must include the most popular piece of bold reform: the choice of a public option.
Budget reconciliation is a procedure that only requires 51 votes to pass a bill instead of 60 -- and with the loss of Kennedy's seat, it's the only option Democrats have to improve the bill and pass a public option.
Sure, Joe Lieberman and the rest of the conservative Democrats and blowhard talking heads who got us into this mess will keep claiming Democrats need to be more like Republicans. That's what conservative Democrats always say while working to destroy bold reforms.
Don't let Democratic politicians learn exactly the wrong lesson, tell them take control and lead. We need Ted Kennedy's leadership; we need a new FDR�-- not an entire party of Joe Liebermans.
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This joint campaign with the members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and CREDO Action shows the path to victory in 2010.
It's up to us to make sure Democrats get the message. After you sign, ask your friends to sign. The more signatures we collect and deliver -- and the faster we do it -- the greater our chances of saving Democrats from themselves.
Thank you for never giving up and fighting for what's right. Thank you for everything you do.
-Jim
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America
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