Blue Collar Muse

11/6 @ 15:50 BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Yet another reason for Blue Dogs to oppose ObamaCare.  Pelosi’s version of the bill mandates fines and jail time for those who have the audacity to decide for themselves if they want to have the Government Health Care plan.  Is that what Cohen and TN House Dems want for Tennesseans?

11/6 @ 15:10 BREAKING NEWS UPDATE!!  Ben Cunningham forwarded me a link to an MSNBC article just posted claiming Dems may delay the vote on Obamacare until Sunday or even later next week because they don’t have the votes!  Keep up the pressure!

11/6 @ 14:25 UPDATE: Eric Cantor’s office lists Gordon, Cooper, Davis and Tanner among 69 Dems having already “expressed opposition to the Speaker’s health care bill” and then asks if that opposition will hold in tomorrow’s vote. See the link for the actual quotes from the TN Congressmen. Some of the quotes are from a few days ago and may not accurately reflect the Congressmen’s current opinion.  Nonetheless, all of TN’s Demcorats except Steve Cohen have expressed opposition to the bill at some point recently. Hat tip to Matt Lewis, via Twitter.

11/6 @ 13:35 UPDATE: Video of TN GOP Congressman Marsha Blackburn comments on Obamacare.

11/6 @ 13:15 UPDATE: The 8 Obama Fairy Tales Blue Dogs will have to believe to vote for Obamacare tomorrow!

 UPDATE: Then there is the GOP’s alternative plan and its impact on the nation as scored by the CBO.  What?  You didn’t know the GOP was giving you options?  Hard to believe …

UPDATE: Matt Staver at Liberty Counsel has released a side-by-side comparison of the 2 House bills, the 2 Senate bills and Harry Reid’s unreleased proposed legislation.

Given that today is House Call Day in DC and a bunch of us cannot make it to the nation’s capitol, I thought to aggregate information as it crosses my desk as to how Tennessee’s Democratic House members were responding to their House Calls.  I’ll also add in a few select email/reader comments.  Enjoy! Check back for updates.

BART GORDON: (202) 225-4231

Via email - “I just called Bart Gordon’s office and the aide who answered the phone told me that she “just spoke to Rep. Gordon, and he said that he is going to vote “NO” on the proposed Healthcare bill because of the financial burden it would place on Middle Tennesseans and because of the Government Option”.  She said they are getting lots of calls from concerned Tennesseans and she sked me to help get out the word that he is voting “No”.

To which GL responded, “However, let us remember, Bart Gordon is a serial liar. He has made public statements on way and voted another on other occasions.” JH added, “Gordon is hedging.  It needs to be “no under any circumstances” because he may well anticipate a last minute amendment that he could use as an excuse to change the vote and have an “out” with this promise.”

11/5 @ 19:27 BH writes via email, “[Bart Gordon] announced in the Tennessean this morning that he would vote no. Please do not believe him. He did the same thing on cap and trade. We also need to contact the rest of these blue dogs all day today and tomorrow so they get the message.”

11/5 @ 23:11 JL writes via email, “I called Bart Gordon’s office today and stated I was one of his constituents, gave my address, and said I wanted him to vote NO on the healthcare bill.  They assured me he would.  I told them in no uncertain terms he BETTER follow through on that, and he would be WISE to listen to his constituents.”

11/5 @ 23:24 MW writes via email, “This is the money quote on Bart. They said there would be no amendments, so what’s this about? “I expect that there will be additional amendments and changes to the House bill that we don’t know about yet”"

11/6 @ 08:00 SEIU Upset with Gordon over his plans to vote “No!”.  ““This isn’t just politics for Bart – it’s bad politics,” said Mark Naccarato, SEIU Local 205’s political coordinator.” Leaving for now the question of why a union pays for a political coordinator who pimps for the Left with member’s dues, I’ll just note that a union advocating the evisceration of the US economy isn’t just politics for the SEIU - it’s bad politics.

Congressman Gordon’s website Health Care page.

JOHN TANNER: (202) 225-4714

11/6 @ 16:22 UPDATE: John Scott emails that John Tanner has finally made a decision.  He says, “I am unable to support this legislation in its present form.”  Hopefully he’ll not have any other forms to consider.

11/6 @ 13:40 UPDATE: Tanner STILL undecided! BLOG: Failure to Lead by John Scott @ Right at Home. “Mr. Tanner has missed the opportunity to stand up and lead. His unwillingness or inability at this point to commit is either an inability to recognize how fiscally irresponsible this bill is, a lack of courage to stand up for what he says he believes in, or a political game.”

Via email - “Spoke to Tanner’s office moments ago, and this is still the case: According to both the Washington D.C. and Jackson, TN offices of Congressman John Tanner, Mr. Tanner is currently “reading and reviewing the bill” and has not made a decision as to how he will vote on Saturday.Rep. Tanner voted against the original bill in the Ways and Means Committee.”

Congressman Tanner has no website Health Care page that I can find.

Radio Address: Transcript of Rep Tanner’s HC Radio Address posted 9/7/09.

JIM COOPER: (202) 225-4311

11/6 @ 15:06 via email from SC, “Unless there has been enough pressure to put him squarely in the no column, Cooper claims he’s still undecided. I expect that will be his official answer up until the actual vote. He votes 89% of the time with Pelosi.”

I just spoke to Congressman Cooper’s office.  His aide noted that the Congressman was still reading the bill and was supportive of the idea of Health Care reform which met the President’s goals of covering everyone while still being affordable.  He had no indication as to which way the Congressman might be leaning given how far he has read to date.

Blog: Please Call Jim Cooper’s Office Now by Mark Rose @ Right Minded Online.

Congressman Cooper’s website Health Care page.

Tennessean Op-Ed: In July, Cooper wanted to vote for HC reform but couldn’t support the bill then offered.

LINCOLN DAVIS: (202) 225-6831

Per a staffer at Congressman Davis’ office, Rep Davis has reviewed the legislation and is planning on voting against it.  I asked about the basis for the Congressman’s opposition and the staffer I spoke with had not interacted with the Congressman to know why he was planning to vote against it.  But the staffer was clear that the Congressman’s position was to vote against it.

One of Congressman Davis’ constituents, BD, just called and also was told Davis would be voting “No”. The reason given was that the Rep. didn’t like the language in the bill.  No word on whether or not some text changes would result in a vote change, too.

Via email from Davis constituent CH, “I talked to … his McMinnville office about an hour ago [which] told me basically the same thing.  When I asked where he stood on the Pelosi bill, [I was told] he would not vote for it as it stands.  When I called back and asked what was keeping him from voting for it [they] said that Davis would not vote for anything that included abortion or coverage for illegals. I asked specifically about the public option and [they] said [they don’t] think he would vote for it.”

Congressman Davis’ website Health Care page.

STEVE COHEN: (202) 225-3265

Per a Cohen staffer, Congressman Cohen is supportive of Health Care reform and the Public Option but has not yet released a statement about how he will vote on Saturday.

JT notes via email that “Cohen has his “newborn” act covered in the proposed health bill so you know he will be voting for it.”

Congressman Cohen’s website Health Care page.

Video: Cohen supports Health Care bill calling it “America’s Bill”.

Popularity: 26% [?]

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm and is filed under 2010 Elections, Congress, Democratic Party, Health Care, Leadership, Obama Biden 2008, Tennesee Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.