Here's the nightmare scenario: It's December. After a year of non-stop work by progressives and President Obama to pass real health care reform, the House has passed a strong bill. It's time for the Senate to vote.
But the vote never happens—because one Democratic senator joins Republicans to filibuster and block a vote. 2009 becomes just another year when health care reform failed.
If someone decided to take on that senator in the Democratic primary afterwards, would you chip in to help the challenger? I know I would.
Here's the thing: If thousands of us make it clear we'd do the same, and Democratic senators know it, we might just be able to keep this nightmare scenario from ever coming to pass.
That's why, today, we're launching the Health Care Accountability Pledge. Everyone says how much they'd contribute, we publicize the amount, and anyone thinking of running a primary challenge against a Democrat who blocks a vote on health care reform knows how much support they'd have right off the bat. You don't have to enter your credit card info. Just click on an amount below to pledge:
Here's how it will work: You tell us how much you'd give. Then, we make sure the media, Senate leadership, and conservative Democrats know just how many of us are willing to support a challenge against anyone who blocks reform. Hopefully, none of them actually do it, and health care gets an up-or-down vote.
But if the nightmare scenario happens, we'll encourage viable primary challengers to come forward, and if they do, make sure all of us who've pledged have a chance to support them. In other words, potential primary challengers will know there's a huge group of Americans who are ready to help. And conservative members of the Democratic Caucus will too.
This is not something to take lightly. Primary challenges happen once in a blue moon, generally when a candidate is terribly out of step with voters in their party. But if a Democratic senator helps block the most important progressive bill in a generation, voters in their state will be looking to support someone better.
Will you let us know how much you'd pledge right now, and ask all your friends who want health care reform to do the same?
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Daniel, Marika, Kat, and the rest of the team
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
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