Name: Anonymous 2009-11-10 18:33
Attention Mainefags:
You are currently in a very unique position. You are living in a blue state with two Republican senators, both who have a history of bipartisanship. (They both voted for the stimulus for example).
Passing the health care bill in the Senate will be much harder than it was for the House. Republicans tend to pressure and coerce their own party into voting along party lines, and I can guarantee they are going to be targeting these two, especially since Senator Snowe voted voted for the Finance Committee's health care bill. Snowe is also known for influencing close votes, and ending filibusters. She is without a doubt going to be a key player in this.
It has been shown that there are reasonable Republicans who don't vote simply because their party leadership says to, as seen in Representative Joseph Cao who voted for the health care bill because it was in the best interest of his district. But they are few and far between unfortunately (Cao was the only one, out of 177).
In a predominantly blue state, you are in a good position to write to your Senators about this issue and have it actually make an impact (a pretty rare occurrence). Just make sure you write a well thought out, professional letter. Let them know that this is really what the people they are representing want, and now to let themselves be pressured by their party.
Below is some helpful information.
Tips on writing a good letter:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
How to address:
The Honorable Senator Olympia J. Snowe
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Senator Susan Collins
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
You are currently in a very unique position. You are living in a blue state with two Republican senators, both who have a history of bipartisanship. (They both voted for the stimulus for example).
Passing the health care bill in the Senate will be much harder than it was for the House. Republicans tend to pressure and coerce their own party into voting along party lines, and I can guarantee they are going to be targeting these two, especially since Senator Snowe voted voted for the Finance Committee's health care bill. Snowe is also known for influencing close votes, and ending filibusters. She is without a doubt going to be a key player in this.
It has been shown that there are reasonable Republicans who don't vote simply because their party leadership says to, as seen in Representative Joseph Cao who voted for the health care bill because it was in the best interest of his district. But they are few and far between unfortunately (Cao was the only one, out of 177).
In a predominantly blue state, you are in a good position to write to your Senators about this issue and have it actually make an impact (a pretty rare occurrence). Just make sure you write a well thought out, professional letter. Let them know that this is really what the people they are representing want, and now to let themselves be pressured by their party.
Below is some helpful information.
Tips on writing a good letter:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
How to address:
The Honorable Senator Olympia J. Snowe
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Senator Susan Collins
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510