The public option should NOT be a back-up or used as a trigger after SEVEN years, as Senators Nelson and Snowe wants it to be, if the private insurance companies fail to offer us comprehensive, affordable coverage.

Please CALL Senator Ben Nelson below at (202) 224-6551 and let him know that you don't agree with him on using the public option as a back-up.

Tell Senator Ben Nelson that you DO NOT want the trigger for the public option, and that you want him to support a strong, robust Medicare-like public option. We NEED a strong, robust Medicare-like public option NOW, not more of the SAME broken system that's given us unaffordable premiums, little private insurance coverage, and rising co-pays.

Senator Max Baucus, the pet stooge for the murder-by-spreadsheet industry, seems to agree with Senator Nelson on the possibility of the public option as a "fall-back":

Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said the idea of treating a public plan as a fallback is under consideration. "That’s an option," he said. "It’s on the table."

Please CALL Senator Max Baucus at (202) 224-2651 with this message below:

Tell Senator Baucus that you WANT him to take the so-called "trigger" or "fall-back" for the public option off the table, and that you WANT the public option RIGHT NOW in health care reform, and that it won't be real health care reform without a strong, robust Medicare-like public option.

Yesterday, I posted that Senator Kennedy affirmed his support for the public option, and that's a major victory for us. He did that because he heard from us. We have to keep up the pressure though. We can't rest easy on this since they'll be introducing the health care reform bill in June.

The unions aren't resting easy on this either. They're fighting HARD for the public option and against people like Senator Wyden who wants the Senate to pass his bill without a public option. Senator Wyden's pimping his bill to the GOP and so far they like what they're seeing in the Wyden plan.

When Ken Allen, the union’s Oregon state chair, came out of a meeting with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) he told a gathering of fellow union members outside that the senator "wants to force everyone to buy health insurance and has no public section of his health care bill to cover the uninsured. We pushed him very hard on a public plan and he wants to tax our health benefits." The union members booed. Allen promised that unions in Oregon "will put the whoop on" Wyden to shift his positions.

Yeah, it's time to put the whoop on! Democracy For America would like us to report our calls to the Senate back to them, and I'm re-posting their e-mail in full here below so you can call your senators today.

Republicans launched their first real attempt to kill the public option and it is already picking up a bit of steam among so called Senate moderates. They call it "the trigger." They want Americans to keep the same broken system we have now and give the insurance industry one more chance to fix it on their own. If insurance companies fail, the bill would "trigger" the public option – you know, like in 7 years or so. We need to act right now. Call your Senators and tell them that a so-called trigger is a no go. Senate Switchboard

(202) 224-3121 Suggested script: "I oppose the healthcare trigger. Please ask the Senator to stand up against the insurance industry and the so-called ‘trigger’ for a public option. We need the choice of a public healthcare option now, not more of the same broken healthcare system for years to come." The real fight has begun. We need to act fast, make our position clear and fight for real reform. Please make your calls right now. Tell Congress we didn't vote to wait -- We voted for change. Thank you for making your calls.

And don't forget to call the White House as well. Please ask President Obama to fight for us in support of a strong, robust Medicare-like public option in health care reform, and that you need him to lead on this. Tell him the public option is the line in the sand for you, and that it won't be real health care reform without the public option.

CALL the White House at: 202-456-1111 and E-MAIL them as well!

[Also, don't forget to help support the Netroots Nation 2009 scholarships at Democracy For America!]

UPDATE: Just got a major news alert. Remember those unions and how I mentioned they're going to bat for us by pressing Senator Wyden to back off his so-called health care plan without the public option?

Well, Senator Wyden is fighting back against our allies here. So much for a so-called progressive Democrat. The unions need our help here to respond to his lies below:

"First he was attacked by insurance company lobbyists," says a female narrator in the ad. "Now a couple of D.C. labor unions are attacking his plan, falsely claiming it would tax your healthcare." "It’s not true — Wyden’s plan gives middle-class taxpayers a break and saves them about 300 bucks a year," says the narrator. "Employers would still help pay for coverage, but we’d make our own choices. If you like the coverage you have, you can keep it or choose another plan — and every American is finally covered for life, even if they change jobs or get laid off." "When you’ve got a healthcare plan that is being attacked by insurance lobbyists and some D.C. labor unions, you must be doing something right," says the narrator. Wyden concludes the spot himself by announcing: "I’m Sen. Ron Wyden and I approve this ad because I won’t let D.C. lobbyists stop healthcare reform again — not this time."



Let me be clear on this. Senator Wyden does NOT want a public option in the final health care reform bill. The unions know this. It's why they're going after him. Can you help them out here?

P.S., check out the great diary by bobzimway about the importance of framing the public option here.