When even somebody like Jell-O Jay Rockefeller can find a spine when it comes to doing the right thing on health care, there’s not much of an excuse for anyone else not to follow his lead.  That includes my own congressional representative, Betty McCollum.

In contrast to the firm and principled stance and leadership shown by Keith Ellison across the river in Minneapolis,  the rep for Saint Paul has been less than forthright about her position on the public plan, much less single-payer health care.  Her fuzziness has led to calls for someone to challenge her in the 2010 Democratic primary for her seat.   The Minnesota Independent’s Paul Demko describes how the online newspaper tried to pin her down on this, and got the following response from her office:

“Congresswoman McCollum is committed to working with President Obama to pass meaningful health care legislation this year that controls cost, ensures quality and increases access for all Americans,” he said in a statement to MnIndy. “Efforts motivated by either ideology or profits that are intended to undermine President Obama’s health care reform agenda should be recognized as more political game playing at the expense of millions of Americans who are demanding real change.”

What’s missing from that statement?  The words "I will not vote for anything that does not have, at minimum, a meaningful public option".   Here’s how Jane Hamsher defines this:

There are many different ideas about what a public option should include, and that’s great. That debate is really important. We’re not trying to tell anyone what the best public option would be — we’re trying to draw a line in the sand, build a backstop, get broad agreement that people will vote against any bill that does not contain a public plan that is:

1. Available nationwide

2. From day one

3. Answerable to Congress and the voters

And if Betty needs further help, she can pick up the phone and talk to Keith Ellison.

Now, Betty’s not part of the Progressive Caucus — more’s the pity — but it still wouldn’t hurt to get her pinned down. Anyone interested in getting Betty on the record can contact her or her staff at the following locations:

Washington D.C. Office • 1714 Longworth HOB • Washington, DC 20515 • phone: (202) 225-6631 • fax: (202) 225-1968

St. Paul Office • 165 Western Ave North • Suite 17 • St. Paul, MN 55102 • phone: (651) 224-9191 • fax: (651) 224-3056  In addition, Twin Cities residents can meet her at a health care forum she’s hosting next Wednesday evening (July 1) at 6 PM.   Y’all know what to do.