Whipping works–just try it and see!

Maxine Waters takes the pledge. Six down, thirty-four to go.

From the Citizen Whip Count:

Mack says Doggett is undecided:

I called the local office first and they claimed they didn’t know his position and told me to phone the D.C. office – I called D.C. twice and was told both times they don’t know if he has a position.

Chris says George Miller won’t say:

Spoke to person answering the phone. Mentioned the bill from the House committees has a public option. mentioned that Miller is a cosponsor of 676, the single payer bill. Absolutely would not state whether Miller would vote no on a weak bill even though I pushed a lot.

T says Peter Welch will get back to them:

Did not get her name, she apparently had no idea what his position is. "He’ll get back to you in writing" I’ll update when/if I hear anything more

John says Mike Doyle’s staff doesn’t know:

Amy knew nothing. Said she hadn’t heard of FDL. She didn’t know if Doyle supported single payer. I even offered to fax her a copy of an FDL post, since she wasn’t interested in going out to FDL’s site. She didn’t bite on that one either.

John also says Patrick Kennedy is an undecided:

Pratik (guy) was helpful and smooth. He said he was not familiar with FDL, but he asked me to fax him. I offered to show him the whip tool on the web and he claimed to be following along. I have more confidence that staffers/interns are really going out to FDL if it takes them time to log in and they tell me what they’re seeing. Not sure about Pratik.

And he indicates Steve Cohen won’t commit:

Adam knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned "the pledge" about the public option. Cohen is still firmly in "no position," but I sensed no animosity or lack of openness. I asked Adam if he knew when Cohen might take a position on the pledge, he did not. I emphasized that from a leadership perspective, it hurt to have Cohen in the "undecided" category.

David puts Sander Levin in the "leaning yes" category:

Janet says Kendrick Meek is "leaning yes" too:

I spoke with Mr. Meek’s office receptionist and she declined to identify herself and said any official statement needed to come from Adam Sharon. Mr. Meek signed onto HR 676 but is unsure of his position on the Public Option. He’s still fact finding, but at this time he’s leaning toward supporting a strong Public Option.

Florindo says Rangel "needs more pressure":

Charlie is trying to sleaze his way through this one, too. I spoke with Ms. (inaudible) and she gave me the usual routine about strongly favors public option with the characteristics of the 3 points but won’t commit to any vote until the final bill is on the floor.

I said, "But if 40 dems commit to vote no against any bogus public option, then they can influence the content of the final bill."

Yes, but …. blah blah blah.

Needs more pressure.

And just for kicks, John D. called Mark Kirk’s office:

They all laughed.

That is a good one.

I’m changing the chart slightly. Progressives we’re talking to aren’t really "refusing" per se to vote for a public plan, but they’re refusing to say they will vote against a bill that doesn’t have one. Since fondness for a public plan and a buck fifty will get you a cup of coffee, it amounts to little more than a back door to a sell-out. So we’re now calling it the "weasel words" category.