Mike Stark

Our good friend Mike Stark joins joins our Citizen Whip Effort today. Many readers will remember him for — well, being Mike Stark. He’ll be on the Hill, flip video camera in hand, asking progressive members of Congress about their position on a public plan.

On June 24, the Quad Caucus –which represents 117 member of the House — released a statement saying their members would vote against any health care bill that did not have a robust public plan:

The leaders of the black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific American and Progressive caucuses said at a news conference that they would consider a government-run plan to be robust if it resembles Medicare, the health entitlement for the elderly. The plan would have to be available to everyone in the country and could not be subject to a “trigger,” or some other mechanism that might delay its implementation, the lawmakers said.

Here is what the Quad caucus principles, and here are the Progressive caucus principles (which are even stronger).

Mike Stark will be greeting members of Congress as they stroll around the Hill and asking them on video if they will stand by their commitment to vote against any health care plan that isn’t available nationwide, on day one, and accountable to Congress and the voters.

And I’ll be on MSNBC at 3:30 today, talking with David Shuster about whether outside groups have had an effect on the health care bill.

In a word — yes.