A new SurveyUSA poll out today shows Tom Perriello trailing Republican Robert Hurt by 23 points.   In February, prior to the health care vote, PPP polling showed Perriello essentially tied with Hurt. This confirms what FDL has been saying for months:  forcing members of Congress like Tom Perriello to vote for the health care bill [...]

Earlier today, several members of the pro-choice caucus were steaming because they said the White House had released the text of the Executive Order to the press before they had seen it. According to TPM, “Just before 4 p.m. ET, the White House released text of a compromise on abortion to help clear the way [...]

According to a source involved in the health care negotiations in Congress, Henry Waxman is telling Democratic caucus members that Bart Stupak’s deal with Nancy Pelosi is dead.  Stupak had called a press conference to announce the deal at 11am this morning, but has now canceled it. The deal fell apart after news of the [...]

We are asking all of you fight like you have never fought before. Tonight, It has become clear that the our Democratic President Obama, Democratic Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and Democratic Leader (Harry Reid) are trading away women’s lives.

Every woman in Congress should MAKE HISTORY AND WALK OUT ! This is your chance to stand up for what is right! Forget politics, forget saving your seat! You must take a chance!

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) is demanding that the abortion language in health care reform be fixed before they pass the current comprehensive Senate health care bill in the House. In itself this is not an insane request given that once the bill passes, Stupak has no more leverage. With almost 300 House bills stalled in [...]

I don’t believe in getting people worked up when it’s not necessary. Energy is a finite resource, and when you don’t have a lot to work with anyway (especially relative to the opposition), the key to successful organizing is selectively applying carefully targeted effort to achieve maximum impact. It’s like the difference between hitting your [...]

With a poll of likely voters showing Driehaus 17 points down to his Republican opponent, there appears to be a more important takeaway: the Democrats have 10 months before the 2010 election to stand up to the banks, insurance and pharmaceutical companies and show that they really can be the party of reform. If he wants to save his seat, Driehaus should get in front of that parade and insist that the mandate and penalties come out of the bill — something 70% of the people in his district think is “unfair.” Because that is something that progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans agree on.

Here is the PNHP Statement:

Lowering the eligibility age for Medicare to 55 only works if it is mandatory. Otherwise it becomes the place where all the sickest patients get dumped. That might be okay for the sick people since Medicare is often better and more secure than private coverage, but it would drive total health care costs (and premiums) up, not down.

JOHANNS: If a woman wants her health insurance plan to provide elective abortion services, she does have the choice to purchase a health insurance plan that provides that on the exchange — she just has to pay for it with her own money. Am I correct in that interpretation, or have I misunderstood?

HATCH: That’s correct.