A FULL BLOWN IN-STATE REVOLT TO KILL THE BILL

I am urging Montana State residents to help me kill the disastrous Baucus health care bill. This bill is not wanted by the majority of the American people. The bill is a testament of the appeasement of the insurance industry by a handful of conservative Democratic Senators, including our own Max Baucus.

This effort is a betrayal of the progressive, women, minority, the differently abled, youth and Native American voters who supported President Barack Obama in his historic win. My message to the Montana state Demcratic leadership is simple: if you stand with Max Baucus on this bill, you will be standing alone with him.

We do not want an insurance bailout bill masquerading as health care reform. We reject mandated buy-ins, period. This nation must move toward a full single payer system, NOW. We cannot wait for 2013--when Sen. Baucus is up for re-election; to see relief from health insurance costs, and unbelievably high deductibles that are rocketing skyward. We have had enough.

I have worked closely with both reservation, urban, womens groups and the health care reform movement in Montana. As an urban-situated Native American--I reject this bill. I ask the Native American voting block, including the powerful United Native Voters, based in Great Falls to join me and prominent leaders like Howard Dean to kill this bill.

I have seen the unwillingness of the in-state progressive leaders on the health care reform effort this past year--act with great restraint and reluctance to confront Senator Baucus on his mishandling of the critical issue of health care reform. I refuse to stand silent any longer, our silence as a powerful Native American swing vote is equal to complicity in this travesty.

I urge President Obama and the progressive leaders in the Senate such as Sen. Rockefeller, Sen. Feingold, Sen. Sanders and others to retrench the effort to re-instate single payer as the only real answer to true health care reform. I urge Sen. Baucus to get out of the way, if this bill can't be achieved in an ethical way--by you or your staffers--get out of the way.

The Native American vote in the state believes the Montana Democratic Party has been amiss in its blind loyalty to our errant Senator. I can only encourage party leaders, and elected officials to understand we have a voice in this issue--we have great concern this bill will deepen the economic abyss our nation has fallen into. In terms of a mandated buy-in, the length of time for reform to kick in, and the lack of a public option and/or Medicare buy-in--at the very least. We do not stand with this, we urge the state leadership to course correct--or you will pay a price during campaign season. We reject the Baucus sell-out bill, so should you. The Native American vote urges Senator Tester to enact strong single payer amendments to the HELP-Kennedy bill--and by doing so, snatch this nation from the jaws of a second Great Depression.