DENVER - Democrats gathered on the snowy sidewalk outside Sen. Michael Bennet's office here Wednesday morning -- not to express their appreciation for his help in passing health care reform, but to demand that he keep a promise he made to use the reconciliation process to put a "public option" back into the final bill.
The pressure from the left is mounting on Bennet, who argues that doing so now could stall or even derail the reconciliation bill being debate in the Senate; after, one month ago, authoring a letter that advocated using reconciliation, which requires just 51 votes in the Senate, to pass an amendment that would create a government-run insurance provider to compete with private insurers.
"He shouldn't have made the promise if he didn't plan to keep the promise," said David Sirota, a progressive author and radio host who, along with about 50 of his listeners, delivered to Bennet's office Wednesday morning a petition signed by 35,000 Americans in the last four days asking Bennet to follow through.
"These are the promises they're campaigning on. These are the promises they are fundraising on," Sirota said. "If we don't ask them to fulfill those promises at the most opportune time, then things like the public option, things like anything they promise, will never be legislated into law."
In an interview with FOX31, Bennet reaffirmed his support for the public option and explained his decision not to fight for it this week.
"Now is not the time to re-start the process or scrap the progress that's been made," Bennet said. "This bill is by no means perfect, but it is an important step forward."
Bennet and many other Democratic groups believe that any effort to amend the reconciliation bill could derail the entire package of reforms as a result. That's because, if the bill is amended by the Senate, it must go back to the House for a final vote.
"I don't think there are any proponents of health care reform who are going to bring an amendment to the floor because it will disrupt the progress we've made," Bennet said. "And it puts the reforms in this bill at risk."
Bobby Clark of the group Progress Now also showed up at Bennet's office Wednesday morning to deliver a letter, signed by the AFL-CIO and other Democratic unions, encouraging Bennet to stick to his guns and save his fight for the public option for another day.
"Every single step in this process that causes delay is a risk," Clark said. "We're urging our Senators to pass this now, without amendment."
Many Democrats will be satisfied with that. But many activist progressives, much like Tea Party and other conservative activists, are demanding more ideological purity from their elected officials; and, while polls show the public option is supported by a narrow majority of both Coloradans and Americans, it is especially important to those on the far left, who won't forgive an incumbent for taking a more moderate position -- especially when there's a more fiery insurgent waiting in the wings.
"When push comes to shove and you have to stand up to your own party leadership and you blink, that's not leadership at all," said former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who is challenging Bennet in a Democratic senate primary.
"When somebody writes a letter and says this is important to me, I assume they mean it," Romanoff said. "I recognize writing that letter got a great deal of publicity. That's nice. But I think the real reason you stand up isn't to get good press. It's to make a difference."
The pressure from the left is mounting on Bennet, who argues that doing so now could stall or even derail the reconciliation bill being debate in the Senate; after, one month ago, authoring a letter that advocated using reconciliation, which requires just 51 votes in the Senate, to pass an amendment that would create a government-run insurance provider to compete with private insurers.
"He shouldn't have made the promise if he didn't plan to keep the promise," said David Sirota, a progressive author and radio host who, along with about 50 of his listeners, delivered to Bennet's office Wednesday morning a petition signed by 35,000 Americans in the last four days asking Bennet to follow through.
"These are the promises they're campaigning on. These are the promises they are fundraising on," Sirota said. "If we don't ask them to fulfill those promises at the most opportune time, then things like the public option, things like anything they promise, will never be legislated into law."
In an interview with FOX31, Bennet reaffirmed his support for the public option and explained his decision not to fight for it this week.
"Now is not the time to re-start the process or scrap the progress that's been made," Bennet said. "This bill is by no means perfect, but it is an important step forward."
Bennet and many other Democratic groups believe that any effort to amend the reconciliation bill could derail the entire package of reforms as a result. That's because, if the bill is amended by the Senate, it must go back to the House for a final vote.
"I don't think there are any proponents of health care reform who are going to bring an amendment to the floor because it will disrupt the progress we've made," Bennet said. "And it puts the reforms in this bill at risk."
Bobby Clark of the group Progress Now also showed up at Bennet's office Wednesday morning to deliver a letter, signed by the AFL-CIO and other Democratic unions, encouraging Bennet to stick to his guns and save his fight for the public option for another day.
"Every single step in this process that causes delay is a risk," Clark said. "We're urging our Senators to pass this now, without amendment."
Many Democrats will be satisfied with that. But many activist progressives, much like Tea Party and other conservative activists, are demanding more ideological purity from their elected officials; and, while polls show the public option is supported by a narrow majority of both Coloradans and Americans, it is especially important to those on the far left, who won't forgive an incumbent for taking a more moderate position -- especially when there's a more fiery insurgent waiting in the wings.
"When push comes to shove and you have to stand up to your own party leadership and you blink, that's not leadership at all," said former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who is challenging Bennet in a Democratic senate primary.
"When somebody writes a letter and says this is important to me, I assume they mean it," Romanoff said. "I recognize writing that letter got a great deal of publicity. That's nice. But I think the real reason you stand up isn't to get good press. It's to make a difference."
