The MoveOn orchestrated campaign to pressure TN to expand medicare and those phony lettes to the editor.

Do you read those letters in the Tennessean urging the Governor to accept Medicare expansion and think they are organic and homegrown?  Maybe some of them are but more than likely they are part of an orchestrated campaign. Also, those calls legislators are getting are part of an orchestrated campaign. The following is from MoveON:

Dear Tennessee MoveOn member,

Lawmakers in 23 states—including Tennessee—are blocking more than 5 million people from access to healthcare. That's why on Wednesday, MoveOn members across the country made more than 6,500 calls encouraging state politicians to work to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

These personal calls are powerful. Here are a couple sample comments members shared: 

I called Gov. Nikki Haley's office and asked if she would please accept Medicaid funding under the Affordable Care Act...I told her that my story is personal. That I have a daughter that is not working and can't afford insurance coverage. We do all that we can to pay her student loan debt and cost of the insurance is so expensive we can't afford it.—Shirley J., Loris, SC

I asked that the governor please take the money, if not so many will die because of his politics...I am a union man along with my father and two brothers. I guaranteed him four votes that he will not get if he continues to refuse the money.—Richard, Pittsburgh, PA

We can't stop now. Can you help keep the momentum going and growing? 

Take the next step now and write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on Tennessee's leaders to expand Medicaid.

We're definitely being noticed already, and now's our chance to build on the momentum.

Winning a fight like this starts with making sure public opinion is on our side. Politicians often look to the letters to the editor section of their local newspapers to get a sense of how people feel about an issue. Their staff clip, categorize, and archive them regularly for them to read. 

Will you take the next step and write a letter to the editor?

Yes, count me in. I'll writea letter to the editor!

We've suggested talking points to help you craft your letter, and a list of newspapers in your region—and we'll automatically deliver your letter to the papers you select. We've also provided the phone numbers of the newspapers, so that you can make follow-up calls to ask if your letter will be published—which shows that you really care, and increases the chance that your letter will be chosen. 

Each letter we submit increases the likelihood of publication, and lets newspaper editors know that Medicaid expansion is an important issue for their readers, which could lead to more and better coverage.

Click here to write and submit a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on leaders in Tennessee to expand Medicaid. [link disable RW]

Conservative opposition to Medicaid expansion shows just how far Republicans will go to oppose Obamacare, and it's working people who are suffering for it. For most voters, it's a step too far. Medicaid expansion has the potential to save lives. Until Tennessee politicians stop opposing it, we have an obligation to expose just how dangerous and misinformed conservative attacks on Obamacare have become.

These calls and letters to the editor are building the pressure we need to win. All around the country, MoveOn members are organizing to expand access to health care through Medicaid in their states. 

Let's keep the pressure up—submit your letter to the editor today. [link disabled. RW]

Thanks for all you do.

–Victoria, Stefanie, Alejandro, Kyle, and the rest of the team

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