Still, though this is a distressing piece of news, the issue is far from dead, and in fact, some say that when Senator Charles Schumer (D) of New York was only defeated 13 to 10 when he attempted to include a public option in the bill to the Senate Finance panel, it showed how close the differing arguments are in coming to a compromise.

The Christian Science Monitor has a good article on this perspective if you would like to read more.

Another vote comes in front of House and Senate leaders about thirty days from now when they will work on a compromise bill.

Meanwhile, two groups promoting change, Democracy for America and The Progressive Change Campaign Committee are seeking support for the public option by running a hard-hitting ad campaign in the home states of Max Baucus and Olympia Snowe, criticizing them for their lack of support in this area. Here is an example of one of the ads:

It’s confusing, we know.

Who do you contact that can help make a difference and exactly what can you say that might get their attention?

There are easy ways to make sure you are calling the right office, There’s even a cool way to get patched through to the appropriate legislator if you want to talk with someone or leave a voice message- now that is EASY. Please take a few minutes out of your day and speak your mind. We have to get involved in order to make these crucial changes to our current health care system, and it isn’t hard- trust us!

Find your lawmakers,
tell them what you think

Once you replace the text below with your zip code and click “GO,” you will be taken to the Congress.org site where you can see who your lawmakers are, along with their addresses, phone numbers and a tab to email them.

Easy system to get through to the right lawmaker

With a few clicks of your mouse, you are connected by the click-to-call phone system directly to the government officials you need

All you do is click on the Click-to-Call link below and fill out the form on the Health Care for America Now site.  You’ll get a call back with some helpful information about what you might want to add to your message and the call will get patched through to the correct office.  Easy and effective! The Health Care Reform Flag site appreciates this service provided by HCAN.

Click to Call your lawmakers responsible for passing Health Care Reform