CU College Dems Fight for SCHIP, Call Idiot Congressmen

The Activist Council held an event this Wednesday to pressure the two members of the New York congressional delegation NOT voting to override Bush's veto of SCHIP. We thought they should change their votes and support healthcare for American children. Congressmen Kuhl and Reynolds obviously hate poor children though, since they're voting against giving them health insurance. But we made dozens of calls to their offices, and wrote letters with friendly notes like "please vote for SCHIP" and "good luck getting elected." Here are some pics (credit to Kaley Hanenkrat)!

Our table at set-up time

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Columbia in Action

Media Matters Roundup: CHIP Edition

On September 18, 2007, the Columbia University College Democrats conducted a phone banking drive to put pressure on Representatives Peter King and Jim Walsh, both NY Republicans to rethink their votes on the Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization. Over the course of the day, activists made over 150 phone calls to the two Congressional offices. The effort paid off, both Congressmen voted "yea" on the conferenced version of bill . In total, the roll call vote garnered 265 yeas to 159 nays, just 25 votes shy of a veto-proof majority.

Borrowing a page from the CU College Dems' playbook, the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) is funding automated (ROBO) calls in seven competitive Congressional districts, hoping to change a couple of Republicans' minds.

Via TPM, D-Trip is also running radio ads against eight vulnerable Republicans for their votes on CHIP reauthorization. Reps. Steve Chabot (OH-01), Thelma Drake (VA-02), Tom Feeney (FL-24), Sam Graves (MO-06), Joe Knollenberg (MI-09), Randy Kuhl (NY-29), Jim Saxton (NJ-03), and Tim Walberg (MI-07).

Looks like the pressure's on. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was really on the defensive today when asked questions about CHIP.

Keep tabs on the CHIP veto showdown. If you see anything, comment to this post and we'll keep a running media update going.

~ Jonathan