North Dakota Dems Ask Conrad to Support a Public Option

Posted by mcjoan, Daily Kos at 7:15 AM on October 6, 2009.

It's not just Nebraska. Seems that North Dakota Dems are much more in line with their Sen. Dorgan than Conrad, and they've made that clear to him.

The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party met in Fargo, N.D., on September 19, 2009, and passed a unanimous resolution directing the party's Executive Director to send a letter to North Dakota's Congressional Delegation, letting them know where the North Dakota Dem-NPL Party stands.

The Dem-NPL's Executive Director wrote a letter to remind the congressional delegation that the party voted last year to urge congress to enact universal, single-payer legislation.  In the event the delegation member could not find it within himself to support universal, single-payer, they were asked to support the public option.

Of course, Conrad could argue back that he is supporting a public option, just the one he calls co-ops. Somehow I don't think the North Dakota Dems, who have actually demanded single-payer, would settle for that.

North Dakota and Nebraska both have a long tradition of progressive populism, though North Dakota's has had a more lasting influence on state politics than Nebraskas. So it's not a great surprise that the Democratic parties in these states are taking progressive and populist stands on healthcare reform, the most critical issue to the long term economic and actual health of Americans and an issue absolutley central to Democratic ideals. Nelson and Conrad aren't just out of step with the majority of their Dem colleagues in the Senate, they're out of step with the folks back home.

Tagged as: conrad, health reform, nebraska, north dakota, public option, dorgan