MoveOn.org seeks to block Senate healthcare bill

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Liberal opposition to the Senate healthcare overhaul continued to grow today as MoveOn.org urged its members to work to improve the pending measure.

The organization, which has backed liberal candidates, announced that it is sponsoring a petition drive to urge senators to block the bill until it is improved.

“The latest Senate healthcare bill has no public option,” the organization said in an e-mail. “No expansion of Medicare. And it does too little to guarantee that uninsured Americans will actually be able afford the coverage they’ll be required to purchase.”

The group notes there is still time. “As Joe Lieberman has shown, just one senator willing to stand in the way can force legislation to be changed dramatically,” the group said.

It was Lieberman’s opposition that forced Democrats to drop a compromise that would have expanded Medicare. While that move may help the Democrats get to 60 votes, they are not there yet.

So far, most of the media has focused on opposition from Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who is seeking tougher language to bar federal funds for abortions. But on the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has also voiced misgivings and warned that his vote should not be taken for granted.

Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.) has also said that he was not an automatic yes vote. The petition also cites Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wisc.) as a possible vote to block healthcare reform unless it is made more liberal.

The petition drive follows opposition from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who called for killing the Senate bill. Some unions leaders, including SEIU President Andrew Stern, have called on Democrats to do more on healthcare, though he stopped short of opposing the Senate bill.

-- Michael Muskal

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal