Tim Phillips with Americans for Prosperity was in Washington for the Code Red rally on Tuesday. This is Tim's report....
Yesterday, we asked Americans in targeted congressional districts to turn out for events to let these undecided members of Congress know just how strongly the folks back home oppose this health care takeover.
Thousands upon thousands of Americans took time away from work and family - often right in the middle of the day - to drive to the district offices of their representatives.
In Aliquippa, PA, local leader McKay Sailor had this to say in an email to me: "The rally today was a smashing success! We had upwards of 700 people show up to send the message of ‘NO' to Cong. Altmire."
In North Carolina, hundreds more turned out at noon for a rally at the office of Congressman Etheridge led by AFP's Dallas Woodhouse (click for pictures and click for video).
In Cincinnati, 450 more turned out for a tea party to send a message to Rep. Steve Driehaus (pictures).
500 fired-up activists led by AFP-NJ State Director Steve Lonegan swamped the office of key swing vote Congressman John Adler (pictures).
In Tuscon, AZ, the sound of blaring horns sent a resounding "Honk Against the Health Care Takeover" to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Click to see it for yourself: video 1, and video 2.
I was on the Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C. for a rally hosted by our good friends at the Tea Party Express. FOX News, CNN, CBS Evening News and many others covered the event.
Click here for our Fox News coverage.
An elderly couple from near Indianapolis grabbed my arm and the lady told me, "Tim, we drove 7 hours, missed our granddaughter's dance recital because we want Congress to know we're still in the fight."
The Left continues assuring the media and each other that they have the votes in the House. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs even declared last weekend that health care "will be the law of the land" by this Sunday. Speaker Pelosi says "we just have to pass it to find out what's in it."
If that's true and if there is so much support for the Senate bill, then it's odd that Speaker Pelosi is scrambling to devise a parliamentary trick that will allow House Democrats to pass health care without having to vote on the actual Senate bill!
It's being called "The Slaughter Scheme": Speaker Pelosi has publicly said no one wants to vote for the Senate bill. So instead she is going to use a House rule that will allow representatives to vote on the reconciliation "fixes" and then "deem" that vote to also cover passage of the Senate bill. This is another procedural trick to shield reluctant House Democrats from their constituents. It will not work; we will make sure everyone knows that a vote for that rule is a vote to pass the Senate bill.
Predicting what the House of Representatives will do is impossible.
But know this: they are experiencing intense, sustained grassroots pressure from back home. Their phone lines are swamped. Their email boxes are filled. Their district offices are seeing foot traffic like never before! Our television and radio ads continue to play in targeted districts. Internet banner ads with their names displayed prominently are everywhere.
They've got the president still traipsing around the nation holding canned "town hall" meetings with carefully selected audiences. And, members of Congress are hiding out carefully avoiding public events as well. They know their constituents oppose this legislation.
We're going to keep up the fight straight through the vote ... whenever they finally hold it.
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