One day before we celebrate the birth of our nation, Nebraskans gathered at a scheduled healthcare roundtable to call on Senator Johanns to support an American solution to our healthcare crisis.

Instead of greeting the teachers from NSEA, veterans, and SEIU workers Senator Johanns' staff called the police, ordering the Nebraskans to leave the Medical Center grounds.

"Johanns' voters-- teachers, members of the armed forces, and SEIU members-- set up a table with apple pie and signs welcoming the Senator and urging him to support a uniquely American solution to healthcare reform," explained Jane Kleeb, SEIU State Director. "Instead of coming by and saying hello, the Senator walked right by us as we were surrounded by police, and the Senator said 'good luck with that.'"

SEIU received advanced permission from the Nebraska Medical Center to greet the Senator as he started his day of roundtables on healthcare reform. Instead of greeting the healthcare reform advocates at the table, the Senator's staff called the police.

Just as our founders realized the time for hard decisions was upon them, SEIU and our partners know we can not afford to wait any longer to reform our broken healthcare system.

Nebraskans need policies that will make healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone. With our families and businesses struggling, the future of our nation depends on the solutions being debated in DC. It is not a time to slowdown, it is a time to act.
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For more pictures of today's event, visit Nebraska's Change that Works Facebook album. To learn more about what we do, visit our website.

Update: Here at TPM, Jane Hamsher confirms that the police told her Johanns' staff were the ones who called.
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Crossposted on MyDD, OpenLeft and Daily Kos.

Gov. Dave Heineman's (R) radio address this week once again showed that he's out of touch with the healthcare crisis that Nebraskans face on a daily basis-- we need a solution now. Scare tactics and posturing don't help and don't give Nebraskans an answer to a growing problem.

It's time to stop playing politics and solve the health care crisis. Health care reform the President is proposing will give you the freedom of choice: you can keep your current plan including the doctor you know and trust, or choose another private plan, or the choice of a quality affordable public health insurance plan. Health care reform will stop the insurance companies from denying coverage for an illness you had 5 years ago or some other pre-existing condition, or denying you care because of your age. Health care will be affordable. Most of all, it will be a uniquely American solution that gives you the peace of mind of knowing you will always have quality, affordable health care.

SEIU calls on Governor Heineman to work with the President as he moves with a bipartisan Congress towards common sense reform for healthcare which means protecting the hundreds of thousands of Nebraskans happy with their current healthcare plan and covering the thousands of Nebraskans that are falling through the cracks that either do not have insurance or have insurance that is too expensive for their family budgets to sustain.

Next Saturday, June 20, volunteers from across the state will participate in a massive door-to-door campaign to mobilize support for health care reform, and they need your help to succeed.

Organizing for America, working in partnership with our organization and supporters from all over the state, is in the process of organizing canvass efforts in 14 cities that stretch all the way from Scottsbluff to Omaha. Their efforts will no doubt go a long way towards mobilizing the support necessary to pass real health care reform. But they just can't do this one alone.

Barack Obama's job didn't end on Election Day, and neither did ours. It's critical that our Congressmen and our Senators understand just how important this issue is to the voters in their state. That means identifying new supporters and activating new volunteers. That means talking to our neighbors, and letting them know the truth about the current health care debate.

Whether you live in Omaha or Lincoln, South Sioux or McCook or anywhere in between, there is bound to be a canvass in your area that needs your help to succeed. For more details and to RSVP, please check in at our Facebook events page and stay tuned here for more updates as we get closer to the date.

Earlier this week, the enemies of health care reform came to Lincoln. And we met them there, head-to-head.

The DC lobbying group, called "Patients United," held a rally in Antelope Park where they spread their fear tactics and lies about President Obama's health care plan. Meanwhile, a group of Nebraskans--young, old, insured, uninsured, city and rural--gathered to protest from the other side of the street. Holding home-made signs and waving at the passing traffic, these concerned citizens spoke up for real reform and stood strong against the distortions peddled by the other side.

Apparently unhappy to see such strong support for reform, the Chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party, Mark Fahleson, took to his Twitter page and dismissed the crowd as "rent-a-goons." Personally, I didn't meet any goons in our audience, just Nebraskans who aren't happy with the status quo.

For instance, here's Chuck, a reverend who lives in Beatrice, who is looking for bold leadership, not the status quo:

Our opponents would like you to believe that Chuck and people like him are "goons," but that's just not true. They're concerned Nebraskans who are standing up for reform, and you'd better believe that they're making their voices heard and will continue to until we get health care reform passed.

To join them in their fight for real reform, please join our Facebook page. There you can learn more ways to become involved.

Together, we can fight the lies and meet our opponents head-on.

All the best,
Jane Fleming Kleeb
SEIU: Change That Works Nebraska

In the current debate over health care reform, an awful lot of attention has been paid towards Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson.  And it's certainly understandable that it should.  After all, Nelson has proven to be a critical swing vote in a divided Senate, and as we documented earlier this week with our "24/7 Project", Nebraskans themselves have a whole lot at stake in this debate.

But in the fights that are still ahead on this issue, it's important to remember who the real obstacles are.  And while Senator Ben Nelson has consistently shown a willingness to listen to his constituents and vote for the real reform that they need, his colleague, Senator Mike Johanns, has not.

This week a DC group launched a direct mail campaign attacking Ben Nelson for his stance on the public option.  But, as has now been documented in the Huffington Post, Nelson has kept his mind open to supporting just such a plan. 

Nelson made these statements while meeting directly with community leaders from across the state, including our organization and many other progressive partners.  By contrast, Mike Johanns has never extended invitations to hold similar meetings, and has been steadfast in his opposition to any public option. 

So why aren't more groups holding Senator Johanns accountable for his record, too? 

After all, the votes really speak for themselves.

Senator Nelson voted to continue and expand SCHIP, a program he actually created as Governor, so that our kids in Nebraska whose families cant afford health insurance can be covered.

Senator Johanns voted against SCHIP, which would have left thousands of Nebraskan kids uncovered and unprotected.

Senator Nelson voted to extend unemployment benefits and COBRA, the health insurance safety net for those who lose their job and lose their health insurance.

Senator Johanns voted against unemployment benefits and COBRA, leaving Nebraskans with not only lost hope but filled with fear of what happens if they get sick in between jobs.

Senator Nelson voted to fund health clinics which are the backbone of our communities.

Senator Johanns voted against our health clinics which would have left a huge hole in coverage for communities across our state.

Groups focusing on Senator Nelson and ignoring Senator Johanns are kinda like the parents who punish their kid who got a B instead of an A, and ignore their kid that got a D because that is what they expect out of him.  We think the D student could use some coaching and focus.

Jane Fleming Kleeb lives in Hastings, Nebraska with her husband Scott Kleeb and their two daughters.  Jane heads up SEIU's Change That Works project focusing on reforming healthcare and labor laws.

Nebraskans are standing up for health care reform 24/7, what about you?

Change that Works Nebraska kicked off their Memorial Day recess activities yesterday morning with their innovative 24 Hours of Healthcare stories Youtube campaign.

The subjects and details in each of these 24 videos may differ, but one thing remains constant across the board: Nebraskans want real health care reform, and they're ready to demand action now. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, "Although anyone can access the stories online, they are specifically aimed at Nebraska's congressmen and senators. Top-level staff members for each official will receive e-mails with links to each new story."

View all 24 stories on the Change that Works Nebraska YouTube page.

Updates, as well as the individual videos, can be found below the fold. Here's the latest story:

You hear it in the fields and the factories, from farmers and students and small business owners. It runs all the way from one end of our state to another, and cuts across all party lines. Nebraskans want real health care reform, and they're ready to demand action now.

This is an issue that truly affects us all, and everyone has their own story to tell. Today, our organization joins a broad coalition of statewide partners to present just a few of those stories...literally all day long.

These videos simply must be seen to be understood. The subjects may differ, the details might change, but the passion, the anger, and the hope for something better remains the same no matter who you ask. For many Nebraskans, health care is a problem they worry about 24/7. And for the next 24 hours, we'll be bringing their stories to light.

Here's our first story, from Jim in Belgrade:

Jim is not alone in this struggle: throughout the rest of the day, his voice will be joined by others here. Every hour, on the hour, we'll be uploading a new health care video, and sharing that new story with our Congressional leaders and the Nebraska media. (See these videos after the fold)

In creating this project, our organization, SEIU, is indebted to the efforts of our statewide partners, including: Nebraska Appleseed, Health Care for Americans Now, the Center for Rural Affairs and the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network. But if we are to see real reform enacted, we're going to need your efforts, too.

So take the time to call your Congressman, and let them know just what health care reform means to you. Together, we can build a health care system that works for us all.

* Senator Johanns: 402-476-1400
* Senator Nelson: 402- 441-4600
* Representative Terry: 402-397-9944
* Representative Fortenberry: 402-438-1598
* Representative Smith: 308-384-3900