Crossposted at DailyKos.com

Just as did millions of other North Carolinians, last week I received the four-color, glossy mailing from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina that featured a preprinted postcard addressed to Sen. Kay Hagan letting her know how much we Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers hate the idea of a public option.

As did thousands of others, I marked up the wording on the postcard and took advantage of BCBS's generous offer to pay my postage to let my senator know how fully I support a public health-insurance option.

The mailing from BCBS of N.C. hit people's mailboxes at roughly the same time as notices that the "not-for-profit" insurance company was raising premiums for subscribers -- sometimes raising premiums as much as 40%, even for people who hadn't made any claims in the previous year.

If you've ever had a mailing piece printed, you know how expensive the BCBS of N.C. mailer must have been. It's printed on heavy stock, the photos and colors bleed to the edge, it has a glossy finish, it's printed in full four-color, and it features a perforation for the postcard.

The postcard is postage-prepaid.

One can only imagine how much BCBS spent on production and mailing of this piece, whose sole purpose is to have subscribers send a postcard to one U.S. Senator, Kay Hagan.

Why?

Hagan has been tremendously cagey about her stance on the public option. Previously, she has voiced support for a "community health insurance option" (co-op) and for "community health centers and clinics." Her staff, when asked how Hagan stands on the public option, will say in some form or another, "Sen. Hagan supports the public option as outlined in her proposal for a community health insurance option." Her staff will say they're completely flummoxed, perplexed, and confuzzled at why progressives like many of us here at Daily Kos have criticized the senator as not having come out for a public option, because she certainly does support a public option and has done so since she first supported the community health insurance option.

But support a robust national public option? Tumbleweeds. Crickets.

There have been charges that Hagan is in the pocket of big insurance companies, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield.

But if that's so, why the Bizarro World public relations synchronized mailings of outrageous premium increases teamed with a blitz attack against Kay Hagan?

Here's my guess: Hagan is persuadable. Our efforts to encourage her to support true health-care reform have made an impact. And Blue Cross Blue Shield is bringing out its big, glossy, perforated postcard guns to reduce that impact.

So let's keep the pressure up.

You can turn up the heat on Kay Hagan next Saturday, November 7, at a rally, canvass, and phone bank in downtown Raleigh. Sign up at mybarackobama.com.

The Hope beacon has been lit. Calling all Change Crews to Raleigh. I repeat, all Change Crews to Raleigh!

It has been one year since we made history in North Carolina, when we accomplished the daunting task of turning a Southern state blue for the first time in decades. Echoing our president, "It's time to deliver." Time to deliver on health-care reform.

Former NC for Change campaign staffers are flying out from all over the country to participate for the weekend of Nov 7, so please join us as we celebrate an anniversary and get into action.

Canvass and Phone Bank for Health Care Reform
Kick-Off Rally at 12 Noon
Saturday, November 7
N.C. Organizing for America Headquarters
130 E. Morgan St
Raleigh, NC

Everyone is welcome. Come see your old Obama comrades and keep the activism going. Yes, we can reform health care!

In addition to putting the pressure on Hagan to support a robust, nationwide public option, we need to let her know that her waffling on this issue has cut the legs out from under the community campaign volunteers who got her elected.

Her seat's safe for five years, but which of our neighbors are going to believe us when we canvass our neighborhoods to get Richard Burr out of office? After we convinced folks to vote for Hagan, who's going to believe us again?

Hagan has made it very difficult for campaign volunteers who risked hurricanes, 104-degree heat, crotchety people siccing dogs on us, the possibility of physical assault, and threats of arrest while registering voters. It makes a repeat performance as a volunteer a highly unappealing task altogether the next time we're asked to stake our reputations and our well-being on a "moderate."

The Democratic Party needs to let her know this in no uncertain terms.