As a Nebraskan, I am used to being surrounded by "red" both on football Saturdays (which excites me!) and on election days (which repulses me!) . While this past November offered a glimmer of hope to me as an Omahan as we went "blue," there is still much work to be done. I am not a big letter writer and typically I reserve those few letters for Senator Nelson since he is at least a Dem in name (if not in deed) and is theoretically, in my mind, more persuadable.
But the behavior of our other senator is so reprehensible that I had to finally snap off an email. And if this notorious wallflower and hand-sitter-onner can write a letter, I hope we all can get off our duffs and do something to make real health care reform a reality.
Read below the fold to see what pissed me off and why I finally got the lead out and took some initiative.
First, what pissed me off.
Actually there were two things (ok, at least three . . . but voting against Sotomayor is a somewhat different issue).
Exhibit A:
At a townhall meeting in Norfolk, the following is notable
Johanns discounted estimates that 47 million people lack insurance, saying the figure includes those who refuse employer coverage, are high wage earners and non-citizens. The real number, he said, is closer to 12 million people.
12 million?!?! What is this guy smoking and/or exactly who has their claws into him and to the tune of what dinero???
Exhibit B:
For the sake of brevity I won't even get into the easily debunked concerns by those mild mannered Nebraskans present (save the teacher from Crofton) which Johanns seemed to at least implicitly let slide, but the fact that he is so bold to claim that
He predicted Obama and the Democrats would have difficulty getting something passed in September.
"I think the wheels are coming off this thing," he said.
I can't wait to see him eat his words when those wheels fail to come off and subsequently leave tire tracks all over the asses of him and every other Republican obstructionist.
Second, what (little) I did about it
Although it is not a surprise to read that my Republican senator is a fountain of misinformation, this fact, coupled with the recent bloviation and chest thumping of the teabaggers/birthers/deathers is just about driving me stark raving mad. Here is what I wrote:
Dear Senator Johanns,
I expect you, as a conservative Republican, to oppose health care reform, but I am particularly dismayed by the lengths you have taken to defame the need for such concern. Your assertion that only 12 million Americans (and not the 47 million commonly quoted) are without healthcare is laughable at best and completely and entirely disingenuous at worst. I certainly question your sources for such information and sincerely wonder where you received them. I am not cynical enough to assume you received such numbers from the insurance industry, but your behavior in the Senate thus far is leading me toward such cynicism.
While I pray that you have a change of heart on healthcare reform, I hold no such hope. Your record as governor, Secretary of Agriculture and Senator is one of party loyalist and obstructionist and not representative of this Nebraskan and his family. Contrary to your assertions on healthcare, my conversations with fellow Nebraskans lead me to believe that, to paraphrase you, "the wheels are indeed NOT coming off this thing" but that it is gaining momentum and you will be just as much on the wrong side of history as your predecessors who opposed Social Security and Medicare before you.
My father-in-law is a farmer and feedlot owner who cannot afford to provide health insurance for all his employees. A vote against healthcare reform is a vote against these hardworking Nebraskans who struggle each day to support their families and live the "Good Life." Such a vote will ensure that neither I, nor my family, will ever cast a vote in your favor in the ballot box and that I will work tirelessly to encourage my friends and neighbors to do the same.
Sincerely,
demcatholic
I am sure my letter leaves much to be desired, but it's already been sent and, after all, it's the thought that counts, isn't it? As I mentioned in the intro, I have never before written to Senator Johanns but this will be the first of many, I assure you.
I am not writing this to toot my own horn (that would be terribly un-Nebraskan of me) but to hopefully encourage those of you who, like me, tend to be political bystanders and lurkers in the blogosphere. TAKE ACTION! MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!
Now, if you don't mind, I have a letter to Senator Nelson to write.