On the morning of this ghoulish heath care vote, with so much agitation being directed towards swing Senators who hold the fate of millions of lives in their hands, I called my Senator whose correct position on this issue, along with 47 other colleagues, receives so little comparative attention. I left a message:
Good morning, Mr. Casey. My name is Brian and I’m a constituent from [this part of Pennsylvania]. I’m calling to say thank you for your consistent efforts to stop the GOP’s attempts to take away people’s healthcare. It seems like a thankless job, so I just wanted to let you know your stance is appreciated and I wish you a good day.
This diary from February contains the phone numbers to all 100 U.S. Senators. On a day so befouled that they’re flying in a brain cancer patient to seal the death warrant for America’s poor who cannot afford the same medical insurance he enjoyed that saved his immediate life less than two weeks ago, we’re left nearly speechless. Radical evil indeed. And that’s certainly not a stain I would want on my spiritual resume with the specter of “meeting the Maker” on the horizon.
A few Republican Senators refused to go along with their party’s latest in a long line of perverse cruelties. By contrast, we haven’t had to worry about profligate Democratic defections. This is nothing to take for granted, so I encourage anyone reading to contact your Democratic Senator if you are fortunate to have one and send some morale-boosting gratitude her or his way.