Rep. Bob Camp (Republican, big surprise there) was one of 24 members of Congress who voted against the bi-partisan Children's Health Care Bill (SCHIP). Feeling too incensed to to just sit idly by, I placed a call to his office to relay an important message.
I live in Harbor Springs, Michigan. So does Rep. Camp. He lives in a subdivision called "Ramona Park". His house is a castle, easily larger than all the homes I have ever lived in if you were to combine them all together. He has accumulated quite a bit of wealth in his lifetime, as you might imagine. Still, I was annoyed, to say the least, to find he had voted AGAINST the bi-partisan SCHIP bill yesterday. So I called his office (and so should YOU: His House page w/ contact numbers) and politely asked his staffer to relay a message to the aforementioned Representative. To paraphrase:
"I would just like to thank Mr. Camp for his vote AGAINST the SCHIP bill. I can understand why he would vote this way. Judging by the size of his home here in Harbor Springs and by the fact that being a member of the US House entitles him and his children to some of the best health care that our tax money can afford, he must not have a very large personal stake in our children's health. Unfortunately, the rest of us, the people who VOTE to keep him in office, do have a personal stake in this. If Mr. Camp dosen't care about our children, perhaps he cares about his seat in Congress. We the people will NOT forget this vote, and he will make sure he is voted out of office in the next election cycle and replaced by someone who DOES care about our children's health. It's still not too late for Mr. Camp, however. He can still do the right thing by our children and vote to override President Bush's expected veto of this bipartisan bill. Instead of showing misguided loyalty to the most unpopular president in the history of the United States, he could show his loyalty to those who REALLY count, and more importantly, their children and help this bill become law. Otherwise, we can do the politically expedient thing and send Mr. Camp home to spend more time with HIS children who would no longer enjoy the benefits of the taxpayer's Congressional health care plan. Thank you for your time."
That was my message, more or less. I normally only call my representatives to encourage them or to thank them for doing good things, and deign to write letters or emails to admonish them for poor decision making, but I couldn't confine myself to mere text this time. It had to be spoken words. I would not have been able to sit idly by today while this man, whose paycheck I provide with my tax dollars, enjoys what he thinks to have been a politically expedient vote. He needs to know the truth. The truth that we the people PAY ATTENTION and do not forget about votes like this. The truth that we the people don't have the luxury of vast wealth, huge summers homes on Lake Michigan, and the best health care that money can buy. The truth that unless he changes his voting around and does the RIGHT THING by our children, that WE THE PEOPLE have no problem easily voting him right out of office, just as easily as he voted to deny our children proper health care.