My wife and I recently moved to Florida, into a house whose previous owner very clearly had wingnut tendencies. As such, we're usually among the first to receive direct mail propaganda from conservative hacks with an interest in influencing Florida politics. Today I received a nicely produced, full page single-fold brochure asking:
Will Some Washington Politicians BLOW UP Your Healthcare?
(Accompanying Photo: a balloon in the fashion of a $100 bill, hand with pin ready to pop it.)
Inside the fold, I was told that SOME WASHINGTON POLITICIANS "are moving closer to imposing a government run healthcare system on America...If you fail to speak up for your right to make your own healthcare choices, government bureaucrats will make the choice for you." (The members of a young family in the accompanying photo looked very sad about this.) Additionally, a "Lewin Group Study" was quoted as saying "over 88 million Americans with good employer-provided coverage could be dumped into the big government plan."
The brochure was put out by the "Campaign for Responsible Health Reform". Underneath their logo, way on back, is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce logo. They have a website, but I refuse to link to it.
HERE'S THE FUN PART!
The good folks at the Chamber have set up a TOLL FREE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION CENTER! It's at 877-234-9199. Nice of them, I think. So, I called it. An automated voice asked me to hold for the next available operator. That took a minute. The operator asked "do you oppose government-run health care?" I said, "Well, no one's proposing that, so I haven't thought about it. But I DO support a public option for purchasing health insurance." Long silence/confusion, then I was asked for my zip code and patched through to Senator Bill Nelson's office. The "operator" said it was very important to say I oppose government-run health care! and to say I'm a constituent.
What I ACTUALLY planned to say to the staffer was, "The Chamber of Commerce sent me a mailer and asked me to call you with their talking points. While it was nice for them to pay for the call, what I want to ask is that Senator Nelson PUBLICLY SUPPORT A PUBLIC OPTION TODAY." Unfortunately, the line was busy, which makes me worry the wingnuts are flooding the zone.
Anyway, I know a lot of folks here are making calls to Congress and you should do it however you see fit, but you may want to consider spending some of the opposition's money and tying up their astroturf patch-through network while you're at it -- provided you're willing to try and make it through their screen. Hell, maybe they eventually catch on and decide to shut the thing down. If not, it's still a fun five minutes. If you're game, here's the number again:
TOLL FREE PATCH-THROUGH TO CONGRESS
877-234-9199
Enjoy.