OK, I will admit this upfront: I'm not optimistic about this. However, I have been thinking about this whole episode regarding Rep. Rodgers and her solicitation of Obamacare Horror Stories gone awry.
I also admit that I posted a few comments poking fun at the 99.9% failed attempt.
But during the past 24 hours, I have also asked myself if there some way to turn this into a sort of reality mirror and make something good come from it? And is there really anything to lose in trying?
Open the envelope and you will see why a guy who has lived in Florida for 44 years wrote to a congressman from Washington state...
Below is the text of an email I sent -- not to Rep. Rodgers, but to Rep. Jim McDermott, also from Washington. Please note that I did some homework! First I looked to see which Democrats from Washington voted for ACA and against its repeal. I also called his office first and spoke a very nice staffer there, as it states on his website that he can not reply to email messages from people who live outside his district.
I'm sure someone is going to say, "Mark, you're dreaming!" To which I would reply, "Dreaming is the first step in liberalism...so thank you!" (Hmm...I wonder if that's why so many folks in the creative arts are liberals?)
Sidenote: When I spell checked this in MS Word, Obamacare was a recognized word. I even deliberately retyped it without a lower case "o" and Word capitalized it for me. It seems that no matter what happens to the law, at least the word "Obamacare" is here to stay.
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Hello, I am sure you do not usually receive messages from Floridians, but I have a reason for contacting you specifically.
You probably are aware of what happened earlier this week with your fellow Washingtonian, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, when she posted on Facebook asking for Obamacare Horror Stories. (In case you missed it, the page was deluged with people telling why and how Obamacare has improved their lives. Even more telling is that it is very, very difficult to find any comments critical of ACA.)
While a lot of supporters of ACA are using this to ridicule Rep. Rodgers and her opposition to ACA, I would like to see an opportunity to make this work. It is so obvious from the Facebook comments that public opinion is FOR Obamacare, even among people who have had a less than perfect experience. My first thought was to suggest that either President Obama or Nancy Pelosi reach out to Rep. Rodgers and point out that her constituents (or at least the public in general) are overwhelmingly opposed to repealing ACA, and maybe she would considering making improvements to it rather than repealing it. I remember how much effort was put into trying to convince just one GOP senator to vote for the bill. Well, here is a chance to maybe get one House Republican to support the bill, and one defection might lead to a few others coming on board.
It occurred to me that coming from the President or the leader of the opposing party, this effort might come across badly -- and that's where you come in. If anybody could pull this off, it would most likely be another House member from Washington. I am contacting you as the senior representative of your state, figuring that if you are not the best person to talk to Rep. Rodgers, you most likely know who in your delegation is.
This is really an opportunity for everyone. Rep. Rodgers gets to show that she is truly interested in representing her constituents, and her Facebook page can be flagged as a starting point for making improvements to ACA. Congress gets to show that it really can accomplish something across party lines. Your state gets to look like it is leading the nation. And of course, millions of Americans would continue to benefit from ACA.
Thank you for your attention, and next time you are hit with the weather most of the country has had, please come visit us! (I am in Ted Deutch’s district.)
MarkFL