November 15, 2012
Mitt Romney
PO Box 149756
Boston, MA 02114-9756
Dear Mr. Romney,
As a registered Libertarian during the primaries for the 2008 elections, I very seriously considered you a viable candidate as President of the United States. Had you won your party’s nomination then, I would have had a very difficult decision. At the time, I felt that you were an astute businessman who would be able to maintain an even temper and would be a good negotiator – skills I feel are important both in foreign policy and while working “across the aisle” with Congress.
In all honesty, by the time the primaries for the 2012 elections were over, there was zero chance that you would get my vote. Even if it were not for the fact that President Obama has done an outstanding job as President (displaying exactly the two qualities I noted above as important to me), your poor performance and far-hard-right position was disappointing to say the least.
But the elections were over, and I would have been happy to move forward except that you had to show your lack of character yet again while speaking to your donors on Wednesday. Mr. Romney, I am not young, nor black nor Hispanic, nor poor; but you have made me angry enough to write my first ever letter of this type. How dare you insult me by claiming that President Obama bought our votes via the Affordable Care Act?
More importantly, your obnoxious excuse illustrates exactly why you lost this election. The Affordable Care Act is not “buying votes” – it is a critically necessary step towards bringing the United States up to par with every other first world country and most second/third world countries. The United States spends more per person yet has worse outcomes in nearly every category because we still operate on the failed “for profit” health insurance system. I won’t get into the moral implications of that with you Mr. Romney, but I will note that the Affordable Care Act is a small step towards allowing people like me – not young, not Hispanic, not black, not poor – to make sure our sons and daughters have health coverage until their careers are launched.
Mr. Romney, my daughter is Type 1 diabetic. Let me emphasize – she is Type 1 – the kind that is not lifestyle related. She didn’t choose to be an insulin-dependent diabetic, nor is there a single thing she (or I) could have done to prevent her being diabetic. Insulin-dependency is a life or death situation, Mr. Romney. There is no pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps – my daughter either gets her insulin to stay alive, or she dies. When she turned 19, she was dropped from the health insurance policy she was on because she was no longer a minor; but because of her pre-existing condition we could not find a replacement policy… at any price. It came too late to help my daughter, but one of the most important provisions in the Affordable Care Act allows parents like me – not young, not black, not Hispanic, not poor – to keep our adult children on our health insurance policies until they are 26 years old. This is not “buying” our votes, Mr. Romney. This is good public policy! And the health care situation in the United States is a "big issue for the whole country", one of the biggest!
Finally, Mr. Romney, if it is your opinion that using the President’s office, in concert with Congress, to shape public policy in accordance with your values and the values of those who have voted for you is “buying votes”, that applies to you too. You fully intended to use the office of the President of the United States to shape policy in accordance with your own world view – that of “trickle down” economics and “job creators”. You would have most certainly implemented policies to benefit business people and the wealthy. Were you “buying” their votes Mr. Romney? Will you be honest enough with yourself to see the fallacy of your excuse to your donors?
Either way, Mr. Romney, the majority of the American people have spoken, and we have rejected your view of how the United States of America should operate. Kindly give us credit for being at least as intelligent as your wealthy donors, and for wanting what is best for everyone (not just our own bank accounts). Do not insult us or show your utter lack of character by brushing us off as having our votes “bought”. You lost the election because your policy/economic positions are not good for the majority in the USA; and because your flirtation with the far-right TeaParty types was stomach turning.
