Today, I am finally fed up with all the bullshit. While I have been writing my representatives fairly regularly in support of health care,today I told them how I really feel. I doubt it will have an impact because this "is too important" to fail (much like the banks are too big to fail) so we have to pass the bill.
Well, today was the last straw. They have already stripped out any real reform of health care, leaving only toothless regulation of the industry, and now they are going to further restrict a woman's right to choose. This is too much!
Follow me below the fold for my letter to my representatives (Schumer, Gillibrand, and Tonko). Perhaps if these Senators in "safe" seats feel a little heat, they will apply a little more pressure. We need to let these people know that, while we will support them when they do the right thing, we will not support them with money or votes if they fail. Maybe this will move them. (fat chance)
Dear Senator Schumer;
I have been a lifelong, loyal and proud Democrat. I have supported Democratic tickets for the past 35 years with my votes and my contributions. Unfortunately, seeing the way my party has totally capitulated on every good reform in the current health care debate has made me rethink my position.
When democrats are too spineless to fight for the public interest and consistently cave in to traitors like Lieberman and Nelson, it shows me that the party is just as much in the pockets of special interests as the republicans. If the President and/or a strong majority of our senators truly wanted an effective health reform bill as they have professed, they would have fought harder for it. Instead, there are no sanctions for democrats who would take the unprecedented step of voting against their own party to sustain a filibuster, something that through innumerable wars and crises has never been done. After this debacle, why is Sen. Lieberman still caucusing with my party and retaining a key chairmanship? Is there no punishment for his single-handed obstruction, or is he really just a stalking horse for the rest of the conservative democratic caucus, so they don’t have to be put in the uncomfortable position of filibustering their own party?
We seem to have unlimited funds to bail out banks and pay for wars and occupations, but comprehensive health care reform costs too much. We spend as much money on defense as the rest of the world combined, but have no money for comprehensive health insurance. The DSCC and DCCC spend money to support candidates who vote against their party’s most important legislation, and criticize Dr. Dean for speaking the truth about this giveaway to the insurance companies.
If and when this bill passes, the gop will tie it to our party exclusively and use it as a bludgeon against us. They want health care reform, and our party, to fail. For all the talk of bipartisanship, who do you think will take the blame for this abomination. Insurance companies, with their phalanxes of lawyers, will defeat any real regulations to protect consumers. The bill contains nothing to control costs, and requires citizens to purchase junk insurance policies under the penalty of law. In its generosity, the government will subsidize consumers to help them afford this insurance that will do little if any good if they do get sick and pay for it with a system that will only drive premium prices up to pay for the tax on effective health care plans.
So I am done supporting the Democratic Party until they begin to reflect my positions and deliver on their promises. I will not contribute one dime to the national organizations until I can be assured that my party reflects my values and not those of the health insurance industry, banking industry and military industrial complex.
I know I am not alone in this. Democrats will suffer at the polls because Democrats like me and my family are no longer motivated to vote for the status quo. I will donate to progressive candidates only and will forego support for any democrat who supports this bill if it is not substantially changed before passage. It is past time for real Democrats to show some spine and insist on a better health care package for our citizens. Thank you for your time.
Very Sincerely,