I gave money and a lot of time to the President's campaign and to other Democrats downticket. To see them retreating from offering the public option that we were told was necessary to force the honesty of the private insurers is disheartening at best, disgusting at worst. The Democrats in Congress are caving to a virtually powerless Republican Party for what? Bipartisanship that will never, I repeat NEVER be reciprocated by the GOP? Or are all of the Dem senators in the pockets of the insurers? What is so hard to understand here? The insurers are conceding that a public plan is cheaper, making our argument for us, why aren't we running with it? Why isn't President Obama out there hammering this every day? And what's worse is that 76% of people WANT the public option, yet our spineless Democratic congresspeople are selling out as fast as humanly possible.
Let me be unequivocal: if there is no public option, I will be lifting not a finger to help the Democratic Party in 2010 and 2012 (and yes, donating requires lifting fingers). I never wanted to believe that the party that I believed in, the party I've argued in favor of countless times deep in the bowels of red-state Kansas, the party that stood in opposition to the entity that represents all that is evil in our society, could be co-opted so easily and swiftly. Seeing the senators of my party racing to see who can sell out on the public option fastest literally turns my stomach. WHERE ARE OUR PARTY'S CORE PRINCIPLES RIGHT NOW? Or were my apolitical friends right when they said that the two parties are virtually interchangeable, that the Democrats are just as crooked and corrupt as the GOP? That the leaders of our party have no principles?
I'm just a poor hick from Kansas, but I'm a poor hick who has fought tirelessly and given what little I can to help remake this country into something better. To see me, and millions of others like me, betrayed so easily by those who we fought for has left me dumbfounded. President Obama, you are the one with the power right now. Utilize the mandate you were given to do what's right AND what's popular. If not, all I can say is, you've lost a core supporter.