As most of you know, Rep. Brian Baird of Washington State is not holding any town hall meetings, partly because of a threatening fax he received last week. His district covers some of the most right-wingnuttery areas in Western Washington--Ellen Crasswell, with God as her running mate, ran for Governor from there years ago.
I have had little faith in my Congressman ever since he stood on the stairs of the Capitol, next to Tom DeLay, in support of Terri Schaivo being kept on life support....ugh.
So I did my duty this morning, trying not to have low expectations of what would result.
I took my 82 year old mom with me. Some of you have followed my diaries about her successful battle with stage 4 non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Having medicare and a gold-standard supplimental ( from her years teaching in Oregon) saved her life and cost her very little.
Winding our way through construction in downtown Olympia, we found Baird's tiny office. Inside, sat a lone staffer,a young man of about 25, a yellow legal pad in front of him, filled with hash marks as he took calls from constituents. We were the only ones there. After finishing his call, he asked how he could help us,.
I started explaining the need for single payer, the need to prevent pre-existing conditions from keeping someone from further treatment, the importance of wellness care, care for children...all of it. I told him what I knew of my friends in Canada and England and their experiences with their excellent health care. I told him of the kids I have taught over the years who were in dire need of dental work, eye glasses, etc. but couldn't get help because of the unlucky draw of the short straw by being born into a low income family.
My mother told him that Congress should concentrate on getting a Medicare-like plan for everyone, to pay the 80% and then let the insurance companies offer the other 20%. She reiterated that her health insurance had saved her life by paying for treatment for a nasty form of lymphoma.
All this time, the staffer quietly took notes. I asked him if he read Daily Kos. He looked at me blankly ( oh. my. god.) and said he had never heard of it. He did write down the URL, though. ( HI PAUL!!)
Then, he asked me if I would accept a public option. I told him only if there were not enough votes to get the single payer. I told him I wanted Congressman Baird to FIGHT for this. Bi-partisanship would be fine if the Republicans actually wanted to meet somewhere in the middle, but THEY DON'T!
He continued writing.
I told him how frustrated I was with moderate Democrats like Baird ( a charitable description) who appear to be ready to give up everything to pacify Republicans. He assured me Baird would not do that...
hmmm.
He told me that Congressman Baird is concerned about rising costs, not wanting to take money out of Social Security to pay for it ( huh??) and that before he could vote for anything, he had to see how much it would cost.
About what I expected.
We thanked him, gave him a big smile, and left.
It turned out pretty much like I thought it would, but I am not sorry I did it. I plan to follow up with a letter to that office, thanking Paul for his time, and to repeat my list of concerns.
We have no choice...we can't sit back and do nothing while the right works night and day to muddy the message and freak people out.
Call, email, or go visit the local office of your representative. I am a firm believer of the "Dead Chicken Around Their Necks" theory of letting them know, over and over and over, what health care means to this country.