I got the Red State Blues. I got it bad.
Here's the thing. I live in Wyoming. It's a beautiful state, with mountains and wildlife, and clear deep blue skies. But it's also one of the reddest states in the country, and people here have a strong "keep the guv'mint out of my bidness" belief. And...
...my senior U.S. Senator is Mike Enzi.
Yes, that Mike Enzi.
More after the jump...
That's right, the Mike Enzi who is part of Max Baucus' infamous gang of six. The Mike Enzi who is at the top of Nate Silver's list of Senators who rely heavily on corporate PAC's for their campaign contributions. The Mike Enzi who told Rotarians in my town the other day that health care reform should be approached in incremental steps...
The rest of my Congresscritters aren't much better. My junior Senator, John Barrasso, M.D., vehemently disapproves of the HELP Committee's reform proposal. In 2007, he voted against adding more children to the SCHIP rolls. Meanwhile, Wyoming's lone House Representative, freshman Cynthia Lummis, tells us,
Too many people in Wyoming – including ranchers, small business owners, and small business employees – either do not have health insurance or they are paying far too much for it. Amidst calls for universal healthcare, however, we need to learn from the experiences of Canada and our European neighbors. Healthcare quality and access would suffer in a government-run system, which history shows can lead to healthcare rationing.
As an alternative, I fully support Senator Enzi’s 10 Steps to Transform Healthcare. These steps are based on the notion that individuals, not the government, should have charge over their health care dollars. These steps would change the tax code and health insurance laws to create more affordable options for people who don’t have the benefit of employer-provided healthcare.
Yeah, I'd like to contact my Congresscritters. I did email Senator Enzi a couple weeks ago and said that we need a strong public option. Unsurprisingly, I haven't heard anything back. I figure I'll get the same response - or lack thereof - from Senator Barrasso and Congresswoman Lummis. I feel like talking to my Congresscritters is about as useful as arguing with the dining room table.
So. I feel helpless and isolated. I got the Red State Blues. And I got it bad...