Dear Congressman Harry Mitchell,
I can't help but notice that the health care reform message on your website says nothing about your support for a vigorous public option as part of a health care reform package to be passed by Congress. Please clarify your position on this topic as it is critical to my potential support for your reelection effort. I have previously contacted you regarding my interest in health care reform and support for a public option to compete with private insurance, but I still don't have an answer to whether you support the public option.
I would like to attend any constituent meetings you may plan to discuss current health care reform initiatives. Please be aware that those who may attend your meetings on this topic and attempt to disrupt the proceedings are likely not your constituents, as I am, but rather insurance company shills coached to shout down anyone who disagrees with them. They represent the corporate interests, the ones who are spending over a million dollars a day, taken directly from health insurance premiums, in order to deny health care to your real constituents and all the individuals in this country who the government is supposed to be of, by and for.
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Please be aware that your constituents are not the corporate interests but the voters in your district, who just like the voters in all the other districts in this country are overwhelmingly in support of robust health care reform that includes a public option. It's past time to stand up for what's right: be clear, be specific, be brave and let your constituents known exactly where you stand on the issue of a public option in health care reform. Why is it that I still don't know what your specific positions are on these issues? I am your constituent, I am your employer and my vote in next years election is dependent upon your answer to this question.
Sincerely,
[My Real Name Here]
Some further thoughts...
Since I submitted this email from Harry's official webpage, I was required to enter my address with a 9-digit zip code and home telephone number (that I'm fairly confident will be used to attempt to solicit campaign donations), which seemed a little intrusive until I realized that this could theoretically be used to verify the fact that I am in fact Harry's constituent. Of course, I have my doubts that Harry will actually spend the time and resources to check which incoming messages are from his actual constituents and which are from the astroturf campaigns that are on the rampage right now.
It would be easy enough to submit fake addresses and phone numbers to appear to live in Harry's district, but it wouldn't be too difficult for his staffers to verify that I am, in fact, an actual constituent who votes in every election, which I would hope would give my message some credence. This is also the reason I want to attend Harry's town halls, because I want to remind him that I one of his potential voters and the astroturf shills are not.
This is a scary time in this country. The corporate interests are running amok. Their tactics are thoroughly disgusting, I've never seen anything like it before, lies, lies and more lies. It's hard to believe people would believe such lies, except for the carpet-bombing aspect of their propaganda campaign that attempts to completely overwhelm the truth by saturating the airwaves. I'm normally a political wallflower, I hate conflict, but this is different. It's time for us all to take a stand for what's right and reassert the supposed primacy of the individual in this government. I will not allow my voice to be shouted down by those who would choose greed over the public good.
Health care is a basic human right and I'm no longer prepared to stand by and enable the violators of human rights in this country by my inaction. I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more. It's time for us all to speak up and speak out. Please consider contacting your congressperson too, if you haven't already (or even if you have already) and let them know where you stand on this issue, or whatever issues are most important to you. We need to take this country back from the special interests that have hijacked our government, and of course remember to speak out with your vote as well.