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Quaker, French-speaker, educator, anti-racist; Southern-born & raised, and talking enthusaist.

2009-08-18

Healthcare Reform

Dear Mr. Obama:

My boyfriend, roommate and I about threw household items at the TV when we heard you diminish the chance of you and the Dems championing the public option. You have made the argument that Medicare and the VA are government run and successful (but in need of some reform to control costs). If those are so good, then we should pass the public option, forcing the hands of the Blue Dogs and ignoring the GOP who won't go along with anything anyway. I left the GOP b/c I was sick of their "rich-only" policies and their corporate welfare over the welfare-of-the-people policies, their preferential treatment of large corporations over small businesses and LLCs, and because of the Religious Right's take over. I'm an active DEM, but always embarrassed that we have no testicular fortitude as a party. You are a weak president who is not using the bully pulpit, you and your aides seem (forgive me if I'm wrong) to have assumed that your charisma would carry the argument. It's time to force blue dogs: if you don't agree with this public plan, then you won't get squat for your states. All concessions in the other parts of the reform plan that were to bring GOP and the Blue Dogs along should be stripped if there is no public option. We may lose our majority (we'll lose seats anyway) in 2010 if we pass the public option. But in the long run it will be a GOOD bill that we can point back to as we are now pointing to Medicare's success. If we DON'T pass this bill with the public option, then it will be a bad one, and the GOP will later point to it as a failed big government Democratic-crafted bill. Health care costs will continue to rise and the GOP will then go after Medicare b/c it will be insolvent. Mr. Obama, it's time you fire your aides (if they'll let you see this) or start being the boss, one or the other. My family in TN is sick over this, my boyfriend, roomie and I are NOT insurable. No one in my family is! We couldn't afford coverage even with our incomes b/c of our health, even if the health insurance companies were forced to cover us. The premiums would be horrible! Please, pass REAL health care reform. First FISA, then your horrible anti-gay letters regarding DOMA (yes, I'm aware of the latest brief, but what's done is done), no movement on Don't Ask Don't Tell, and now no public option because we don't want to lose our majority? So what if we have a majority and we don't use it? Health care for all is a MORAL issue. Right now DEMS are weak, adn we DESERVE to lose seats! I'm close to despair. This letter is being shared on blogs and facebook.

4 comments:

  1. I think it's sad that a man who was swept in on such a mandate is caving to pressure which, either he was aware of and didn't thought would matter or was naive and "wet behind the ear" (his own words); both are bad regardless - because it looks as if he is crumbling. I hope you're right Kevin, my love, cause if it's just political theater and we get a public option in the end I, along with you and many thousands of others will finally feel like government is working for the people, not against it. Peace!

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  2. Yeah, I somehow think this is political theater. I am hoping that the Dems are trying to look bipartisan (with some naïve hope that the GOP will actually come along to some degree). Perhaps they want to expose the GOP as the party of "NO." The gNOp. The Blue Dogs are holding out as fiscal conservatives b/c of their base. That makes the Progressives look like they are extreme. Then the President and other Senate and House leaders can finally put something together and present it to the public as a compromise. The GOP will scream "SOCIALISM" but the Democrats will unite, saying "Look, we compromised. This is fiscally do-able and ensures health care for all. The GOP screamed about Medicare and it's fine." The GOP says "no" but we have over a hundred of their suggestions in the bill. The Blue Dogs made sure this was fiscally responsible. This is a good bill." Then they push it and fight back, rally their armies against the Insurance companies / GOP. We'll hear pro-reform voices rise up, and the GOP will realize they played their hand way too early in the debate. To keep up momentum is very hard. I think the GOP messed up in getting these town hall crashers out so early. There isn't even a single bill yet! The President will allow this to go on, calm fears, then the DNC will come together. There had better be a public option in this compromise though, or they will have messed up.

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  3. Members of the GOP are now saying they aren't for co-ops either because it is a disguised public option. Grassley is not voting for anything he can't get a good number of Republicans to support. They are showing their true colors.

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  4. also from S. Olive . . .

    The GOP has already showed itself--while the talk is turning to co-ops, one after the other GOP member is starting to say "Well, we aren't for that either, because it's just a disguised public option" Grassley is saying he won't support anything he can't get a good number of Republicans to support. So it's obvious Dems are going to have to go this alone, and stop being gutless wonders. I'm not so sure I would go so far as to say "no public option, no health care reform at all," but I'm close to it.

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