Wednesday, December 16

CALLING IT REFORM DOESN'T MAKE IT REFORM

Dear President Obama,
I just got an email from you asking me to contact my Senators to vote for your piece of crap health care “reform” bill.
The link to reply was –like your administration – defective and so here I am replying through your website and putting it up on my blog for the world to read if they care to.
1) I already called Schumer and Gillibrand to let them know how outraged I am by the Senate bill you allowed Lieberman to control and shape. And that I strongly urged them to vote against any bill without real reform.
2) I am just one of a vast number of disillusioned and furious progressives you have managed to alienate in less than a year. These people like me voted for you, donated to your campaign and worked for your election because we wanted real change. You have bitterly disappointed us.
3) Glen Greenwald of salon.com got it right. This piece of garbage that you are calling “reform” is exactly what you wanted. It’s a gift to the insurance cartel and big pharma. What’s more, it’s an insult to my intelligence to think that I am fooled into thinking this is some step forward instead of what it really is: worse than what we have now.
4) You are not “mybarackobama.” That person was apparently an apparition. The reality is quite the letdown.
Russ Feingold said it: “This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place.” With everything you’ve done, you’ve signaled that real reform was never your goal. If it had been single payer would never have been off the table. That would have been the place to start.
What’s clear is that you’re more than willing to strongarm Democrats when it comes to endless war, but not for your own populace who continue to suffer and die under this horrible system which puts profits over people.
And the proof of all this can be seen in your flipflop over Dorgan’s amendment. When you were a senator and candidate you were all for re-importation of drugs so that the American people wouldn’t be gouged by big pharma. And then as president you cut a secret deal with the gougers and suddenly you’re against the Dorgan amendment. And THAT you were able to work the Democratic caucus to vote against. But there was no similar effort on behalf of a strong public option.
You signaled from the start that you were willing to sign any pile of flaming poo that you could slap the word “reform” on so that you could pat yourself on the back and call it a success.
I am disgusted!

12 comments:

  1. Beautiful. I never actually expected this president to be progressive, as he's not even a liberal and never was. But I never expected him to be this conservative, either.

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  2. i love your letter! very much!!
    i am grateful you felt compelled to write it
    i hope many people do the same thing!
    i too wrote a letter to the president this week
    it is not dissimilar to yours.
    i will copy/paste it here in case you might be interested:

    Mr President,

    It is my usual disposition to be very forceful with people I feel have betrayed me. You sir have joined that club so if you are not prepared for bitter truth, stop reading.

    I believed in you. You motivated me to effort towards getting every single person I came into contact with to vote for you. Since you were elected I have defended you and your agenda to people from the left and the right. I have held my nose and tried to defend your choice to give uncounted billions to rich people, just like George Bush did. I have tried to understand why you chose to send more Americans to die in the desert for no good reason. Just like George Bush did. I have watched you construct policy with nothing more than the benefit of your rich supporters while boasting of how you are helping the little guy. Just like George Bush did.

    I hate George Bush!

    The health insurance companies are going to win. The lobbyist are going to win. The sell outs are going to win. Your re-election coffers are going to win. The financial industry is going to win. The energy industry are going to keep on winning.

    Loophole ridden, diluted reform in the financial AND health care reform bills will do nothing to help, and in fact might make things worse. You failed to stand up for the public option. You have failed to bring your Caucus together. You allow Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln to handcuff reform efforts. They have chairman seats to leverage with. But no. You send Rahm to order Harry Reid to buckle to Lieberman?

    Whose side are you on? Clearly, you are interested in sounding good and doing nothing. I challenge you to step up and prove me wrong.

    I believed in you. Thanks for the disappointment!

    Need a little guidance? Watch the 'Just Enough' segment of Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC from Monday night. That will about sum it up for us poor folks.

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  3. You have said exactly what I feel, too. I said as much in the letter I wrote to the White House yesterday morning. A supporter, donor, believer---very disappointed with the outcome now. I received a reply in the mail to a letter I wrote in the late summer. Don't think I'll get one this time.......

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  4. I too feel let down by this alleged Health Care Reform Bill. The President has been less that I had hoped for as a progressive leader, but the Senate has been even worse. They are still behaving like a minority party. Any attempt at bi-partisanship legislation will be thwarted by the GOP. Why won't the Democrats stand up and act like Progressives or Liberals or whatever euphemism people are using this week.

    The answer is simple. They have been whipped into simpering milquetoasts who cannot find the gumption to ramrod a little progressive legislation through the Senate before they lose it to the GOP again.

    Of course if they actually did pass some progressive legislation they WOULDN'T LOSE THE SENATE. Go figure.

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  5. I have to say that these idiot Democrats waisted their political capitol faster than George Bush did and that's really sad. Oh well, no faith in politics, but I bet that's what these government idiots want us to think. This is not the America I voted for and I plan on not making the same mistake twice. These guys won't see another dime from me.

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  6. Well said! I'm linking this post on my own blog.
    Cheers!

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  7. Excellent post -- I can't believe that our Government is going to force its citizens to spend over a fifth of their income on a faulty private good that without any real reform for the insurance industry. Shameful.

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  8. Great letter.

    Thank you!

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  9. You said it sister - and i agree. VEHEMENTLY!!!!!

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  10. My sentiments exactly - we are getting screwed.

    I'm so disillusioned.

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