True Patriotism

I feel like such an awesome liberal today! I did my taxes AND wrote a VERY angry letter to Congressman John Mica about how he's going to vote on Sunday. VERY angry.

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Dear Congressman Mica,

This morning, I awoke to the most disturbing sound my clock radio has ever produced: you and a conservative radio host lambasting the pending health care bill as something that would create too much "bureaucracy" and "ration" Medicare for seniors, and repeating over and over again - without offering any specific alternatives of your own - "there is a better way to do this."

As you can imagine, this was not the way I had hoped to begin my day.

You may be unaware that the average American, whether or not she or he is insured, already experiences an overly bureaucratic health care system that rations care, and, moreover, is in favor of the better way set forth in the Democrats' bill, once informed of the specific provisions it contains. I understand that you, as a member of Congress, are furnished with a very good insurance plan as a matter of course, being an Important Government Figure, and generally have aides and assistants who navigate the paperwork for you. I also understand that as a member of the Republican party, you may be under the impression that the things Mitch McConnell and other prominent opponents to the bill say about it, such as, "Americans don’t want this bill. They’re telling us to start over. The only people who don’t seem to be getting the message are Democrat leaders in Washington," are true. But for you to claim all these positions and then on top of it all, not even offer a reform plan of your own, is ludicrous hypocrisy.

You, sir, are the one out of touch if you truly believe that legislation regulating the criminally negligent behavior of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies is anything less than urgently necessary for the future of our nation. Let's set aside the fact that this bill does not propose an actual government-run health care system (and that you and I both know it). A government system will ration care in an effort to cut costs? A government program will create too much bureaucracy to be efficient? Today's insurance giants deny care to millions of INSURED customers on the slimmest of bases, let alone all those they refuse to cover. Insurance companies, like ALL companies in a free market, are interested first and foremost in maximizing their profits. Please, for the love of democracy, explain to me how a company like Blue Cross or MetLife has less interest in cutting costs (and raising prices) than the United States government. Please explain to me why you believe that delivering platinum care to a few thousand Americans is more important than declaring that ALL our citizens are entitled to a gold standard that is within reach?

You and I agree on one point. There is a better way to reform health care than this. The manner of that reform is where we diverge, in more ways than one: I know what my picture of reform looks like. Congressman Mica, I plead you to recognize the true state of American health care today - see beyond your own friends, family, and campaign supporters to the other Americans who are hurting, physically and fiscally, because affordable health insurance is simply out of reach. You and I both know that each time Congress starts over on health care, Americans suffer - some even perish for lack of treatment. A for-profit health care system is no health care system at all - it is simply another self-interested, for-profit business, one that has no placed in a civilized nation that claims all its citizens are created equal.

The time is now. Please vote in favor of the health care bill on Sunday, for your conscience, for your constituents, and for your country.

Sincerely,

Caroline Leonard