|
Loudmouth News & Rants
|
An Open Letter to the President of the United States, both Houses of Congress and the Media |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by richard giles
|
|
Sunday, 24 January 2010 18:21 |
|
An Open Letter to the President of the United States, both Houses of Congress and the Media
By Richard A. Giles, January 24, 2010
Dear Sir, Members of Congress, and Members of the Media,
As an average middle class person with a middle class job and a middle class paycheck to go with it, that lives in a middle class neighborhood, I wish to share with you the views of middle class America.
Since Scott Brown’s win in the Massachusetts Special Senate race, I have been watching with many of my friends and colleagues in an attempt to gauge your reactions to what happened there, as well as in Virginia and New Jersey two months ago. Imagine our surprise when we hear that it is your opinion that the electorate reacted as they did because we just didn’t get it about health care reform.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me suggest to you that YOU are the ones who don’t get it. Believe it or not, pretty much all of us can read and comprehend. Oh yes, we heard what you had to say, but we also read the bills. Worse, we saw the process by which they were derived. A vast majority of us were appalled by both. I would suggest to you, Mr. President, that the majority involved is greater than the majority that elected you to office.
You presented to us bills numbering two thousand plus page bill that expanded government exponentially, that cost trillions of dollars and contained trillions of dollars in taxes. You attempted to expand the role in our lives of that most hated of government institutions, the Internal Revenue Service. The fact that none of the bills presented by you could possibly have passed Constitutional muster was apparent to us, but obviously not to you.
We tried to tell you our feelings early on in the process of “reform”; at town hall meetings, rallies and with letters. You either ignored us, or worse, insulted us. You have called us rabble, ignorant, disruptive, obstructionists, and worse, “teabaggers”, an insult of negative sexual connotations. We were called bigots and racists in print and on broadcasts, even on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
You have made the claim that the races in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey were lost due to local issues. Even you cannot look at the exit polling data in those three states where it is shown that more people showed up to vote against health care reform than all other issues combined and tell us with honesty that this was about “local issues”.
You say that these races were influenced by “special interest groups”. If the labor unions, the Trial Lawyers Association and big Pharm are not special interest groups, then none exist. Yet, every bill presented to Congress and endorsed by the President catered to these three groups. In the Scott Brown race, in particular, there were no big corporate sponsorship, no backing by headline stars or politicians, very little support, even, from the Republican Party. We, the American People, not just the voters in his state, worked to get him elected. When we heard he needed money, within days we, out of our own pockets, put virtually unlimited sums at his disposal. When Martha Coakley’s phone banks were deserted due to weather, Mr. Brown had volunteers working across the country to make sure that his message was getting out. If you consider the voting populous a special interest group, then you are in the wrong profession.
Most of us will agree that some reforms need to be made to the insurance industry and to lower the cost of health care in this country. We also know that the fix does not require massive government growth, encyclopedia size bills and massive taxes. Reasonable reform can be accomplished with very little extension of government and no tax increases.
The biggest reason for the increase in cost of health care is frivolous law suits. Keep your promises of “no more lobbyists” and let the trial lawyers do their best on their own. Tort reform needs to be a part of any health care reform……limit awards to actual damages with a reasonable cap on punitive damages. In addition, allow interstate competition for insurance companies, with a relaxation of restrictions due to pre-existing conditions. Promote the portability of insurance coverage from one job to another. These simple reforms will do more to control the cost of health care in our country than any of the huge bills presented, will cost next to nothing in additional government costs and limits the scope of government interference in our personal lives.
Mr. President, we would like to see you spend less time on the road and on the golf course, and more time in the Oval Office working at the job we elected you to do. The campaign is over, you won, get to work. Quit making speeches at us, quit lecturing us. You have important things to attend to.
Members of Congress, you work directly for us…we hired you and we pay your salaries. It is your duty to listen to us and represent our position in your respective seats, not a party philosophy and not lobbyists. I send this message to Republicans especially. We have no more reason to trust you than any other party and we will help oust you as readily as any other politician.
Members of the media, while you do not work directly for us, you do have, by your own admission, a duty and responsibility to report the news in an unbiased manner. Most of you have not. We can, by the way we spend our money and by notifying your sponsors of our discontent, have as much an effect on your jobs as we do in the polling places. Have a care.
A final message to all of you:
The grassroots movement to the political right that has manifested itself in the “Tea Party” movement is not, repeat, NOT affiliated with any party, race, creed or other demographic body. It is representative of the feelings of the vast majority of the American People. Quit lecturing us, quit insulting us, and above all, quit ignoring us.
Sincerely and Respectfully,
Richard A. Giles,
Citizen
Patriot
Tea Partier |
|
|
|
|