Hi Friends,
How about a little fun in the new year? This is a letter I wrote in response to a letter Sen. Claire McCaskill wrote January 12 to “..clear up some widespread misinformation” on the so called health care bill.
January 14, 2010
Dear Senator Claire CONNER McCaskill,
At first, I thought I would respond point by point to the half hearted letter I received from you to “clear up some wide spread misinformation” in regards to H.R. 3590 (Senate Bill) and your support of said bill.
But then I thought, why bother? You didn’t write this letter; you didn’t care about the phone calls and the previous correspondence; you didn’t care about the private meeting you “granted” to nineteen of us concerned citizens of Missouri late last summer. I have to tell you, I was getting kind of down. But, as I continued reading I came to the sentence that read…”there has been an unprecedented amount of transparency during the debate…..”
Wee doggies! That there is just durn funny! I guess I’s jest a dum gal frum Mizzurah. I don’t know nothing ‘bout no health care debate, Miz Claire! HA!
And with that, I knew I had to write something, if just for the fun of it—you know—- kind of like the letter you “wrote” to me! Frankly, Miss Claire, I don’t give a damn if you read my letter or not. Someone will and I will feel better tomorrow. So, with apologies to Margaret Mitchell, here goes.
First of all, I am not proud to share the name Conner with someone so unscrupulous, so ambitious, so manipulative and so unacquainted with the truth. It seems you are also unacquainted with the citizens of Missouri. It turns out Missourians are not as naïve and uninformed as you had hoped. You are supporting this Health Care bill for one reason only. Your party and your President are hell bent to pass SOMETHING and you, Claire McCaskill, are determined to be counted as a loyal soldier to the “cause”. Your ambitions are such that you are willing to prostitute yourself to whatever degree it takes. You know this health care bill is a worthless piece of legislation without merit or constitutional authority. But, if Barry wants it, by golly, you are going to support it! (After all, tomorrow IS another day and they DID consider me once for VP and really, Barry isn’t that happy with Biden—it could be ME, it could be ME in 2012!)
You have acknowledged the incredible number of phone calls and letters you have received elsewhere. What was the gist of those calls and letters, Sen. McCaskill? What WERE those pesky calls about? Perhaps we should have saved our stamps and phone time because you were NOT listening to your constituents. What you ARE doing is exhibiting a smooth political disconnect between what your constituents are telling you and how you are spinning that message to suit your ends. You know we do NOT want this health care bill. Furthermore, you take us for STUPID by telling us it will reduce the deficit! Lord have MERCY! Cook the books and pass the potatoes!
Missourians are stubbornly independent. Didn’t you already know that? We want to be LEFT ALONE. Big government is NOT welcome, because every FREE thing the government offers comes with a big fat price tag. In this bill, we lose our freedoms and our money—just like every government intrusion throughout our history, including, but not limited to (do you like the legal speak?): Medicare and Social Security.
I have heard you sneeringly and repeatedly say, that Medicare and Social Security were called socialism when they were signed into law. They were then, they are now. As soon as these programs were put into effect, the monies collected from the citizens IMMEDIATELY went somewhere else and now after all these years of paying into those bankrupt programs, you disdainfully ask people to give them up?! Hello, pay me back every cent with interest and penalties and I WILL. The government is not a good steward of our money. Never has been and never will be. We do not want to send our hard earned money to Washington, so you inbred, irresponsible, insulated outlaws in D.C. can use it as bribery, move it around to your own ends and then tell us you are “taking care” of Missouri’s interests.
Hey, and how about that abortion funding tucked into this bill? “Disease prevention, reproductive rights, medical procedures”; all those cute little euphemisms you people like to use to “fool” dummies like your rube constituents in Missouri. You are a nervy gal. I will give you that; to actually refer the Catholic Bishops to the Gospels and fill THEM in on what Jesus taught and urging them to give up on this abortion thing is pretty darn cheeky! Really Claire, I don’t think the Catholic Church is the right place for you. You seem better suited to the Episcopalian’s who are fond of bending the “rules of faith” to suit themselves. Give it up, Claire. The true reason you cannot support the wording of the Stupak Amendment for the Health Care debacle, is that your Emily’s List funding will then become a thing of the past! Gee, haven’t you already logged in $500,000 plus from that bunch towards your next run at……whatever?
We also know you will never support free market reforms that really work or tort reform because that would put off your biggest supporters, i.e. your fellow attorney’s to the tune of $1 million plus. It’s about the power AND the money. Please, please, PLEASE don’t insult us again by calling us “your bosses”. We know who your real bosses are and it is not us Missourians.
Ahh, Claire, I could go on and on, but I have been really sick. I wasn’t able to get a flu shot for H1N1, because, uh, the government sort of mismanaged THAT whole affair. But you know that vaccine manufacturing process was so complicated with the eggs and stuff…….. Although I went to a tonsil taking, foot amputating health care provider the other day, I’m still a bit run down. Therefore, I must close for now. Just remember Miz Claire: you fooled us once by pretending to be a moderate and any number of things you are not. Then this past summer, you said you didn’t care if you got re- elected. That’s good, because Missourians have long memories……….…….no matter where your name turns up on a ballot.
Signed and Feeling Better Already,
Original Letter Sent by Senator Claire McCaskill
January 12, 2010
Dear,
Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform. I welcome the opportunity to update you about what is contained in the Senate health care bill and clear up some wide-spread misinformation.
According to independent analyses of the bill, including the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the recently-passed Senate health care reform legislation will reduce the deficit, protect Medicare, and stabilize healthcare costs for over 90% of Americans. This reform is necessary because the soaring cost of medical care is crippling our economy, bankrupting our nation’s families, and becoming an unsustainable financial burden for American employers. In the last eight years, health care premiums have grown four times faster than wages, and insurance companies have made millions of dollars in profits while routinely denying coverage.
On November 18th, 2009, Senate Majority Leader Reid introduced The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On December 24th, after five weeks of debate, I voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, embodied in H.R. 3590, which passed by a vote of 60 to 39. The Senate bill (H.R. 3590) and the previously passed House bill (H.R. 3962) must now go through a reconciliation process.
I want you to know that I have read The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act thoroughly and plan to read all of the provisions in a final, reconciled health reform bill before casting my vote on final passage. If you would also like to read the full text of the legislation, you can find the complete text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at http://democrats.senate.gov/. While there has been an unprecedented amount of transparency during this debate, including hundreds of televised hours of committee work and debate, I disagree with the decision not to have a conference committee to resolve the differences between the House and Senate legislation. I believe that those negotiations should be open to the public.
I supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because it would expand health care coverage to more than 94 percent of Americans, curb skyrocketing healthcare costs, and ensure patient choice of care, all while significantly reducing the government deficit. The bill would also stop insurance company abuses that prevent people from getting the health care they need, such as denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. In addition to consumer protections, the bill establishes state-based health insurance exchanges where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase insurance plans online at more competitive prices.
I have heard from some Missourians who have concerns regarding certain provisions in the Senate bill. The Senate bill upholds current federal law which requires that no federal funds can be used to pay for an abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. To ensure this, the measure requires insurance plans to keep federal funds completely separate from private premium dollars, and further requires that anyone purchasing abortion coverage do so with a separate private payment.
The bill also expressly exempts illegal immigrants from any of the health care programs and the ability to participate in the health insurance exchange. Some non-citizens who lawfully reside in the United States and pay taxes on their earnings may be eligible to purchase health insurance in the exchange, provided they meet prescribed eligibility requirements.
In addition, there are provisions that will strengthen seniors’ Medicare benefits and significantly reduce fraud, abuse, and inefficiencies in the program, which could extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund beyond 2022. Let me emphasize that none of these changes would reduce the guaranteed benefits that seniors are entitled to under the Medicare program.
Finally, the bill requires that Members of Congress and their staffs buy their insurance on the same exchange that will be available to those who don’t get insurance from their employer. In other words, Members of Congress will be required to be part of the new insurance exchange that we are creating.
I am opposed to any special deals in this bill for particular states. This earmarking process is an ingrained culture in Washington, where every year members go into back rooms and negotiate special deals for their states. This is a problem on both sides of the aisle and I find it hypocritical that some of the same Senators who are criticizing the earmarks in the health care bill were in line for special deals for their states in the annual spending bills passed just a few weeks ago. I’m proud that I am one of the few Senators of either party that refuses to participate in this flawed earmarking process. I’m hopeful that some of these special earmarks will be removed from the bill before our final vote.
This bill is not perfect, but in the end, I supported this legislation because it will reduce the federal deficit and contain health care costs. With one out of every six dollars in our economy going toward health care in the United States, it is imperative that our government work to rein in the soaring cost of health care. The bill will not only reduce the cost of insurance for families but also decrease the national deficit in the long term. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion over the next decade, followed by another $650 billion cut in the deficit in its second decade.
Health care reform holds the promise of lowering government budget deficits, curbing unsustainable health care costs, and expanding access to health coverage. As the health care debate continues, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find meaningful solutions to these difficult and complex problems.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Claire McCaskill
United States Senator
P.S. If you would like more information about resources that can help Missourians, or what I am doing in the Senate on your behalf, please sign up for my email newsletter at www.mccaskill.senate.gov.
dcjc Government, Health Care, McCaskill, Operation Tea, Tea Party Congress, obama, Tea Party
