Health Care: Should We Restart The You Work For Us Summer Tour?
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I’m contemplating a restart of the "You Work For Us Summer Tour."
Last time, the issue was FISA. And all of us were seriously, seriously pissed. And there was a unified front on pushing better government and accountability from everyone all at once.
This time? Health care is on the plate in a big way in the national discussion prior to the August recess.
What I sense is a unified feeling of disgust and dismay from everyone. But not a central purpose and demand for action in terms of what ought to be done legislatively.
So, here’s my thought: LizH had a fantastic idea about meeting face to face with legislators and with staffers to tell individual stories about health care issues we’ve all had:
Do you think we could arrange a nationwide day/week to stand in line at your representative’s office? Everybody come armed with a health story and a demand that a public option be available to every citizen.
I guess I’d like to ruin their vacation, as so many lives have been ruined from the shameful lack of health care coverage in this country. I want what they have – health care.
She provided a link to something that NAMI has done on that in the past as an example of what could be done. While I’d love to work on a single day of action, I don’t think it is practical given that the right wing has big finances behind shoving "socialism" down the national throat as a rebuttal point for the rest of the summer.
Here’s the thing: we are the last line of defense on health care. If we want something better, it is up to all of us to push for it. And push hard.
We’ don’t have Dick Armey’s PAC money financing us, all we have is our own will to make things better. But, honestly? I’d match our determination and gumption against Freedomworks slick bullshit maneuvers any day if we all got off our asses and did something together.
The big question is? Will we.
It is awfully easy to sit on the sidelines and grouse about things not being perfect. It’s harder to get up and do something about them. And what I’m asking — before I put the rest of my summer’s effort into this — is: are you willing to make the effort for better health care?
Because Mike Ross’ disingenuous "we want to talk with constituents over the break" comment pissed me off.
And I think they all deserve a serious conversation with people who have had to cope with insurance recission just when they’ve gotten the sickest. Or folks with pre-existing conditions who can’t change jobs — ever — without losing their insurance coverage. Or folks with children who have chronic illnesses who face the same problem as they age off their parents’ insurance. Or older citizens who can barely afford their medicine because they are stuck in that limbo between early retirement for illness reasons and when Medicare kicks in for them.
Things we can all do right now:
– Write letters to the editor — today — so elected folks get greeted with them at the start of the August break.
– Phone the local offices of your Representative and Senators and find out if and when they are having any public events. Plan to attend one. And let me know when they will be held, where, what time, and get me an address and contact number — and I’ll publish it.
– Better yet? Make an appointment with a staffer and/or your member of Congress. If other firepups live in the area, see if they want to come along — there is strength in numbers. Let me know how it goes, and I’ll publish that, too.
– Call in to local radio and tell your story.
I’m tired of these folks feeling like the only people they have to answer to are the lobbyists and big donors who fill their re-election coffers. It’s time for all of us to give them a wake up call this August. The question is: are folks willing to do the work it would take to do just that?
Morning all. It’s a rainy day here — and hence an achy one — took me a little longer than usual to get my post finished. Apologies for the morning delay.
Funny that my pre-existing condition slowed me down on a health care action post. *g*