Letters sent to Bishop, Gillibrand, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Schumer

March 1, 2010
 
Health Care Summit

Last Thursday's "bipartisan" meeting called by the president was quite a spectacle.  The president, a gifted orator before a teleprompter, seemed to stumble without one.  He seemed to talk and talk and talk.  He let the audience know that he considered his long-winded rhetoric acceptable simply because he is the president.

Although I voted for Obama, I was chagrined when the president reminded John McCain that he had lost the election – as if that invalidated McCain's statements.  The display was important for the American people to witness because it revealed a petulant man who wielded his power without respect for the people who we elected.

Reconciliation

Although Harry Reid appeared reluctant to admit that the procedure was on the table, it was apparent that it was on the minds of those present. 

The condescending tone of the president, when he said that the American public was not all that interested in Senate procedures, was an insult to the voters.  He came across as a pompous professor – not to be considered with, "uppity," as another professor, Charles Ogletree, suggested.  The man, like some of the professors that I've had, tends to speak down to his audience and assumes that he isn't explaining things well enough for the rest of us to understand.  That's the insult!

Then there's poor old Nancy Pelosi with her "itsy, bitsy spider" routine.  She may be a power to her colleagues but to the nation's adults, she seems like a doddering old grandmother entertaining a toddler.

The problem with your political tribe is that you all seem to think that the exorbitantly expensive, bureaucratically heavy and regulatory burdensome health care bill is something that the American public breathlessly awaits.  The truth is, we're terrified of the corrupt process and the cumbersome results.

Future Emphasis

Obama has presented himself as a one-term president and the nation concurs.  Elections on the horizon for the offices of Bishop, Gillibrand and Schumer will be spirited, especially if the "reconciliation," "nuclear option" or "up and down" tactics are pursued.  Your emphasis should be on reducing the deficit and debt and working for incremental health care reform and change. 

Daniel H. Burnham, Chicago architect, said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood...Make big plans, aim high in hope and work."  Don't be misled by Burnham's words.  These are troubled times and the American people expect restraint and wisdom from our elected officials.

Here's a brochure that you can share with others that was sent toi our politicians:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27675368/Destruction-of-a-Nation-PDF