I received an email from my Congressman in New York's 19th district asking constituents if they thought he should vote for or against the HCR bill. After speaking with a staffer in his office explaining why he NEEDS to vote in favor, I asked if the majority of calls they have been receiving were in favor or against. Sadly, the staffer reported that the vast majority were anti-reform. Please call John Hall (especially if you're in district) to help counterbalance the wingnut/Larouchebag/Teabagger consortium flooding his phone lines. More past the fold about the email I received.
I just got an email from my Congressman, John Hall (D-NY 19) polling his constituents on whether or not they think he should vote in favor of HCR! As if there was any question. So I called his office to ask how he could even be considering the myopic choice of voting against it, when failure to pass this legislation - as imperfect as it surely is - would cement the burgeoning public perception of Democrats as "unable to govern even with supermajorities and the WH". Look, this bill is pretty shitty. But if it fails, the damage to the Democratic party would be unthinkable. The Obama agenda would be halted in its tracks and underinformed voters, spurred on by Faux News and other complicit media outlets would likely return some power to the Teabag infested loonies of the new Republican party and other assorted Larouchebags.
What's more, I asked Hall's staffer if the calls he'd been fielding were mostly in favor or against. He sadly informed me that the preponderance of calls he had received were AGAINST!!! This means the town hall screamers are burning up the phone lines. Never mind that John should have enough of a sack to vote his conscience. The fact is, he is POLLING CONSTITUENTS in the eleventh hour. Call his Goshen office TODAY at (845) 291-4100 and demand that he vote in favor of the bill. DO IT NOW!!! DO IT TWICE!!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!
Here's the text of the email I got from Hall:
Dear Friends,
From the first day I entered Congress, I have worked towards the passage of major health insurance reform. I held over 80 public events and meetings to get input from local families, businesses, and health care professionals about what was needed to improve access to affordable quality health care. Based on those meetings I pushed for improvements to the bill. Now the House has released the text of the final bill. I am asking for your opinion as I consider how to vote on this important legislation.
I'm pleased that the bill prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. The bill would also offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase insurance for their employees and allow parents to keep their children covered by their insurance until they turn 26. It also closes the Medicare Part D donut hole and improves the sustainability of Medicare for many years to come. But, it doesn’t have everything I hoped for and has some aspects that concern me. Finally, my vote will be determined by what will best help people in the Hudson Valley.
A link to the bill can be found here: http://rules.house.gov/...
Sincerely,
John Hall
Member of Congress
And here's the text of the survey included in the email:
I would be grateful to have your response to the following questions:
Do you think our nation would be better off if this legislation were enacted?
Do you think you and your family would be better off?
Do you want more information about how the bill would affect you personally?
Yes
No
Do you have any additional comments you'd like to share with me about this bill?
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Call John Hall and tell him to vote in favor (845) 291-4100.
Cross posted at ProgressiveWarwick BlogProgressiveWarwick Blog