Dear friends and family:
I am writing this letter to you to ask you to cast your vote for Barack Obama next week. Although we could discuss a myriad of reasons, this letter will only have one: Nicole.
As you all know, Nicole was born with a severe birth defect for which she has undergone numerous costly treatments all of her life. Fortunately, because of my employer-provided health insurance, we have been able to provide her all the care she has needed. Because of that care, she has not been held back by her birth defect and has grown up to be a truly remarkable young woman. She will soon be going to college and then following her dreams to become a creative / artistic professional.
Today, because of the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare), Nicole will be able to stay on my insurance policy until she is 26. After that, she will be able to obtain her own insurance and no insurance company will be able to deny her coverage because of her birth defect -- a pre-existing condition. For the rest of her life she will be able to obtain the treatments she needs.
Today, Mitt Romney is promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act. What he will replace it with, we don't know but there is no question that the protections that Nicole (and millions of other) currently enjoy under ObamaCare will be repealed.
I am asking you to vote for Barack Obama so that the Afordable Care Act will not be repealed.
And, I feel so strongly about this that I am going to have to take the gloves off. Here is the deal. The next time I see each of you after this election I am going to ask you who you voted for. If you answer that you voted for Mitt Romney, then I am going to ask you to look Nicole in the eye and tell her that you voted to take away the guarantees that she would have under the Affordable Care Act. If you won't be able to look her in the eye, then I will tell her.
Please understand that I am completely serious. I am not doing this as a threat, but I do want to make clear what is at stake in this election in a way that is close to home. I really will ask you that question. If you feel strongly enough about Romney that you will vote for him, then I hope that you will also be strong enough to own up to it with Nicole.