The California Medical Association, that I am a member of, sent me a form email requesting that I contact my state senators regarding the healthcare issue. Reluctantly as an apolitical person, I sent a form email to Senator Boxer. Here is her form letter email response:
“Dear Dr.:
Thank you for writing to me about pending health care reform legislation. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you may know, the House of Representatives passed health care reform legislation in November 2009, and the Senate passed its version in December 2009. These moves brought us closer than ever to providing affordable health care for all of America’s families, an elusive goal since Teddy Roosevelt first proposed it nearly a century ago.
However, with its unprecedented abuse of the filibuster, the Senate minority has blocked further progress on this historic legislation. Like millions of Americans, I am gravely disappointed in these delays…
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator”
For some reason her letter deeply affected me, I surprised myself by my passionate response….
“The 2 largest lobbying groups in support of this healthcare bill are the insurance companies and the drug companies. These 2 groups have little or no interest in the well being of my patients.
The healthcare bill does not have ANY malpractice reform. Without malpractice reform, myself and my fellow physicians will continue to drive the cost of healthcare upward to protect ourselves from litigation. Without malpractice reform, there will be no success in reducing healthcare costs.
You mention the ‘unprecedented abuse of the filibuster‘. I cannot disagree with you more. Not to mention the fact that there has been NO filibuster, the purpose of the filibuster is to allow the minority to have a voice. Without it, the minority and the American people would not have a voice. Our government is founded on the ideal that it is a government ‘by the people and for the people’.
You are my representative, but as a U.S. citizen, it is MY government. Our government was established with checks and balances to prevent the abuses that I have seen recently. I cannot tell you how truly disturbed I am that a government representative would use the terms ‘abuse’ and ‘filibuster’ in the same phrase. No matter what political party we align ourselves with, we should embrace and applaud the voice of the people.
I guarentee that many of the people that voted for Scott Brown were NOT republicans; it was a bipartisan election by the people and for the people. They voted for him so that they could have a voice, and that voice has a name: filibuster.
Thank you for your time.”
Sorry for the politics from a person on a blog that is apolitical, but what I have seen in the last year in politics has compelled me to become more political.