After emailing my Senators and Representative in my last post on the Democrats’ plan for socialized healthcare, I recieved a number of form letter’s from our Wisconsin Democrat Senators. Not surprisingly, they were from DO NOT REPLY email addresses so the office didn’t have to hear any responses to their responses.
I disagreed with what Senator Feingold said in his form letter (below) so, I went searching for his email address to respond to. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not on his website (although there is a form you can enter information in to email it to him). I found it here at Project Vote Smart.
Here is Senator Feingold’s response to my original opposition to the Democrat’s socialized healthcare plan and my follow up.
Senator Feingold (D-WI):
Message from Senator Russ Feingold – DO NOT REPLY
Dear Mr. Henak,
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concern with a public health insurance plan option. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
It is far past time for Congress to ensure all Americans have guaranteed, affordable, high-quality health care. Too many Americans are forced to make basic decisions regarding their health based on cost rather than on medical reasons; too many delay seeking treatment and do not receive preventive care, which results in more costly, or even fatal, consequences down the line. Our country spends $5,670 per capita annually on health care – which is twice as much as any other industrialized nation – and 15.6 percent of our gross domestic product. Despite this spending, we are not healthier than those other countries, and we still have more than 46 million Americans – including eight million children – who do not have health insurance, and countless others who are underinsured.
As you know, these high and rising costs take a tremendous toll on American families and businesses. While inflation grew 9.7 percent, and wage growth was 12.3 percent, premiums for family insurance coverage rose 59 percent from 2000-2004 and show no sign of stabilizing. As a result, many employers are shifting much of their health care costs to employees, no longer providing health benefits, or eliminating positions.
Ensuring every American is guaranteed good health care coverage is my primary goal, and this task is made much more difficult by relying only on private insurers. While Americans should be able to retain their current coverage if they choose, providing a public option should keep health care costs down for all Americans.
The full Senate is expected to consider health care reform legislation soon. I look forward to Congress finally taking up this issue, and I will continue working to improve access to health care and make health care more affordable for the people of Wisconsin.
Thank you again for contacting me. While we may not always agree, I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
My follow up:
Dear Senator Feingold,
I agree that healthcare is expensive, we have the best in the world. I think government-run healthcare will ruin our current system that rewards the risk takers who come out with the new medical innovations that set us apart from the rest of the world. I don’t believe healthcare costs will go down if the government gets involved as an insurer, the only way to decrease costs is to create more competition and choice through employees and individuals choosing their plans with their own money (through tax credits).
Please vote for the responsible alternative to the bloated, expensive and ultimately ineffective healthcare plan your party has put forward. Please support another brave Wisconsin politician, Rep. Paul Ryan, his plan will truly solve the problem and bring change rather than more of the same government waste and bureaucracy.
Thank you for your time,
Brandon Henak
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Tags: democrats, healthcare, Obama, Socialism, socialized healthcare
340 words of BS to say hey Brandon, I saw your letter but you’re another idiot conservative and I’m Russ Feingold… I’ll do what I want and you can’t stop me. Every time I’ve written or spoken to someone affiliated with Russ Feingold I get similar responses. Its a shame… but its the Democrat way.
Brandon,
Your rant overlooks or ignores the fact that every Senator and Member of Congress, from both parties, must use form letters to respond to the multitude of letter and e-mails they receive every day on various topics. You also ignore the fact that those in government have better things to do than “debate” ideologues. You expressed your opinion; he duly noted it and acknowledged your input. You can express any additional points you have by e-mailing him again. However, you are no more entitled to monopolize his time by insisting that he debate you on the issue than I am in insisting that Rep. Sensenbrenner spend his time debating me.
As for the substance of your attack on health care reform, Sen. Feingold has already heard all of the right wing talking points that you have offered up any number of times. The Republicans in Congress are doing at least as good a job of repeating the same old ideological slogans and burying themselves in championing a system that everyone knows is totally screwed up. See Wide support for government health plan: poll, http://www.reuters.com/article.....0220090621 (sorry, I’m not good at HTML)
BTW, I am willing to bet that the vast majority of the 20% or so who join you in opposing health care reform are, like you, safely protected by an employer-paid health plan.
1. My post does not overlook that most members of the Senate and House use form letters, that is a given. My only point is that he sends his form letters from an email account the cannot be replied to (DO NOT REPLY). This seems to say thanks for your opinion but, please limit it to one email. Again, this is not some scandal as you imply, merely my experienece.
2. I wouldn’t say that my email was “right wing talking points” though it is very handy for you to write them off as such. There is solid economic evidence behind my personal opinions.
3. Your snide remark about “being protected by an employer-paid plan” falls as deaf ears because I believe that the Republican party’s bill, championed by Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is the best way to go as it stops insulating everyone from healthcare cost by allowing more choice through a tax rebate and market based system. Obama’s socialized healthcare will strangle out the private insurers by being cheaper through tax support and then end up costing trillions more. Why would big business want to pay for private healthcare when they can just dump everyone on an inferior government system? Oh but, Obama will make government a “competitor”.
The government is the referee, not a player in the game, when it plays both roles we all lose.
dude, sorry but those are totally right wing talking points.
and Paul Ryan’s travesty of a tax-credit “plan?” Why exactly do right-wingers think spending tax revenue on individual rebates is any better than spending it on public services? What the right means by giving people the holy grail of “individual choice” is simply the prerogative to deal with insurance companies by yourself. What we perhaps need is some kind of bulk public buying plan, where individuals still have their choice of provider, but costs are brought down through collective action to achieve economy of scale. Also, The amount proposed in Ryan’s plan is not sufficient to cover the skyrocketing costs of insurance for an average family… but if your goal is to make individuals more vulnerable to predatory corporations, Ryan’s plan is indeed the way to go.
Brandon – I too received the same reply from Sen. Feingold. I drafted a point by point rebuttal using facts (not talking points as some have accused you of too) but was disheartened when I saw the “do not reply” inthe “to” box. Your link allowed me to find his e-mail address and let me send my comments to another set of deaf ears, but I had to voice my disdain for this government takeover and future national disaster.
Hey there, thinking right…I am so tired of the ridiculous affectation you people have; the one where you use the noun “democrat” to describe the “Party”, or certain democratic Senators, Congresspeople, etc. Don’t you ever worry about the education of the kids in this country? Especially if you belong to the “English only” type in your party, it looks unbelievably stupid to routinely abuse the English language the way every Republican and talking head has come to do. It’s stupid. I go everywhere pointing this out, I’m just fed up. It’s so ludicrous. I can’t even read anything past the first sentence in which that mistake appeared. Betcha won’t post this.
Hello Professor Eddie Spaghetti,
Thank you for your language correction! I personally don’t like calling Democrats Democratic because I think the party today is more Socialist but, if it’s correct English and it get’s your undies in such a bundle, I’ll use the proper word.
P.S. Is “Betcha” proper English? And I did post it….