Why Americans are so Angry

Here's a deep insight from the comment thread on an article in the Economist...

J. Kemp Dec 7th, 19:32

There is an apparent lack of understanding among many in this thread about the nature of America's unique flavor of, and recipe for, corruption.

The way corruption works in America is through the providing of morally corrupt laws to those who purchase laws from federal and state legislatures. The purchasing is done most often through campaign finance transactions.
In other less developed countries, corruption is quite straightforward and easy to see as such. Old fashioned cash-for-deeds bribery is more prevalent in less developed nations.

In America corruption is a much more insidious game, which is worse because (i) it is almost always plausibly deniable by virtue of being cloaked in "laws", and (ii) it is impossible for the citizens to escape.

The American banking sector, telecoms companies, insurance companies, America's multiple for-profit prison industries and the major licensed professions: attorneys, physicians, financial services "professionals" (sic) and accountants are all major spenders on the purchasing of legislation which creates and protects their selfish economic opportunities at the expense of normal Americans who are not members of these law-buying clubs. America passes secret laws enabling its NSA to violate its citizens constitutional rights and has secret courts to approve these violations. America uses drones to murder targets -- but many innocents -- in ways which are clear violations of easily understood Geneva conventions on warfare and prohibiting crimes against humanity.

There is, in fact, a high level of cash-for-deeds corruption in America, for example, as set forth by the Yale Law Journal which formulates and estimate of over 1 million bribery transactions per year in the American judicial branch of government. There are also abundant indications of a high level of arrogance towards the citizens by members of government from local police and other local government employees, all the way up to national office holders in federal legislatures and other branches of government.

However the worst and most inescapable and deleterious form of corruption going on in America is when private interests (or certain parts of government) get deals from legislatures and get the laws they want so that they can economically enslave -- and/or imprison -- American citizens.

Americans are being bled out by these custom, gov-for-sale laws like animals at a slaughterhouse. This is angering Americans as well it should.

The key to understanding the uniquely American flavor of corruption is to understand that is most often WRAPPED IN LAWS which laws seek to legitimize morally corrupt treatment of America's citizens, often under the further cover of some noble motive.

American corruption is unique and innovative in its many disguises, but it is worse for the citizens than the forms of corruption found in other nations due to the fact that American corruption is, by design, inescapable for its citizens, a large portion of whom are exploited as economic slaves by those privileged industries and professions who are holding all the cards in the form of laws they purchased from America's corrupt legislatures.

Congressman Mike Rogers On ObamaCare

Here's some comments on ObamaCare from 2010, prior to passage of this POS law.

I Do Not Like This...

found on facebook:

 

Pretty much says it all...

ObamaCare Update: REALESTATE SALES TAX TO GO INTO EFFECT 2013

Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home etc. When did this happen? It's in the healthcare bill. thought you should know.

Under the new health care bill - did you know that all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax? The bulk of these new taxes don't kick in until 2013 (presumably after Obama's re-election). You can thank Nancy, Harry and Barack and your local Democratic Congressman for this one. If you sell your $400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax. This bill is set to screw the retiring generation who often downsize their homes. Is this Hope & Change great or what? Does this stuff make your November and 2012 votes more important

Oh, you weren't aware this was in the Obamacare bill? Guess what, you aren't alone. There are more than a few members of Congress that aren't aware of it either (result of clandestine midnight voting for huge bills they've never read). AND, there are a few other surprises lurking ObamaCare.

ObamaCare Is A Failure

Evan Thomas, former editor of Newsweek has stated on 'Inside Washington', a news show that reviews the previous week's political maneuverings that ObamaCare is a disaster. 



Nancy Pelosi, with a huge veto proof majority in Congress passed this bill 10 months ago with only 7 votes to spare.  This week, the new GOP led US House of Representatives passed repeal by 55 votes...now it's up to the Senate where 23 Democratic Senators are up for reelection in 2012 to act.  I'm betting Harry Reid won't bring it to a vote, especially has a number of Democratic Senators have begun voicing their ambivalence to the monstrosity that was rammed through Congress on a straight party vote.

If you look at the polls, the public likes it even less as time goes on.  We were told repeatedly that this abortion of a bill would reduce the costs of health care...that was a lie.  We were told that once it was passed and we could see what was in it, we'd like it...that was a lie.  We were told that it would be good for the country...that was a lie.  I hope that Congress will repeal this thing and start over, though I doubt that will happen.

via Instapundit

Andre Carson Is a Liar

Congressman Andre Carson lied when he said that hundreds of people, oh sorry maybee 15 people screamed "nigger" at him as he walked toward the capital back in March on the day that ObamaCare was passed. Don't believe, here's video...that shows the lie.



He claimed that he was afraid of having rocks thrown at him...but the video shows clearly that wasn't the case...Mr. Carson is a liar. He said it happened right after he left the Cannon building...then said it was after he crossed the street...then he changed his story again.

WOW!

WOW...this video as very telling when set against the last post from Mark Steyn



More from Steyn: 

In 2009, the US spent about $665 billion on its military, the Chinese about $99 billion. If Beijing continues to buy American debt at the rate it has in recent times, then within a few years US interest payments on that debt will be covering the entire cost of the Chinese military. This summer, the Pentagon issued an alarming report to Congress on Beijing’s massive military build-up, including new missiles, upgraded bombers, and an aircraft-carrier R&D program intended to challenge US dominance in the Pacific. What the report didn’t mention is who’s paying for it.
Answer: Mr and Mrs America.

By 2015, the People’s Liberation Army, which is the largest employer on the planet, bigger even than the US Department of Community-Organizer Grant Applications, will be entirely funded by US taxpayers. When the Commies take Taiwan, suburban families in Connecticut and small businesses in Idaho will have paid for it.

 I knew things were bad, that we as a nation can't afford to continue, for even one more year of Obama/Pelosi/Reid level of spending...but this is apocolyptic.  More importantly, here is Mr. Steyn's conclusion...and I fully agree with him, the emphasis is mine. 

In a two-party system, you have to work with what’s available. In America, one party is openly committed to driving the nation off the cliff, and the other party is full of guys content to go along for the ride as long as we shift down to third gear. That’s no longer enough of a choice. If your candidate isn’t committed to fewer government agencies with fewer employees on lower rates of pay, he’s part of the problem. This is the last chance for the GOP to restore its credentials. If it blows it, all bets are off for 2012.

Sadly, I don't think the GOP's leadership gets it.

ObamaCare Discourages Work

The Congressionall Budget Office Direcctor, Doug Elmensdorf, on Friday confirmed that ObamaCare's provisions will reduce the number of jobs in the United States...so a President who claimed that job creation was his primary concern spent the first 16 months of his term pushing a bill that will discourage employers from hiring more people in the middle of the deepest recession in 70 or so years.  Soooo...for what reason should We The People reelect this man in 2012?  Why should We The People continue with a Democratic Party as the majority in Congress?
In his speech, Mr. Elmensdorf said,

ObamaCare’s economic impact outside the health care sector, Elmendorf said that those effects will primarily be related to the labor market and “will probably be small.”


Factoring in additional demand for workers in health care and insurance, CBO estimates that “the legislation, on net, will reduce the amount of labor used in the economy by roughly half a percent,” he said.

The reason: The expansion of Medicaid and new health insurance subsidies will reduce “the amount of labor that workers choose to supply.”

(For perspective, half a percent of current payrolls is 651,000 jobs, though the impact would show up in both fewer jobs and fewer hours worked.)

So, my wife and I as people who are now only working part-time, and can't pay our rent, can look forward to remaining in part-time jobs living on the street.  Thank you Mr. Obama, Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Reid.  I hope that you all end up on the street in the very near future.  This country can't afford you anymore.  It's time to remove every professional politician from office and replace them with people who won't over stay their welcome...by decades.

ObamaCare: It's Real Effects...

A very good friend of mine who is now in his early 70's sent me this note a bit ago: 

I was notified on September 29, 2010 by AmericaGroup - my Medicare Advantage Program, that they will not be offering any more Medicare Advantage Programs. So they sent me the notice along with a 6 page list of companies who will offer Medicare insurance.


You got to love Obamacare ... you know and remember his 'promise' that you will be able to keep your doctor and insurance company.

The open enrollment period is from Nov 15 - through Dec 31 - ONLY.

Nobody on the list knows if Medicare will accept them as an insurance agent and nobody will know until November 15 - at the earliest.

Obama has stuck his thumb in the plumb pudding and he had his dumbocrats pass a bill, that nobody read or understood, but then lied when he said you would keep your doctor and insurance plan.

This guy is the biggest bull shit artist ever to serve as President. Hell - Nixon was a saint next to Obama.

I will lose my insurance on December 31st and be forced to accept straight Medicare - with all of its deductibles.

Like Don King is famous of saying - "Ain't it great to be in America."

Vote all the jerks out in November.

So much  for "If you like your insurance, you can keep it."  I figured that was a lie, as was all the rest, "This will keep costs down," etc.  Rasmussen Reports finds that: 

Nearly three-out-of-four voters (73%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that the new health care law will cause some companies to drop health insurance coverage for their employees, including 47% who say it is Very Likely. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that just 19% think that's unlikely.

 As my friend relates, there is truth that many health care companies will be dropping insurance.  Thanks Mr. President, Madame Speaker, Mr. Reid, you have just ruined the best health care system in the world.

REMEMBER NOVEMBER

VOTE ALL THE BASTARDS OUT!

63% Support Repealing ObamaCare

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama told us that we'd learn to appreciate ObamaCare after it passed and was signed into law.  So far, that hasn't worked out too well.  A week or two ago, the Congressional Budget Office reported that it would cost an additional $115,000,000,000.00, above the roughly $850,000,000,000.00 the Democratically led Congress said it would.  Now, in a new poll, Rasmussen Reports finds that,

63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March.  Prior to today, weekly polling had shown support for repeal ranging from 54% to 58%.   Currently, just 32% oppose repeal.

That's the public at large.  On the other hand, our political masters are still insisting that its a good plan for the country,  despite all the conniving deals struck in those back rooms with unions giving them all sorts of tax exemptions on their plans, while the rest of us foot the bill.  So, the political class,

continues to be a strong supporter of the plan, however. While 67% of Mainstream voters believe the plan will be bad for America, 77% of the Political Class disagree and think it be good for the country.

Which I think contributes to the roughly 20% approval rating for Congress as a whole.  I think that they collectively are out of touch with American and it's time to vote all of them out of office.  The harm they're doing to the country is incalculable and will  take decades for us to recover.

REMEMBER NOVEMBER, RE-ELECT NO-ONE!!!

ObamaCare To Cost More Than Expected

As expected, they projections on the cost of the government's seizure of health care are already rising.  Today the Congressional Budget Office announced that ObamaCare will cost at least $115,000,000,000.00 more than Congress and Barack Obama promised before it was passed on a straight party line vote.  For the first time in our history, a massive entitlement program has been enacted without ANY bipartisan support.

Now, the cost of this huge program is going to be at least 12% higher than the $850,000,000,000.00 cost that was promised by a lying Democratic Congressional leadership.  The CBO says that it will be nearer to $1,000,000,000,000.00... that's a staggering sum. 

The additional spending...would bring the total estimated cost of the overhaul to over $1 trillion.

We can't afford that now, what will the real cost be in 10 years...after all, Medicare was projected to cap in the late 1990's at $40 billion dollars...the real cost is 10 times that at $400 billion dollars per year.  If the projected costs are going to be 12% higher now, six weeks after passage...what does that say for the real dollar amount we will be forced to pay?  ABC is reporting that,

The revised figure is due to estimated costs to federal agencies to implement the new health care reform bill – such as administrative expenses for the Internal Revenue Services and the Department of Health and Human Services -- and the costs for a "variety of grant and other program spending for which specified funding levels for one or more years are provided in the act."

The time has come to vote ALL INCUMBENTS OUT, regardless of party.  These idiots have spent our treasure wastefully and have refused to secure the borders of this country.  It's time for a change...

REMEMBER NOVEMBER!





Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37081.html#ixzz0nm4faayg

Statistic on Health Care & Government

A recent "Investor's Business Daily" article dated Wednesday, May 27, 2009,  provided very interesting statistics from a survey by the United Nations International Health Organization.  Congressman Mark Kirk, IL-10 (R) is another source for these same statistics.


Here's a shot of the article in question.

Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after diagnosis:
U.S. 65%
England 46%
Canada 42%

Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment within six months:
U.S. 93%
England 15%
Canada 43%

Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it within six months:
U.S. 90%
England 15%
Canada 43%

Percentage referred to a medical specialist who see one within one month:
U.S. 77%
England 40%
Canada 43%

Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million people:
U.S. 71
England 14
Canada 18
[The MRI was INVENTED in England!]

Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are in "excellent health":
U.S. 12%
England 2%
Canada 6%

From this alone, I don't really think that our health care needs "reforming" at all.  It already is better than the models the Democratic Congress is using as a template...

Free Home Offer: A Modern Cautionary Tale

This came to me in an email from a very good friend whom I admire deeply...and I couldn't help posting it...

Free Home offer
by
J. P. Bender

I was in my neighborhood restaurant this morning and was seated behind a group of jubilant individuals celebrating the successful passing of the recent health care bill. I could not finish my breakfast. This is what ensued:

They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes. I heard the young man exclaim, “Isn’t Obama like Jesus Christ? I mean, after all, he is healing the sick.” The young woman enthusiastically proclaimed, “Yeah, and he does it for free. I cannot believe anyone would think that a free market would work for health care. They are all crooks and thieves and don’t deserve all of that money.”

Another said, "The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can inherit all of the power. Obama should be made a Saint for what he did for those of us less fortunate.”

At this, I had had enough. I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find, and approached their table. “Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for one moment?”

They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation. I stood at the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

“I would like to give one of you my house. It will cost you no money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you live there. Anyone interested?”

They looked at each other in astonishment. “Why would you do something like that?” asked a young man. “There isn’t anything for free in this world.”

They began to laugh at me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point.

“I am serious, I will give you my house for free, no money what so ever. Anyone interested?” In unison, a resounding “Hell Yeah” fills the room.

“Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice as to who receives this money-free bargain.” I noticed an elderly couple was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the old man shaking his head in apparent disgust.

“I tell you what; I will give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules.”

Again, they looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces. The perky young woman asked, “What are the rules?”

I smiled and said, “I don’t know. I have not yet defined them. However, it is a free home that I offer you.”

They giggled amongst themselves, the youngest of whom said, “What an old coot. He must be crazy to give away his home. Go take your meds, old man.”

I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further. “I am serious, this is a legitimate offer.” They gaped at me for a moment.
“Hell, I’ll take it you old fool. Where are the keys?” boasted the youngest among them.

“Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms then?” I asked. The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they watched from the privacy of their table.

“Oh hell yeah! Where do I sign up?”

I took a napkin and wrote, “I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction.” I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature.

“Where are the keys to my new house?” he asked in a mocking tone of voice. All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

“Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere from this point forward. You may live in the house for only one hour a day. You will not use anything inside of the home. You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your keys.”

I reached the keys forward, and the young man looked at me dumbfounded.

“Are you out of your freaking mind? Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?” The young man appeared irritated.

“YOU did when you signed this contract before reading it and understanding it, and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only AFTER you committed to the agreement,” was all I said. The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people.

“You can shove that stupid deal up you’re a** old man, I want no part of it,” exclaimed the now infuriated young man.

“You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends; you cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the power you agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to. In short, I am your Master.”

At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent. “What I did to you is what this administration and Congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn; that you are entitled to that which you did not earn; that you willingly allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is if your new Master gives it to you.

"A freedom that is given can also be taken away; therefore, it is not freedom.

With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man. “This is the nature of your new health care legislation.”

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation and was surprised by applause.

The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, “Thank you Sir, these kids don’t understand Liberty these days.” He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, “You earned this one, it is an honor to pick up the tab.”

I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled, and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Use reason.

There's no such thing as a free lunch - SOMEONE has to pay, and you may too late realize that the one who will be paying is YOU.

TANSTAAFL=There Ain't No  Such Thing As A Free Lunch

Wasserman Schulz Lies About Health Care Mandate

Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz is caught lying about the mandate within the health care seizure bill:



Here is the pertinent section mandating that everyone purchase health insurance: 

Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s announcement came as a surprise to those of us familiar with the bill, which added to Subtitle D of the Internal Revenue Code a new Chapter 48, whose first section (Section 5000A) is titled, “REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE” (see p. 126; all-caps in original). Subparagraph (b)(3) even provides for “PAYMENT OF PENALTY” if you don’t comply with the “REQUIREMENT.”

Repeal the bill NOW!  Vote against your incumbent Congressmen and Senators.

ObamaCare Hits New Lows, CBS Poll Shows

The MSM has touted ObamaCare for the last 14 months.  They have been pushing and pushing the benefits of this plan for the country.  Yet, even after passage, it has become less and less popular.  CBS News' most recent poll, conducted on 29 March - 1 April has reflected this trend. 

Fifty-three percent of Americans say they disapprove of the new reforms, including 39 percent who say they disapprove strongly. In the days before the bill passed the House, 37 percent said they approved and 48 percent disapproved.


Republicans and independents remain opposed to the reforms, and support has dropped some among Democrats. Now 52 percent of Democrats approve of the new reforms, a drop from 60 percent just before the bill was passed by Congress.

Even Democrats are less than happy with this abortion of a bill losing support across the board.  The expected bounce following passage hasn't materialized at  all.  In this poll, as in all others CBS conducts, it over sampled Democrats more than Republicans.

The numbers look even worse when you take a look at this graph:

Much of the country isn't buying the hype of the Democrats that this bill will reduce costs.  It doesn't matter what the CBO has said...because you can't decrease payments to physicians or increase coverage by 1/3rd and at the same time reduce overall costs.  Most people understand that this bill will cost far more than it is claimed.  

Even though the president and Democratic leaders have repeatedly pointed out that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office called the reform package a deficit-reducer,...


The most mendacious, cruel and destructive proposition put forth by the Democratic congressional leadership -- and soon by almost all its ranks and files -- is, of course, the outlandish claim that the bill will reduce the deficit.

So far, the public has not been fooled by the claim that a new entitlement for 30 million people is being created -- and it will cost less.

Of course, every informed person understands why the CBO calculation is an honest measure of a dishonest bill. Republican Rep. Paul Ryan at the health care summit, former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, in last Sunday's New York Times, and hundreds of commentators have all laid out the lamentable, indisputable and undisputed fact that the CBO methodology has been gamed by the congressional Democrats to turn what will be more than a trillion dollars in further public deficit and debt into a fantasy savings of $140 billion.

Excerpts By Tony Blankley, COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM

Then there's this:

He's heading for the Carter Zone....

President Obama's overall job approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 44 percent, down five points from late March, just before the health bill's passage in the House of Representatives. It's down 24 points since his all-time high last April. Forty-one percent of those polled said they disapproved of the president's performance.

ObamaCare Exemptions

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.--John Adams

Poll Numbers Don't Lie, Politicians Do...

If Howard Fineman of Newsweek is saying this...then the Democrats may very well be in deep  trouble come November: 

A Democratic senator I can't name, who reluctantly voted for the health-care bill out of loyalty to his party and his admiration for Barack Obama, privately complained to me that the measure was political folly, in part because of the way it goes into effect: some taxes first, most benefits later, and rate hikes by insurance companies in between.


Besides that, this Democrat said, people who already have coverage will feel threatened and resentful about helping to cover the uninsured—an emotion they will sanitize for the polltakers into a concern about federal spending and debt.

On the day the president signed into law the "fix-it" addendum to the massive health-care measure, two new polls show just how fearful and skeptical Americans are about the entire enterprise. If the numbers stay where they are—and it's not clear why they will change much between now and November—then the Democrats really are in danger of colossal losses at the polls.

It's becoming clear that my prediction that the Democratic party may have committed political suicide by ramming this historically unpopular bill through against the wishes of a majority of voters will cost them at least control of the House of Representatives.  I've been saying all along that it's quite possible for them to lose as many as 100 seats in November as voters anger rises like their insurance premiums are going to...

So We've Passed ObamaCare

Don't know who wrote this...

So we've passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it,
passed by a Congress who hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it,
signed by a president that also hasn't read it and who smokes,
with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes,
all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.

What the heck could go wrong?

An Analysis on Repealing the Health Care Bill

Heres a link to an excellent analysis of how and why the government's seizure of the health care industry will likely be repealed next year.  It's by Sean Trende and posted  in Real Clear Politics.  I agree, because of the broad opposition to this bill, I believe that it will be repealed next year after the Democratic party loses control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

ObamaCare...What Can I Do...?

I've had  a lot of emails about what you can do to stop ObamaCare to from being implemented...here are some excellent suggestions vis Instapundit...

SO LAST WEEK READER RYAN BLEEK WROTE, asking what he could do to fight big government plans, given that he lives in an uncompetitive Congressional district. Various readers chimed in. Here’s some advice:

From a reader who asks anonymity:I

would say to Ryan (yesterday, 10:18am) that he needs to volunteer to go door-to-door on a close House campaign during the final weekend before the election, and preferably through election day. Knock on 500 doors a day, be willing to face opponents with good cheer and a smile, get great exercise. Putting feet on the ground en masse is the best way to show that we’re serious about changing our political leadership. I’ve done it four times and it’s often hard but definitely worth it.

It worked for Scott Brown, who got thousands of volunteers coming in this way. Reader Eric Cowperthwaite emails:

I sent email to my two senators in Washington State. This is a fairly blue state and those seats are probably considered “safe” for the Democrats. I think that’s no longer true, but it’s time to make sure they know that. So, I told them that I will be donating money to their opponents, volunteering for their opponents and voting for their opponents. I told them it is because of healthcare reform specifically. And I reminded them that democrats lost in Massachussetts before this bill was passed.

If everyone reading your page who is in “blue” or “purple” territory writes their democratic senator or representative that will send a big message. If half of us follow through, that’s an even bigger message.

Reader George Bednekoff emails: “I would lobby for term limits. Even fairly loose term limits of 12 years for the House and 18 years for the Senate would insure that congressmen in uncompetitive districts would get replaced periodically.”



Lynne Hulbert writes: “

Scott Brown had a system where you could make phone calls for him from anywhere in the U.S. using your cell phone, most likely, since most people have free long-distance calling on their cell phones. I did it, and the system worked very well. Judging by the results, that might be one way to help in districts outside your own. I live in Arizona and called for a guy in Massachusetts, so there is no limit.”

And Lynwood Wilson emails:

“Campaign against your local Congress critter regardless. Donate to his opponents. Even if he wins in spite of your efforts the strength of the opposition may worry him and affect his votes. And you might beat him. Who expected us to win Kennedy’s seat (sic) in Mass.?”

Another reader emails

: “I live within 100 miles of a Dem congressman’s district in my state. He voted against the bill. BUT…before the vote I called his office and informed them I will contribute to his opponent if the Democrats pass this. AND I told them I will drive the 1 1/2 hours to help his opponent knock on doors, stuff envelopes, answer phones, get out the vote….whatever it takes to defeat him. As a clincher, I told them I am unemployed thanks to his party’s policies. I’ll have plenty of time to devote to his opponent.”

I think the most important lesson is to stay engaged, and don’t be silenced.