Even if the Senate passes a bill this week there are still miles to go . . .

• The Senate and House bills will still need to be reconciled, and pass both chambers -- that may be difficult
• A bill that's passed can still be repealed, and this one will be particularly vulnerable to that possibility because . . .
• It will take years for all aspects of the bill to be implemented, and meanwhile . . .
• An election will intervene that could cost the Democrats a lot of seats

It's important to recognize that many Congressional Democrats . . .

• Are worried about losing their jobs because of this vote
• Don't like this bill because it doesn't actually do any of things that were promised for this legislation

For instance . . .

Former Democratic National Committee Chair, Howard Dean, has suggested that this healthcare reform bill should be killed, and that his allies should go back to the drawing board. Why? Because the healthcare reform bill doesn't go far enough.

His reason may be a bad one, but it reflects an important point. Support for this bill is soft, even among the Democrats.

Please send Congress another letter opposing the healthcare bill. This time make some points that may resonate with Congressional Democrats: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/114

You can copy or borrow from what I wrote to my Congressional delegation . . .

I feel like the goal post has shifted on the healthcare bill. It doesn't actually fulfill the original promises.

That's what the Bush administration did with Iraq. Weapons of Mass Destruction meant the United States could not wait -- we had to attack. When no such weapons were found, the mission morphed from one objective to another. The same thing is happening with healthcare reform. We were promised . . .

The uninsured were the justification for this bill. But now we have a bill that doesn't insure everyone -- not even close. It will still leave 24 million people uninsured. http://westernexperience.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/policy-points-h-r-3590-and-h-r-4173/ 

This bill was also supposed to bend the cost-curve downward, but it does the exact opposite. This bill will cost the average American family $7,264.71. http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_3590.html 

Howard Dean suggested you kill this bill and return to the drawing board. Based on the costs to my family and my neighbors, I must agree -- you haven't delivered.

I don't want you to speak of the other so-called "benefits" of this plan. When you do so, you're just moving the goal posts, like George W. Bush did in Iraq. The mission was to cover the uninsured, and do so without increasing taxes or costs for the middle class.

Kill this bill. Return to the drawing board.

END LETTER

You can send your letter to Congress using our Educate the Powerful System: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/114

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.