Deborah:
Have not yet gotten a reply. My experience with this “Representative” of our District has been absolute silence. Apparently he feels so secure in his extremist base that he finds no need to be even polite to the rest of his District. Let’s hope he gets a worthy opponent this time… one that we can support to unseat him.

Thanks for your heartfelt comment.

Ed Lee

Whoa…. wouldn’t you know it, no sooner had I posted the above than I received the following email from Rep. Greg Walden’s office. At least he eventually replied, notwithstanding his excessive perversion of the facts as I know them to be. Won’t bother to refute his claims, he can broadcast misinformation faster than anyone can refute it (or colloqually: he can shovel the shit in faster than anyone can shovel it up.). Would love to debate him in front of an audience that can separate evidence from unsubstantiated claims.
Ed

Dear Mr. Lee:
I appreciate you taking the time to contact me. I agree with you; we need to address America’s health care challenges. Reform is necessary.

Unfortunately, I could not support Speaker Pelosi’s health care reform plan, which levies $569 billion in new taxes, spends $1.2 trillion, and cuts over $500 billion from Medicare ?” including $202 billion in cuts from Medicare Advantage ?” threatening the health care coverage of 38,000 seniors in Oregon’s Second Congressional District. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, four million Americans can expect to lose their current coverage because of this plan, and the White House’s own economic formulas show that 5 million American jobs could be lost.

The plan that I do support includes commonsense principal, which I think both sides of the aisle can embrace. The plan would create a risk pool to help people with pre-existing conditions afford coverage and make it illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage to someone with prior coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition. It would allow the purchase of insurance across state lines to improve competition, giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as corporations and labor unions do. It also would curb lawsuits against doctors, ending costly junk lawsuits and limiting defensive medicine by enacting medical liability reforms modeled after the successful state laws of California and Texas. This alone would save $54 billion.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact me. It’s an honor to represent you in the U.S. Congress.

Best regards,

Greg Walden
Member of Congress

Cheris: While I agree with your thesis, I would include some of the Democrats in the pockets of the health insurance industy (and banking industry). It is a situation that has developed over decades and will not be easily reformed. The need for massive campaign funds and the paltry salaries we pay our politicians contribute to the problem. Calling or writing representatives, especially in the Senate, to express support of health care reform might help. I’ve done that and more. However, I’m not sure how your last sentence relates to the others, except to highlight your frustration and sense of urgency.
Ed

Reply:
No I didn’t read the bill, nor have you. My comments were about the reasons Greg Walden gave for voting against it… they are patently false. If his real reasons had to do with something else in the bill, why didn’t he state them?

As to “raising taxes and taking food from your childrens’ mouths”….. how did you come to that conclusion? I’d be interested in reviewing the facts upon which you base it. If you know something I don’t know about the bill’s costs, I’d like to learn it.

Ed