Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right,

[CactusCarlos]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x563942

Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right,
Posted by kpete on Sat Mar-05-11 10:11 AM

    Here is "An Open Letter to My Conservative Family & Friends," by Doug Reed.

    Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right,

    First and foremost, I love you. The bonds of family and friendship are stronger than the wedge that any politician can drive between us. In these divisive times, I think it's important that we keep telling each other that.

    The Declaration Of Independence begins with these words: "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

    You may have noticed that my Facebook page has gone all-Wisconsin-politics-all-the-time. If you haven't already hidden me from your news feed, I feel that a decent respect for the opinions of my friends and family requires that I should declare the causes why I am throwing myself into the fight against this bill.

    My politics are proudly liberal, but I strive to keep them from being knee-jerk Democratic party talking points. I have thrown my impassioned opposition toward the Wisconsin budget repair bill for some well-considered reasons, and I ask that you consider my position with an open mind.

    This bill has several aspects which have not been reported in the national media. I will give you three of them.

    1. This bill gives a politically appointed agency head the power to unilaterally make all Medicaid spending decisions behind closed doors with NO public input. I know a lot of my conservative friends and family hate Obamacare. This provision in Wisconsin's law should run chills down your spine.

    I have friends on Medicaid. I have friends with an autistic daughter who can go to kindergarten because of her medical assistance. I have a friend with MS whose meds would cost her $52,000 a year if she had to buy them on the open market.

    The standard comment to the "sob stories" of those on Medicaid is "why should I have to pay for their expensive health care?"

    Because there but for the Grace of God go you and I.

    If you have any form of insurance at all, you're paying for someone else's expensive health care/house fire/auto accident. You pay your premium with the hopes that you will never have to claim the benefits.

    A lot of hardworking people have lost jobs and insurance during this recession. Medicaid is, for many of them, the last hope of medical care they have.

    The thought that an anti-Medicaid activist (Dennis Smith, DHS Secretary) has sole powers over the state's assistance for her poorest and most vulnerable citizens chills me and should chill you, too.

    (This is an aside about the "Obamacare" law. I support it. Under the current system, accountants from insurance companies make life-and-death decisions about our health care. If that power is moved to a government agency, there is at least some transparency and accountability to the public. If you disagree, please start another thread. This letter isn't about the national health care law, although every discussion I've had with a conservative about Wisconsin's budget has ended in an Obamacare debate. Why? I have no idea.)

    2. This bill is not about elections having consequences. The protesters are the ones with Democracy on their side.

    Wisconsinites knew on election night that there would be draconian cuts in state spending. We did not know that collective bargaining would be ended by executive decree.

    The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal did a study of every word that Scott Walker and his campaign uttered in public during the campaign. He never once mentioned ending collective bargaining rights for public employees. Not once.

    You cannot claim a public mandate for a policy you concocted in secret.

    Further, Mr. Walker introduced the bill on a Friday with the intention of jamming it through on the following Thursday with no public comment at all. He has, at every step of this process, subverted the normal process of legislation.

    You may say "the Democrats who fled the state are subverting the normal process of legislation".

    This is true.

    In the Democrats' defense, and my state Senator is among them, denying a quorum was their only recourse to slow the hasty process and shine a light on the unsavory aspects of this bill. It's an extreme, but time-honored, legislative technique. Abraham Lincoln once jumped from a statehouse window in an attempt to deny the opposition a quorum.

    I believe that unions should have collective bargaining rights under the law. You probably disagree. We should each vote for a candidate who makes the best case for the argument we agree with and settle this at the ballot box.

    Aside from Scott Walker, who is now a nationwide tea party hero, no one in Wisconsin has benefitted from this, and no one voted for it.

    3. There is a provision in the bill that allows the Governor (via his appointed department head) to sell state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants WITHOUT TAKING BIDS and with NO PUBLIC INPUT. The people of Wisconsin would then be at the mercy of whatever rates the new owners of the plants set.

    If you're a conservative, and this provision had come from a Democrat (whose biggest campaign donors were power tycoons), how loud would you be howling?

    This provision of the law is either gobsmackingly corrupt or screen-door-on-a-submarine stupid. Probably both. This provision is indefensible on any level.

    These are three of the reasons I am passionately opposed to this bill. There are many, many others, but I realize that your attention span for Wisconsin state politics is limited, especially if you live out of state.

    To sum up, I consider this bill morally wrong. Not only that, it does very little to balance the budget. That which it does, it does in the most politically vindictive way possible.

    I thank you for taking the time to consider my arguments, and I would welcome a reasoned, fact-based debate on these, or any other points of political disagreement.

    It's been my privilege to demonstrate peaceably beside students, teachers, steelworkers, plasterers, artists, programmers, police, and firefighters in both the public and private sectors throughout the last two weeks. If anything, it's made me appreciate how interconnected all of our labors are. Thank you for doing the work you do. Thank you for being the person you are.

    With much love despite our differences, I remain,

    Your cousin, son, brother-in-law, former student, fellow alma mater graduate, fellow bass-singing choir member, and fellow citizen.

    Doug
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/05/952865/-WI:-Facebook-Friends-and-a-Powerful-Letter

[DumbAss Tanker]

If I may take the liberty...

"Dear Doug,
On behalf of your friends and family, we may love you, but that doesn't mean we're going to read yet another tiresome, droning Leftist tantrum of yours.  Believe it or not, your political beliefs aren't important to us, and we value your political wisdom at about the same level as dating advice from Comic Book Guy down the street."

[GOBUCKS]

I'll bet even other DUmmies pull their cell phones out and pretend to be on a call when they see ol' Doug come into the room.

[FreeBorn]

The usual "up is down, down is up" baloney from someone who is attempting to preach to the choir.

This endearing personage seeks support from family he has ostracized and likely looked down on for years.


    "Wisconsinites knew on election night that there would be draconian cuts in state spending. We did not know that collective bargaining would be ended by executive decree".

IN OTHER WORDS- We hate that you bastards won, BUT, we never envisioned that we had lost so much support, that there actually was such a sea change flowing in the opposite direction from what the media portrayed in November 2008. Yes, we know the economy is doing the dead guppy float but dammit, WE DON'T CARE, YOU PEOPLE are not with us, YOU PEOPLE, are not in the club. WE ARE SPECIAL, we are not subject to the recession because all of us have worked so hard to become a segment of society that knows better than you, WE TEACH YOUR CHILDREN BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO and we like to think green thoughts, we love manatees, we want all of you to drive golf carts but never mind our CADILLAC ESCALADES! We are under paid, never mind that cottage by the lake up in northern Wisconsin where we spend our ENTIRE summers...

And blah blah blah for another nine more paragraphs.

The bottom line is this- F*CK YOU, WE KNOW AMERICA IS BROKE, BUT -YOU PEOPLE,  who are not of us- WILL FEED US FIRST REGARDLESS -AND- DO NOT EVER FORGET THAT WE ARE SMARTER THAN YOU, WE ARE OF A SPECIAL CLASS BEYOND THE LAW which all of you little stupid people are subject to, but not us[/] AND you just plain suck, so there!

[Tucker]

1. This bill gives a politically appointed agency head the power to unilaterally make all Medicaid spending decisions behind closed doors with NO public input. I know a lot of my conservative friends and family hate Obamacare. This provision in Wisconsin's law should run chills down your spine.

Just who is Kpete referring to?

It sounds like obama's appointed obamacare health czar, who has said death panels are a good thing.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/07/obamas_health_care_rationing_c.html

Obama placed Czar Donald Berwick, president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in the position of deciding who lives and who dies.

[JohnnyReb]

I can see right now that the next Family Reunion is going to be the best one ever....

[Doc]

Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right,
Posted by kpete on Sat Mar-05-11 10:11 AM

    Here is "An Open Letter to My Conservative Family & Friends," by Doug Reed.

    Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right....

   You may say "the Democrats who fled the state are subverting the normal process of legislation".

    This is true.

With that one statement, your entire argument is rendered null and void.  At that point, anything said above or below it is irrelevant.

Elections do have consequences, the public unions do not deserve special treatment, the flee-baggers did a monstrous disservice to the citizens of their districts as well as the citizens of the State, transference of authority to government bureaucrats does not automatically guarantee "transparency", your family and friends would be well served from never inviting you to anything ever again, and you're a wordy sniveling bitch.

Hope this helps you keep your lefty gob shut at the next family get-together.

[TexasCop]

At the risk of being skewered, he does make a pretty good point about selling the state's energy.  We would indeed be griping if a liberal had done the same thing.
 
As for Medicaid being handled without input from us, the people, what do you think liberals did with Obamacare?  The majority of Americans don't want Obamacare, but it was rammed down our throats anyway. 
 
Lastly, just because Governor Walker didn't run on a platform of doing away with collective bargaining doesn't mean it's suddenly "unfair" because he is now going after it.  Sometimes politicians don't do what they say and do what they didn't say.

[ReaganForRushmore]

How come every DUmmie thinks he is Will Pitt?

[LC EFA]

Dear Friends and Family Who Lean Politically To The Right,
Posted by kpete on Sat Mar-05-11 10:11 AM

    Here is "An Open Letter to My Conservative Family & Friends," by Doug Reed.

fapfapfap

Doug

Fixed for clarity and brevity of message.

[dandi]

« Last Edit: Today at 12:06:31 pm by TVDOC »

Hey, Doc, why did you have to edit my post?

[98ZJUSMC]

How come every DUmmie thinks he is Will Pitt?

He's the Pie-eyed Piper.

[BlueStateSaint]

Fixed for clarity and brevity of message.

H5 for the clarity and brevity!

[DumbAss Tanker]

How come every DUmmie thinks he is Will Pitt?

Well, after reading his crap, they're all sure they can do better. ..and not without cause.

[zeitgeist]

If I may take the liberty...

"Dear Doug,
On behalf of your friends and family, we may love you, but that doesn't mean we're going to read yet another tiresome, droning Leftist tantrum of yours.  Believe it or not, your political beliefs aren't important to us, and we value your political wisdom at about the same level as dating advice from Comic Book Guy down the street."

Brevity is the soul of wit. ^5

[Wineslob]

At the risk of being skewered, he does make a pretty good point about selling the state's energy.  We would indeed be griping if a liberal had done the same thing.
 
As for Medicaid being handled without input from us, the people, what do you think liberals did with Obamacare?  The majority of Americans don't want Obamacare, but it was rammed down our throats anyway. 
 
Lastly, just because Governor Walker didn't run on a platform of doing away with collective bargaining doesn't mean it's suddenly "unfair" because he is now going after it.  Sometimes politicians don't do what they say and do what they didn't say.

You read that tripe?