Boxer Constituents Go Net

[Annie]

Left with no choice, they result to online. Interesting indeed:

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Californians Talk to Boxer’s SD Rep. « Temple of Mut

Video and links at site, not too mention 'lots' of comments:

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Californians Talk to Boxer’s SD Rep.
August 19, 2009 · 2 Comments

WELCOME INSTAPUNDIT READERS! The biggest favor I have of you is to spread the word to all your friends, family and acquaintances who may reside in California. There is an Aug. 28th March on Sacramento to fight big government eco-regulations killing our state’s economy. Details are HERE.

Dear Readers: I wanted to share my observations of a meeting I attended with seven other Californians today, which occurred this morning at the downtown San Diego office of Barbara Boxer, California Senator. A group of citizens went into her local office during the Aug. 14th Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition healthcare rally, designed to highlight how many of us oppose the current slate of “reform” proposals being touted by legislators such as our senators. The purpose was to schedule a meeting with Sen. Boxer, as she “had no townhall scheduled”. It seems she is on a book tour, to promote this new fantasy novel:



Synopsis – A Time to Run:

On the eve of the nomination of an ultraconservative Hispanic female Supreme Court justice, liberal Senator Ellen Fischer of California is given the perfect weapon: sensitive documents that could wreck the nomination. With less than 24 hours to take action, Ellen is bombarded with advice from her aides. But she doesn’t trust the source of the damning information, Greg Hunter, darling of the right-wing conservatives, a former lover, and a longtime friend of hers and her deceased husband, Joshua. It was Joshua’s accidental death on the eve of his election to the U.S. Senate that propelled Ellen’s reluctant career as a politician. Hunter’s offer provokes memories of how the three became friends: Joshua and Greg were roommates at the University of California at Berkeley, destined for sterling careers in the law and journalism. She was a budding social activist for children’s causes. They became fast friends until Josh’s proposal redefined their relationships. The ensuing years brought challenges to youthful idealism and the lure of power and wealth as the three made lives and careers for themselves in the San Francisco Bay Area. Across the years and across the country, Ellen and Greg eventually come to a showdown in the nation’s capital.

I am going to have to say this novel is aptly named. Boxer IS running from her constituents. But, I digress.

Our thinking was, since our senator will not come to the townhall, the townhall will come to our senator. Sadly, because we are not members of the power aristocracy, high-flying donors, or elite activist groups, our attempts to schedule either individual or group meeting were denied. It gives us a preview of the upcoming healthcare system. However, after 15 minutes on the phone, the office supervisor (Caridad Sanchez) agreed to meet Boxer’s tenacious constituents. These seven citizens met with her this morning:



(From Left to right) Linda reedy – Amy Todorvich – Larry Naretelli – Amy Fihn – Kay O-Hara – Valerie Sherriff – Carolyn Detwiler

Sanchez greeted us warmly at just about 10 am sharp, and took plenty of notes. I will give her credit for being professional and courteous, though it is obvious we were presenting points-of-view counter to the kind Boxer normally considers. However, as citizens get more motivated and savvy to how the system operates, I sense Sanchez will be meeting more constituents on a regular basis then she could have possibly imagined.

The citizen comments could be summarized by these themes:

* We are not organized, astro-turfed, or affiliated with any political or business entity.

* We did not appreciate Boxer’s comments about being “too well dressed” to be authentic.

* We want no part of the current set of healthcare “reform” proposals.

* As the administration’s execution of TARP, the Stimulus Package, and “Cash-for-Clunkers” programs have been EPIC FAILURES, we wanted the focus on healthcare dropped until real progress was made on economic matters.

* She needed to make the time to hear opposing point of views, and that she had the responsibility to be flexible enough to schedule townhalls if matters of this magnitude were so “urgent”.

* None of us appreciated the double-standard that the US Congress will apply: they do not have to submit to the “public option” like the rest of us.

* We understand there are problems with healthcare access and costs. However, there are specific free-market solutions that are being offered by Republicans and other groups. These plans are more sound, and should be adopted.

I am going to summarize the highlights, related to the comments made by each citizen.

VALERIE: I am a General Contractor, and an Independent. I have never been to a protest or meeting like this. I want to stress that we are not members of any organization or with any political group. Bush created many problems with his support of TARP, and Obama is continuing with policies that are even worse.

KAY: I am a realtor. I see how the banking policies have tied up credit, and how the current administration’s execution of the TARP and Stimulus Package are not working. Instead of rushing passage of the healthcare proposals, they should be tabled until the economy has recovered.

I am also concerned about the Central Valley, and all the farms that are being ruined because the water has been turned off to protect smelt. Federal policies have directly led to serious economic problems in this state, with may people in the Central Valley unemployed. Boxer should also focus on our state’s problems.

I have never met these other people before Friday. We have genuine concerns. We want to tell Boxer that we have lost trust in the American government. For example, in one video we see President Obama saying he wants a “single-payer system”, then in another he denies this. The media is also in cahoots to promote just one side of the argument. Boxer needs to be available to hear citizens with opposing points of view.

AMY F.: I am a 56-year old single woman who is on Medicare. I have such a rare medical condition, I rely on Medicare to see top researchers as well as highly trained specialists. It is hard, because Medicare only pays 80%, but under the proposed plans, it would pay only 40% so that monies could go to the rest of the program. As a result, I may not have care. This plan will pull the rug out from under my current support system.

LINDA: This administration seems to run out of the “Rules for Radicals” playbook. No one trusts the current administration, with its 37 czars. Why doesn’t this lack of Constitutional “Checks and Balances” bother Senator Boxer — it should, as Obama is taking away her powers.

Boxer and the rest of the Senate and US Congress should reduce taxes, help small businesses, and get rid of the Cap-and-Trade proposals as well as the ones for healthcare.

CAROLYN: Boxer took an oath to protect the U.S. Constitution. Nearly all the votes that Boxer has made are counter to protecting or rights to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”.

AMY T.: Both Medicare and Medicaid are running out of money. Actually, 85% of the people with private insurance are HAPPY with their insurance. That is never brought up. Instead of HR3200 or the senate plan, we need tort reform…health savings accounts….more medical schools….being able to purchase insurance across state lines (like we do car insurance). We need more free market in this system, not less. Our system of free enterprise is under attack, and seems to be demonized.

VALERIE (again): We are a 70% service economy, most of that made up of small businesses. An amount of $250,000 is not a big payroll. Government can’t keep viewing us …the small business owners…entrepreneurs…investors as an open checkbook. We need smaller government, with more stream-lined solutions, not 1300-page legislation in legalese that is rammed through Congress.

LARRY: I am focused on the terrible devastation in the Central Valley, caused by the mindless application of the federal Endangered Species Act. I am also aware of the bad provisions and tax-increases that will devastate the American economy that are in the Cap-and-Trade bill. Our competition, like China and India, want us to pass this stuff, so they can get the companies that will leave here to go overseas. Cap-and-Trade is based on fake science. Global warming is not real. And even if it were, China and India are exempt, so as thy get the new businesses, so their carbon dioxide output would increase to match.

Boxer never seem to consider the sense in the opposing point of views. She needs to hear that there are sound reasons why her citizens want her to vote “NO” on both healthcare and Cap-and-Trade.

VALERIE (again): We note that Senator Boxer doesn’t have to do the “public option” if this passes. Obama won’t either. We think that everyone associated with these proposals should be subject to the same conditions they are imposing on us.

Sanchez thanked us for our comments, and said she would provide Senator Boxer a full report. I am going to follow-up by urging all our So-CAL TRC members to directly write both of our Senators via snail mail, to underscore how seriously we take our position.

I suspect that no townhall will be forthcoming!



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In conclusion, these Californians are making a stand to maintain their liberty and choices. Throughout the country, citizens are being beaten, harassed, and mocked for finally organizing and exercising their First Amendment free speech rights. They are brave, and need our support. Here is a quote from The Magnificent Seven that suits:

Well, your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility, for you, your brothers, your sisters, and your mothers. And this responsibility is like a big rock that weighs a ton. It bends and it twists them until finally it buries them under the ground. And there’s nobody says they have to do this. They do it because they love you, and because they want to. I have never had this kind of courage. Running a farm, working like a mule every day with no guarantee anything will ever come of it. This is bravery.



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On a final note, the Anchoress has returned from an inspiring retreat and urges everyone to read the David Goldhill piece on the Atlantic Online. After skimming the piece (with a promise to read it tonight in full), I have to concur. MUT’s Money Quote: Goldhill is a Democrat who looks at the healthcare not as a wonk or a partisan, but from the perspective of a businessman who has just lost his father due to hospital-borne infection. He writes of his experience as an American without healthcare, and with. He writes as a son who watched his father die while the hospital served the customer – which was Medicare – rather than the patient. He writes about inefficiency, having twice prevented his father from being taken to surgeries not meant for him. He is very clear about what is not working within our current health care system. He is equally as clear in noting that nothing the government is currently proposing as “reform” will actually fix what is not working.

 

[garyd]

The one thing that will get Boxer's attention is that her current position is under severe threat, her lead having gone from near double digits to just just above the margin of error.