Reply #16: Sent to President Obama today: Veto any bill without a Public Option

[Riverman]

President Obama,

How happy I and millions of Americans have been to say that! I was an ardent supportor of your election and a small-time contributor. I had great hopes for your standing with the American people against the money and power of the corporations and their lobbyists. Now, I must admit extreme dissapointment in your actions regarding health care reform.

As the father of child with a genetic disease and can't get insurance, and an adult child, on the job, who has been unable to afford health insurance, my family is directly negatively impacted by the current private insurance-based system. It needs far more than reform, it needs to be completely re-designed.

I am in favor of a Single-Payer system in order to get the private insurance and Big Pharma corporations from being between my family and out doctors. Clearly, the Public Option is a compromise from what, even you advocated for as a candidate for state Senate in Illinois a few short years ago. Now we are told even you are ready to abandon even that very minimalist provision for a Public Option. A Co-op is not a public option. We see many examples of so called-non-profit, co-op type plans, such as Blue Shield/Blue Cross and Kaser which functions and burn money for executive salaries, bonuses plush offices and behave just like all the other for-profit insurance and pharmacuetical corporations. That is not an answer!

If the minimalist Health Care Bills, so far, do not end up with the meager Public Option, please do not sign the final bill. Veto it! In fact, please fight now for Single-payer and get the insurance and pharmacuetical corporations from being between my family and our doctors! Without the bare-minimum "Public Option" - not a so-called "Co-Op" there is no reform and not worth the effort at all.

As a life-long democrat, supporter of your election and many of your policies, and a former union leader and supporter of various environmental and social justice efforts for 30 years, if the democrats fail on health care and thus abandon the 47 million american without health care insurance and the many millions who lose their health care by getting sick and/or losing jobs, I will abandon the democratic party. I will do everything in my power to encourage all other people I know to do the same for the rest of my life. I am 57. My grandmother lived to be 93. I expect to live a long time! As Gandhi said to the effect "If one person stands up for justice, that person is a majority of one." We will build a majority for Single-payer, one person at a time.

Mr. President, please stand with us and not the insurance and Big Pharma corporations! You must stand with US!

Use the power of your voice and the presidency to make the change we believe in. Tinkering with reforms of corporate private insurance and Big Pharma practices, is not change! It would be continuing with the same system and thinking that got us into the current crises for millions of Americans. You are better than that. And, can do better

If you are worried about getting re-elected, forget it! How do you think you will be able to put together the wonderful coalition you and your team did to get elected last year in 2012, if, while in your first term you abandoned the very people who fought so hard and funded (half of your contributions) your election. We got your back! Do not abandon us and we won't abandon you.

Thank you for all of your efforts!

Now, Fire it up!