There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to fight back. And from what I’m hearing many of you feel pretty frustrated because you think there is nothing you can do now that the Democrats have passed half of ObamaCare. Not so fast amigos. Commentarama has the answers.
There are four groups of things you can be doing right now.
The most important thing to do right now is to support the good guys. These are the people who are fighting for you and with you. Here’s how:1. Support the Good Guys
Political representatives need the support of the public to keep them motivated and to firm up their resolve. They also judge the intensity of an issue by the number of calls and letters they get. Writing and calling keeps this a front burner issue.A. Support Your Representatives
Thus, write or call your Republican representatives every other week. Tell them you support them and encourage them to keep fighting. Remind them that you want them to push for a repeal of this atrocity and tell them to make it into a campaign issue.
Remind them that they should point out to the public: (1) every premium hike by a health care provider; (2) every increase in the price of medical equipment or supplies; (4) every tax hike; (5) every promised benefit that has never come; (6) every doctor who leaves the profession; (7) every doctor or hospital who refuses to take new Medicare/Medicaid patients; (8) every lost job; (9) every employer who cuts their coverage; and (10) the number of people who remain without coverage in the country despite this supposedly universal-coverage bill. And they should attribute every one of these to ObamaCare.
Participate in local rallies. Join the Republican Party and participate in its caucuses.B. Participate
Write letters to the editors of your favorite magazines and newspapers. Leave comments on blogs, left, right and center. Do this to keep this issue alive. The media will respond to issues that it believes the public wants to hear. The longer we keep this thing alive in the media, the greater the damage to the Democrats.C. Tell The World
Donate money and time to Republican candidates. I say candidates for two reasons. First, this lets you reward the good ones and avoid helping the bad. Secondly, most groups who solicit funds are not what they seem. I’ve seen these groups in action and most of them are little more than fund raising organizations that will use your money to pay their salaries and to keep their fund raising operation going so that they can raise more funds. You are wasting your money by giving to those groups. Send your money directly to candidates. (This also increases the likelihood that they will read your letters.)D. Donate
2. Demoralize the Democrats
The Democrats are scared to death that the public will not forget and forgive this bill. Keep the pressure up. Write or call your Democratic representatives (or neighboring ones) every week. Tell them how angry you are at them for supporting this bill. Let them know that you are now giving money to anyone who will oppose them and that your new goal is to see to it that they lose their seat. Sending copies of canceled checks made out to their opponents is a great tactic that will get noticed.A. Keep Up The Heat
Show up at their town hall meetings and rallies. Ask them to explain their vote over and over. Don’t let the issue die. Protest every time they try to have an event in your district -- even once will make an impression (especially a month from now, by which time they hope this issue has blown over). Remind them constantly of their mistake and never give them a moment’s peace.
Boycott any business or group that supported ObamaCare. Drop your membership, and tell them why.B. Boycott the Fellow Travelers
For too long, conservatives have lived with the mantra that they didn’t want to offend liberals by speaking their minds. Liberals, on the other hand, have no such qualms. So you put up with them and you never fire back. Stop that now. It’s time to speak your mind. Ridicule this bill. Point out how it doesn’t do what they think it does. Let them know that you are now actively supporting anyone who will repeal it, and that you will, for the rest of your life, support anyone who is working to fight liberalism in any form. They are not used to opposition. Bring it.C. Don’t Give Liberals A Free Pass
There are many self-described conservatives who are wallowing in defeatism. Don’t let them get away with infecting others. If they post that the Republicans can’t do it, counter them. If they whine that we’ve lost, call them on it. Do not let these people go unchallenged.3. Stop the Defeatists
Lastly, if the bill is not repealed, then it will be time to step up to civil disobedience.4. Civil Disobedience
The best way to kill a government program is to bankrupt it. In this regard, there are two things you could do. First, you could abuse the heck out of any benefits that are made available to you. Take every benefit that is offered to you and use it liberally. See your doctor for every single sniffle. Demand brand name products and all the tests. You have that right, take it. And in the process, you will help bankrupt this program.
Secondly, don’t pay the fine. The Democrats have balanced this bill on the assumption that millions of people would rather pay the fines than get the coverage. Without those fines, the program goes broke. So buy insurance. It’s as simple as that. And maybe in the future we’ll talk about whether you can be made to pay the fine should you choose not to buy the insurance.
Finally, if you are a doctor, then stop taking Medicare/Medicaid patients. You are supporting the government on the backs of your other patients. Demand full payment from the government or stop taking government-sponsored patients. Basically, go on strike. Similarly, if a Democratic representative happens to be one of your patients, send them packing. . . "Congressman, heal thyself!"
There you go, practical steps that each of you can start taking immediately to help fix our country. Try some of these on for size. You really can make a difference.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
ObamaCare: What You Can Do Now. . .
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38 comments:
andrew, once again you are doing the important work to my flailing in wordy-fury. i know i have said this before to you guys, but what you are doing here at commentarama is priceless to average, non-political but now engaged, guys and gals. you are succinct and calm without over-the-top rhetoric (hello, my day job!)and i appreciate it beyond words. well done, my friends. LINK!
Thanks Patti. I heard a lot of very upset people yesterday but few people trying to focus that energy, so I thought I'd provide a little guidance. I'm glad you liked it.
(Thanks for the link.)
Thanks Andrew, it should help.
I have been reading on blogs. The only ones who like it seems to be the Democrats in Congress, the MSM and a few fellow travelers. I am waiting on Rasmussen to chime in, but I think that because it was shoved down our throats, this monstrosity of a dead albatross will harm the Democrats more than I thought.
This is anecdotal evidence, but people are getting angry at the Democrats. An old politician said that when your checkout person talks about politics, the public is heavily informed about what is happening.
Joel, You're welcome.
Also,very astute observations! I think the Democrats have a much bigger problem than they realize.
This bill has truly enraged people who never really got involved in politics before. Those people will turn out in November, unless the Republicans just let the issue drop -- which they won't because they have gambled that this is the issue they need. It's also energized the right in a way nothing else has in recent memory. So expect heavy turn out on our side.
To counter that, the Dems are hoping that by passing this, their left flank will be energized and will turn out en mass to reward them. But, that's not how the left works. The left is all about instant gratification. They want instant utopia, even as they can't describe how that would look. Thus, they won't be happy with the bill unless if provides instant, perfect, free coverage for everyone except people they don't like. That won't happen.
Since this bill doesn't provide that, they aren't happy and they will blame the Democrats for not delivering. So they won't turn out. In fact, don't be surprised if you start hearing talk about a third party of "true progressives."
P.S. On your point about the checkout person. You're absolutely right. When "the man in the street" talks about a bill, the public has become truly engaged.
The Democrats are kidding themselves right now that the reason the public doesn't love the bill is because they just haven't learned about it yet.
Good luck with that. Especially since the more false promises they make about what the bill does, the more they will turn off their center-left flank when those promises don't happen. "What do you mean I have to wait until 2014 for this part to kick in, Obama said yesterday that wasn't true..."
Andrew,
Here is a pleasant thought. This albatross was actually killed when Brown was elected. All this vote on Sunday did was tie it around the Democrats' neck. I wonder when the stink will go away? :)
Joel, Hopefully not for a generation! :-)
In close to thirty years in business, I’ve learned tenacity, too lean into adversity and make it an opportunity. I’m personally amazed that it took 14 months to get healthcare through, with super majorities. Our team did a hell of good job fending off Barry…well done gang, for a bunch of rookie conservatives, we are finally in the game!
As a business person, I’ve always thought the conservatives greatest weapon against leftist tyranny is the purse. If we as a group boycotted, boardrooms across America would shiver in horror, this would permeate into the political class, and then K-Street would crank up. A quick analogy, is Jesse Jackson shaking down a corporation with the threat of racism, and boycott, these companies jump to attention. As small business have strikes, shut down for a week every so often, no revenue, no taxes. If I were king this would be the energy of the Tea Party, in the grown up world, control the money control the debate.
I know it’s a reach, but since I’m king, enact, the Fair Tax. The only tax reform that eliminates the IRS, this is the tool for plunder, and social engineering, of Washington politicians. 16,500 new agents to enforce healthcare…yuck!
My 12 year old niece asked my sister on Sunday if health care passed yet. How's THAT for engaged citizens? Were you aware of legislative issues when you were 12? I sure wasn't...
Stan, When the Republicans get back in power (not "if" -- it will happen either in November or in 2012), then it will be time to go about eliminating government power.
In the meantime, you are absolutely right about the power of the purse. Business and government fear any concerted efforts by any good sized group that could hurt their bottom lines. A boycott is an excellent idea, even if you can't get everyone on board. But it would certainly be a good idea to pick out a couple of soft targets and encourage all the Tea Party people and other angry conservatives to boycott them loudly. Even a 5-10% drop in revenues can be fatal to some companies.
At the same time, I encourage everyone to maximize their tax position to minimize what they owe and to do their best so that they don't end up being owed a refund. That's an interest free loan to the government.
Money talks.
Finally, stop voting for Democrats, even local mayors. You need to make the whole party pay for the mistakes of the 219.
Tam, When I was 12, I knew that Ronald Reagan was the best President ever and that Jimmy Carter was a disgrace, but I didn't know much about the policies they were passing at the time. ( That didn' happen until I turned 13. . . ;-) )
You're absolutely right about how awake and aware people are about this. This bill isn't some esoteric adjustment of regulations, this thing will have very real effects on all of us.
And it was so unnecessary. They could have done much better with so much less intrusion. But they didn't want to fix things, they wanted to remake them in the government's image. And people are keenly aware of that.
Andrew: Great list of do's and dont's. I had considered pretty much all of them along the line, but now I'll print it and put it on the refrigerator as a regular reminder.
Thanks Lawhawk. I hope a lot of people have the same thought. The Dems are really hoping this issue goes away quietly. Even a few hundred people keeping up the pressure can have a huge impact on this thing.
Andrew,
Here is another pleasant thought. This is Welfare writ large. Most people I know, including welfare recipients, don't like welfare. Everyone, with the exception of the elite few in Congress, see page 159 of the new bill or check out the link at the bottom, is now on welfare.
The great part is this albatross is hanging around the Democrats neck because Pelosi, Reid and Obama wanted this bill so badly.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/03/23/guess-whos-exempt-from-obamacare-mandates/
Thanks Andrew - I needed that. This is the calm before the real storm in November.
The Democrats have now been put on notice that they only have until December 31 to forward their agenda and they are going to full steam ahead on every piece of legislation they can ram through. Next up - Dodd's bank and Wall Street takeover, Cap and Trade, and Card Check. Be prepared for Ginsberg and Stevens to retire from the SC this summer too. Though replacing liberals for liberals won't really change anything.
Obama is feeling his stride and he's going for the gold (our gold...).
In the words of Prince Hal - "Once more into the breach!!"
You're welcome Bev! And thanks to you for participating in the rallies.
I agree that the Democrats are planning to go full speed ahead with their agenda now because they only have until December 31. But the Republicans have made it clear that they will stand in the way of everything. Even McCain repeated that this morning.
Nice reference to Hal.
Joel, The other problem is that they're trying to extend welfare to people who have historically shunned it. This won't go over too well.
Andrew,
Here is the sixty-four dollar question.
Will Obama sign it into law?
Joel, Absolutely. He wants a legacy. The MSM is already gushing how this makes him historic. And they're right. This bill is historic. This goes down with prior historic bills like the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs, the Sedition Acts, and Jim Crow. . . each of which had to be repealed as quickly as possible.
Andrew: We need to keep the anger, frustration and participation levels up without interruption. You mentioned acts that needed to be repealed. I'm worried about the ones that weren't, like the Environmental Protection Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. By the time people woke up to how horrible they were, it was too late. And it doesn't help that both acts were signed by Republican presidents. The price California is paying for the EPA alone is incalculable in terms of both money and human misery. This health care bill fits right in. We can never let down our guard until this spawn of Satan is killed in the cradle.
Agreed Lawhawk. And I would go one further. I would suggest beyond just repeal, that the Republican plan their own reformation of health care that frees the system from government interference and then implement that as part of the repeal.
Even things like the APA and the EPA have good reasons for their existence, they're just done so wrong. We should use this as an opportunity to repair the health care system, not just undo the damage the Obama has done. That would help defuse further efforts by the Democrats to do this all over again.
Andrew: You certainly took my meaning. The EPA and the ADA both sounded like good ideas, and seemed to be relatively small programs which would accomplish things most Americans wanted. Properly written, and with safeguards against government tyranny, they might have worked.
We all know that health care reform was necessary, but the socialists have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. So much was right, and it was only the gaps that needed filling and the restrictions on competition removed. A plan that solves those problems while repealing the government takeover must be ready at the same time that we dismantle the monstrosity the Democrats have handed us.
Andrew, something tangible. This is great! Communicating all the broken promises shouldn't be difficult. People will be feeling the broken promisese before the end of the year. As an example, if I get the $2500 reduction in my insurance premium that the President promised at least a dozen times, I'll eat my hat!
Writer X, I'm glad you liked it. All I heard yesterday (particularly on the radio), was people whining and talking about how hopeless this whole thing is. No one gave any sort of substantive advice -- all they gave was anger, defeatism and panic. So I figured it was time to give people a plan.
I'm betting your hat is quite safe.
Lawhawk, Agreed. Let's turn this to an opportunity to fix some of the problems created by prior government intervention. The Democrats have given us the reason and the support of the public, so let's do it.
But Writer X and Andrew - Why do you think that the insurance companies have been raising the premiums so dramatically in the last few months AND they have been deafeningly silent throughout this process? Obama struck a deal so he wouldn't be a liar. He used an old retail trick (and lawyer trick) - "I promise to reduce your premiums 'up to $2500 per family'". That means premiums could go down $1 and he's still not technically lying. So, they raise premiums 30% and reduce them 1%. Voila - instant gratification with a reduction "up to $2500 per family". We're still paying 29% more, but that was BEFORE the bill was signed.
I can hear him now -
Obama: "SEE, I reduced your premiums - my bill works! Those terrible Repugs lied to you...Fear them, not me. Submit to my will..."
Dang, Bev! You mean Christmas won't come early this year?
Bev, That is a classic retail trick. And you're right about the insurers being on board with this. None of these changes will cost them a penny because they'll just pass those on, and, in exchange, they get 30 million new customers by force of law. Great deal.
But I don't think this is going to work this time. People are already complaining about the recent increases and attributing them to the health bill. So I think unless they can get cuts back down below the recent increases, people will view this as a false promise.
Plus, I expect a lot more increases as each part of the bill takes effect.
And in this case, I honestly don't think that words are going to be able to sell this bill. People are going to be able to judge for themselves whether their care has improved or gotten worse. If the Republicans add to that through a constant drumbeat of the problems being caused, then any sales job for the bill will be hopeless.
Oh, I forgot to add in the real biggy in my earlier comment - Illegal Immigration reform.
Stick to your guns and be a respectable personal who has integrity.
Great article Andrew. I was one of those "mopers" yesterday. Now I'm going to take your advice and start contacting several reps a day until November.
I've been thinking of starting to address my own Rep. (Mike "fake pro-lifer" Doyle) as "Comrade". Is that inappropriate? I just can not bring myself to respectfully address these people anymore. They effectively defecated on every American over the weekend.
ACG, Stick to your guns is right, and don't forget what these people have done.
Great piece, Andrew. I'm going to pass this along to anyone who expresses their frustration at the Democrats' current and forcasted crapulence.
I fully expect more gaming by this government with insurance companies, like temporary agreements with them to reduce premiums for certain levels of income just before the elections (financed by more deficit spending, of course).
Everyone will have to be ready to point out such maneuvering as no different than 3rd world quasi dictators tossing candy out to the poor on election day to buy their votes.
Pitts, Thanks! Excellent! I'm glad you feel better today. Don't let the Dems get you down, use that energy against them.
As for being respectful, they are more likely to read respectful letters, but I too find it hard to give them any respect. Respect is earned, and not only have they not earned it, they've sacrificed whatever respect they started with.
Thanks Wahsatchmo! I'm glad you like it. Now is definitely the time to start fighting back, rather than just accepting the defeat. Definitely pass this on to everyone who needs it!
Your comparison to third world dictators is right. That's exactly who this administration has been acting. And you're right about the pre-election games they're going to play. We need to watch for those carefully.
BevfromNYC
"Fear them, not me. Submit to my will..."
Wait a minute isn't that Pelosi's line right before summoning the Flying Monkeys.
Andrew,
Thanks for the post. I have been late getting back to you b/c I twisted my ankle (but I am okay.)
I wanted to say that your post was a great because you really "talked it through."
The one question that nags me is this: I have NOT a little fear that our economy is collapsing. As a result, from time to time, I worry about donating money to the wrong people. And, lets be frank here, the question of how much to contribute.
We are seeing our assests dwindle, our tax burden increased and are afraid of being taken advantage of.
BTW, John McCain had been asking for money to help fight the healthcare bill and continues to e-mail me.
CrisD, Sorry to hear about your ankle, though I'm glad to hear you're ok.
You're welcome about the post. You're fears about the economy are well-founded. All the signs show bad things afoot.
If you can't donate money, but you have time, then volunteer. Every little bit helps. But in any event, you always need to take care of your family first.
McCain wants money huh? Strangely, he's not on the list of people I want to donate too. Must be an oversight? ;-)
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