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Members of Congress: The following polls clearly demonstrate that the American people do not want "health care reform."
CNN from Oct. 15: eight of 10 Americans satisfied with quality of health care.
Rasmussen from Oct. 26: 53 percent of Americans believe quality of care will get worse and 45 percent support it.
Pew from Oct. 8: 47 percent against 34 percent of Americans generally oppose "health care reform."
FoxNews from Oct. 15: 54 percent against 35 percent oppose "health care reform."
"Health care reform" under the direction of its proposed 33 new bureaucracies will fail as have all other federal government "programs" including but not limited to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, ACORN and the Mustang Ranch.
"Health care reform" under any of its present five configurations is unconstitutional under numerous provisions of the U.S. Constitution, including but not limited to Article I, Section 8, not an enumerated power of Congress, Amendment I freedom of choice, Amendment V deprived of property without due process, Amendment IX rights not enumerated and Amendment X rights of the people.
Members of Congress, you have a constitutional obligation according to your oath of office to vote "nay" on any of the current five versions of "health care reform" or revisions thereof. You also have a responsibility to "we the people" and specifically to your constituents to improve the present system through such rational initiatives as tort reform, control of rampant corruption (typical of government run programs), release of insurance companies so they may compete, etc. And you have a responsibility to do this without greasing your own palms.
A "yea" vote will assure your defeat in any future elections. The current, 40 percent and growing, population of grass-roots independents will defeat you. Your 20 percent and declining liberal base cannot save you.
Millard J. Blanchard
Blairsville