Since I started sending letters and emails to my U.S.
senators, they have both added my name to their newsletter mailing lists. Words
can’t describe my excitement. Recently, both of them sent me their latest editions and I’m eager to share the news with you.
First, you should know that when I wrote to Senators Joe
Manchin (D) and Shelley Moore Capito (R), I expressed my grave concern about
issues that are critical to the health and welfare of my wife, myself and other
people I know. For example, I pleaded with Mrs. Capito to vote against the
repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act because without its
protections for pre-existing conditions, my wife can’t get health insurance.
She had promised West Virginians that she had our best
interests at heart, announcing that she did not go to Washington to hurt
people. Then, as near as I can tell, she voted in favor of every version of the “repeal and replace” bill
that came to the floor.
I don’t know about every
West Virginian, but that certainly would have hurt the two of us.
Then I asked both senators to please keep their hands off my
Social Security and Medicare, which are essential to my wife and I if we are to
keep on living. In another year, we will both depend on Medicare for our health
insurance and Social Security accounts for a big chunk of our monthly income. Besides,
I pointed out, it was our money to begin with and Congress has no moral right
to steal it from us to award tax cuts to wealthy Republican donors.
That argument was apparently not sufficient to dissuade Mrs.
Capito from enthusiastically supporting the latest Republican budget proposal
which – last time I checked – would cut millions of dollars from Medicare and trillions
from Medicaid, which again seems like something that would actually hurt people
in West Virginia.
But wait! Not according to her newsletter:
“The Senate took the
first major step toward achieving comprehensive pro-growth tax reform by
passing the budget resolution this week. This is great news for all West
Virginians because it means we have an opportunity to grow our nation’s
economy, create jobs and put more money in the pockets of middle-class
families.
“Think about it this
way: Would you like to have more money to spend on the things you and your
family need? Well, this is exactly what we are trying to accomplish.”
Sorry, Mrs. Capito, but that’s just trickle-down economics
all over again. Give major tax breaks to the top 1% of the population and cut
business taxes for wealthy donors and a cornucopia of riches will trickle down
to Average Joe, his wife and six kids back here in West Virginia. It works to
perfection…except when it doesn’t. (Note:
It never has.)
So Mrs. Capito’s pledge to never hurt anyone is just as hollow
as, well, anything Donald Trump has said since he started running for
president. Thanks, Shel. You have proven to be everything that I expected … and
so much Moore.
Manchin is a slightly different animal. A Democrat except
when he’s not, Joe did vote against
repealing the ACA and against the Republican budget (thanks for that!) but is “proud”
to support President Trump’s rollback of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan so that 20
more coal miners can keep their jobs while the environment goes to hell.
"The EPA’s proposed
rule to roll back the Clean Power Plan is long overdue and welcome good news
for West Virginia,” Manchin’s newsletter boasts. "This reversal demonstrates
the Trump Administration’s willingness to work with West Virginia, instead of
against us, to prevent EPA overreach and utilize state-driven policies.
“I look forward to working with President Trump, his Administration
and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress to put partisanship
aside and set our nation on a course to secure our energy future.”
Trump, Trump Trump… I’m sorry, Joe, but for a Democrat, you seem to have way too
many Trump references in your newsletter. Frankly, I don’t want you working
with President Trump on anything, unless maybe you could help guide him out the
front door of the White House and into a waiting prison bus, and I really don’t
want you bragging about him to your constituents.
* * *
Ironically, another item in Joe’s missive advertises free black
lung screenings by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in
the coal mining towns of Matewan and Oceana. It’s like he was saying, “Go ahead
and mine the coal, fellas, and when the coal dust makes you sick and you can no
longer breathe, we’ll check your lungs out for free.”
Then, after they get checked out, those miners can receive
treatment for their black lung disease by using their Medicaid benefits. Right,
Mrs. Capito?
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