Would you mind putting your hypocrisy in writing?

(Click the highlighted links for source material.)

When you contact your representatives in Congress by email, they automatically add you to their mailing list, even if you criticize them repeatedly and complain loudly about the way they voted on certain issues. I don’t know why they do this unless they think that, by sending me a monthly report of the things that piss me off, they will somehow convert me to their way of thinking.

Either that, or they just really like pissing me off at my own expense.

In any case, they must believe that no one reads these newsletters, or if they do, they aren’t paying attention to them. Otherwise, why would they think it was a good idea to email me written proof of their blatant hypocrisy? I mean, only people who (a) can read and (b) pay attention to issues would recognize this to be true.

Just this week, for example, I received an email from Rep. David McKinley, my Republican representative in the House. He wanted me to know that he supports our nation’s community health centers.

“On Tuesday, I joined Reps. Jenkins and Mooney on a letter to House Leadership urging them to secure critical funding for our nation's community health centers,” he wrote. “The House has previously passed funding for these centers, but the Senate has yet to act. With the lack of certainty in funding, community health centers will…either cut jobs or critical services, such as behavioral health and substance abuse treatment. With the opioid crisis in our state being particularly acute, this is an untenable situation both for both patients and providers.”

I can click this link to read the whole letter. 

I guess Mr. McKinley thinks I should be impressed that he wants our state to have community health centers, which provide minimum health services such as prenatal care, baby immunizations, general primary care and referrals to specialists for people regardless of income, according to healthcare.gov. Emphasis on the word “referrals.” 

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for improving health care in West Virginia, but what happens if you need more medical care than these centers can provide, such as specialized treatment for mental health problems, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS? Unless I’m missing something, you need either money or health insurance for this level of follow-up care, and just a few months ago, Mr. McKinley was trying to repeal Obamacare and take away health insurance from 25 million people.

I know that because of another McKinley newsletter tidbit that was shoved into my inbox:

Rep. McKinley continues to pursue a repeal of the health care law that has led to double digit increases in the cost of health care for many West Virginia families. In its place, he believes we need reforms that will help ensure access to affordable, quality health care to all Americans without hurting our economy and adding to our national debt. We can do better. House Republicans have offered a better way….”

If you remember, that “better way” he was talking about would have reduced the taxes that helped to make the Affordable Care Act affordable. It also proposed to roll back state-by-state expansions of Medicaid, which covers millions of low-income Americans, and would have caused millions of other Americans to lose their health insurance altogether, including people with pre-existing conditions, older Americans and the poor. In addition, repealing the ACA would have taken away an important source of funding for…wait for it… community health centers. Oh, the irony. 

Republicans were only able to pass the bill (by a narrow margin) after promising that it would do things that simply weren’t true. Fortunately, several attempts to push similar bills through the Senate subsequently failed and Obamacare continues to this day.

So is McKinley really in favor of better health care or is he not? Let’s recap:

* As far as he is concerned, community health centers are good. You can go there if you’re pregnant, you have a cold or your baby needs a shot. Anything further requires a referral for advanced treatment and specialized care.

* However, if he had gotten his way, the ability of many West Virginians to pay for comprehensive health care through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid would have been curtailed or eliminated completely. He supported a replacement program that was opposed by virtually every health professional and medical organization in the country as well as several labor unions, the Children’s Defense Fund and the AARP.

* Both of these positions were clearly explained in McKinley’s newsletter, which was sent to my email unsolicited.

* I was apparently never expected to read the newsletter because by doing so, I uncovered the hypocrisy of these conflicting positions regarding health care. My guess is, most of the people who get this newsletter are McKinley supporters who will vote for him no matter what he says. Hypocrisy be damned.

* It’s hard to believe what McKinley says because his health care position seems to be all over the map. He’s for better health care except when he’s against it. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

I heard this week that the U.S. Congress has an approval rating of around 11 percent, and frankly, I’m surprised it’s that high. I would think that zero was a more appropriate number, considering how little regard our elected officials show for the wants, needs and desires of their constituents. It’s all about party politics now…that, and getting oneself re-elected.

As to that, in a few months, one-third of the U.S. Senate and all 435 members of the House of Representatives must stand for re-election. Unless things improve in a hurry (and they won’t), I’ll be okay if every one of them gets voted out of office and we start over again with a whole new slate.

I know for a fact that one of the 435 will not be getting a vote from me, especially if he keeps sending me written proof that he lacks the basic fitness for the office.