I try not to read, let alone respond to the conservative blogs. But for some reason, I just had to write to this woman's blog about my state. I could have written for days, because there is so much to respond to, but I just expressed what first came to mind when I read her entry and some of the responses. Of course, my entry is still "awaiting moderation" and may be waiting for a long, long time, so I thought I'd share it with my fellow DUers.
The blog is TX Trendy Chick, and her entry is titled, "Sorry Wisconsin."
http://www.txtrendychick.com/2011/03/sorry-wisconsin/#comment-224"You know, I feel for the protestors in Wisconsin. No, I really do! I remember quite vividly how I felt watching C-SPAN the night of March 21, 2010 as Obamacare was passed. I felt defeated and physically pained watching my country take that kind of turn, one I fought so hard against. I sat in my living room and cried.
"But the sun rose the next day, I was still breathing, and life went on. The world kept turning despite the government defying the will of the people. Last night those protestors who had fought for weeks to save the majority of their collective bargaining rights lost their fight. And the earth continues to orbit the sun, hearts still beat, and birds still chirp.
"Like I said, I know how those protestors feel and I’m sorry they’ve had to experienced that kind of defeat.
(Note: I’m not sorry they lost, just sorry they’re upset.)
...more...Here's my response:Yes, you survived the passage of health care reform. You know why? Because Health Care Reform actually HELPS people. Also, it was passed after months and months of debate and legal votes. So even though you don't agree with the concept of ensuring that more Americans are able to have access to health care, you DID wake up in the morning... as did some babies who will not be denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, and college students who have the choice of paying premiums and remaining on their parents' health insurance policy a year longer. Whew, we all survived, and, lo and behold, there were no death panels!
However, we wake up this morning in Wisconsin, knowing that Walker can sell our power plants to the Koch brothers with NO BID! How can that be fiscally responsible? We woke up knowing that funding to schools is being cut dramatically, as is the schools' ability to collect any more revenues to cover that shortfall, so teachers will HAVE to be fired, and kids will have to be educated in larger class sizes, and with reduced access to computers, books, science equipment and art supplies. We woke up this morning knowing that we will be losing even MORE federal funding than the hundreds of millions that Walker has already turned away. We woke up this morning knowing that access to health care will actually be taken away from some of the poor, so, you know what? Some of them might NOT wake up TOMORROW morning. And we woke up this morning knowing that even though the republicans had the votes in the Assembly to pass the bill, they STILL, in their arrogance, broke and law and legislative rules, in order to ram this through. They didn't have to do that - they could have just been a little patient and tolerant - they could have listened to the discussion - they could have even PRETENDED to listen. But they didn't like hearing from people who disagreed with them, both inside and outside the chamber, and they certainly didn't want to be late for their little fundraising party in DC, so they dropped all pretense of respect for the people of the state and for the laws that govern our state, and they announced their dictates.
If our 14 Senators hadn't left the state to slow the process down, this bill would have been pushed through in 2 days. Nobody would have had a clue as to what is in it until after it was signed into law. Even some of the Republicans admitted that they didn't know what was in the bill they voted for! I can't thank our State Senators enough for being willing to be away from their families and homes, and suffer through the nastiness heaped upon them by the republican leadership, in order to provide an opportunity for people to READ the bill, debate its strengths and weaknesses, and learn about the impact that it will have on the lives of Wisconsinites. Even the conservative polls are showing that the people of the State of Wisconsin were overwhelmingly against passing this bill in the way it was written. After all, what was just passed "didn't have a fiscal element," right? Otherwise they couldn't have voted on it while the 14 Dem Senators were still out of state. So if it doesn't have a fiscal element, how does it balance our budget? It gets a bit confusing when the people who wrote and support the bill can't even give a consistent story on what is in it or what its impact will be.
But one thing we can say for Republicans, they're obedient! No matter what their differences, take them into a closed caucus, and they all come out in agreement. Well, I don't want a submissive, obedient robot representing me, I'll stick with the men and women who think rationally, who have compassion and empathy, and who will stand up and fight for me, even when they know they're being rolled over by the Corporate-funded Koch machine that is crushing the working class of our state.
So there you have it, from a self-employed lifelong Wisconsinite to a Texan with a Coco Chanel quote featured on her blog. You cared enough to express your opinion from over 1,000 miles away about what is happening in my state. I hope you'll share the viewpoint of someone who IS waking up feeling the pain of knowing that my life, the environment of my state, and the lives of many, many middle and lower class Wisconsinites could be damaged beyond repair.
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