I have to confess. There is a part of this job, this whole "Member of Congress" experience, that I'm just not any good at. In fact, I'm awful at it.
I just can't bring myself to kiss up to lobbyists. That's why I need your help.
Example One: A lobbyist tried to convince that I should vote against health care reform, because people don't want health care.
I honestly was stunned by the utter swinishness of that statement. That lobbyist had health coverage; why wouldn't he want others to have it?
Then I asked him if he had any polling on that. Suddenly, that lobbyist got real quiet.
Let's face it. I'm not going to see a $5000 PAC check from that lobbyist any time soon. (I'm sure my opponent will, though.) But I'm proud to turn to you for support, at our website www.CongressmanWithGuts.com.
Example Two: The head of a trade association came to my office with members of his association, and told me that if a particular bill passed, his members would be subject to onsite inspection. I told him that wasn't true. He insisted it was. So I had the staff provide him with a copy of the bill, and I asked him to show me where it said that. He spent the rest of the meeting thumbing through the bill, pretending to look for something that wasn't there.
No $5000 PAC check to my campaign from him, either. But I know that my opponent will get one.
You make it possible for me to survive in office without that $5000 check. There is no alternative. I need your help. And now you know why. Please go to our website, www.CongressmanWithGuts.com.
Who owns Washington? The lobbyists, or us? It's up to you. Please help.
Follow Rep. Alan Grayson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/alangrayson
Until that happens - money will scream loud enough to drown us out. The corporations will just pass on the expense to us - and we will continue to finance the legislation that enslaves us!
Today they could have added the public option to a reconciliation bill that could have passed with a simple majority, without endangering the Act.
Are we to believe that a President, Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House with historic majorities couldn’t get a public option–which roughly 65% of the country supported–if they really wanted one. If they all really wanted to include a public option, they could have done it using reconciliation. To accept their many different excuses of powerlessness takes a complete suspension of reality.
Insurers got 30 million mandated customers, minimal enforcement of regulations, and no government competition. All those billions in forced premiums ensurer that their lobbyists will continue to trump any voter majority on reforms from here on out.
Even you entered an amendment for medicare buy-in to the House reconciliation bill and withdrew it without a vote.
In the end, the reconciliation bill still had to go to the House. So they could have voted on a public option amendment and gotten it with 50 votes. Now we get more 60 vote nonsense later. No vote to let us know who stood with us.
Now we know the truth. None of you do.
And you should have listened to that first lobbyist about the healthcare bill.
America (and likely your constituents) did not want it. Here are your polls:
http://www.pollster.com/polls/us/healthplan.php
any chance we can get you to run for Senate here in Illinois? Or maybe get a clone of you?
Mr. Grayson the members of congress sold their souls years ago to corporate rats who have now been protected by the very members over and above the american people. Nothing changes until the democrats in the congress get the corporate rats out of the government.
But it also seemed that President Obama was the Clint Eastwood of politics while he was campaigning. And because of what he SAID, many individuals donated to him believing that he would fight for us. But then he dismissed single payer as if it was a foregone conclusion that we should even fight for it, and he traded the Public Option away to hospitals in a secret meeting.
I look forward to Grayson DELIVERING on his talk as it seems very few with the best interests of the American people at heart are able to get into office without overcoming the entire status quo system that is set up to work against them.
I agree though; they say anything to get elected. All of them.
But Grayson has been swimming against the current during a time when speaking out is electoral suicide. I support his efforts.
Get lobbyists out of D.C., for-profits out of health care, and corporations out of "We The People."
For starters.