Senator Nelson Thinks We're Stupid!

For the entire summer, thousands of Bill Nelson’s constituents have sent him letters and emails and made thousands of phone calls to his office asking his position on health care reform and encouraging Sen. Nelson to get firmly behind the Public Option.

He has been strangely silent, has not granted interviews, and has sent vague messages assuring us that he is working on the problem (between his python hunting photo ops). He sent one of his aides to our South Tampa Democrats' meeting in July, and she told us that the Senator favored a Public Option. After the cheering subsided, she continued...BUT he wants to make sure it is feasible, doesn't cost too much, etc. (His aide didn't have an answer to the question of whether the Senator was as concerned about cost before he voted for the War in Iraq that has cost more than the current health care proposals).

Senator Nelson is a member of the all-important Senate Finance Committee, who finally unveiled its bill yesterday—without a Public Option. Bill Nelson’s response to his constituents who seek cost savings for their small businesses and as individuals who have to buy health insurance in a monopolized market was that we are too stupid to understand the Public Option. After months of silence, our Senator plays the condescension card. Marvelous! That's leadership.

The Baucus Bill is an abomination. It is woefully inadequate to cut costs of health insurance. In idiot-speak that even the Senator's constituents understand, “it sucks.” It significantly increases costs to the middle class. Wendall Potter (former CIGNA executive and whistle blower on the insurance industry) calls it a “Gift to the Insurance Industry.”

Senator, is the Public Option “so complicated” because you and your committee members have outsourced the writing of the bill to the health insurance industry?

Senator Nelson is one of the key Senators that will be responsible for whether we can truly reform health care. If it doesn’t happen, we know who to hold accountable.

Senator, stop chasing the snakes in the Everglades and start rooting out the ones in Washington who are choking us with ever-increasing health insurance premiums.