3/12/2010

Until the Obama Occupation of the White House just over a year ago, the idea of faxing or emailing Rep. Baron Hill (left), a U.S. Congressman in Indiana's 9th District, had close to zero chance of turning up on my to-do list.

But, until the Obama Occupation, how many among us who lived outside of Massachusetts would have been so keenly aware of an emerging politician named Scott Brown? Or the number of pro-life Democrats in the House? Or the definition of Senate "reconciliation"?

With our Democracy on the brink, I've joined countless thousands of fellow Americans in an outreach targeting members of Congress, urging staunch rejection of Obamacare, demanding that these elected officials heed the will of a majority of Americans. (The newest Gallup poll finds 48% would advise their Congressmen to vote against the monstrosity, even as it approaches ramming speed).

People who are paying attention recognized long ago that the sweeping legislation sought by Obama, Pelosi and Reid is not health insurance reform but a Socialist takeover of the U.S. economy that fundamentally changes the relationship of citizens to the federal government, does nothing to rein in the high costs of insurance premiums, medical procedures or prescription drugs, and ignores the dire need to end frivolous lawsuits that spawn defensive medicine.

So the choice is clear: Do nothing and assume that the America we've always cherished will weather the Obama Occupation, or rise up and do whatever it takes to stop this, including faxes sent to Democrats like Baron Hill of Indiana.

Even this simple exercise reveals what we are up against. Just because members of Congress have fax numbers (easily located on web sites or in various directories), repeated attempts to fax them can be futile of late. No fewer than a dozen out of 30 key House Democrat Obamacare voters could not be reached this past week by fax, based on my experiences. They've gone into hiding. I suspect they've conveniently instructed Washington staffers to stop adding paper. The obvious alternative is email, but many of these same "public servants" have rigged their web sites to restrict electronic communications to residents of their districts.

At a time when every member of Congress needs to be aware of broad public sentiment against nationalized health insurance legislation, the elected lawmakers listed here are cowering in the shadows: Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Jim Himes (CT-4); Bill Foster (IL-14); Baron Hill (IN-9); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1); Tim Bishop (NY-1); Mike Arcuri (NY-24); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); John Spratt (SC-5); Alan Mollohan (WV-1); and Nick Rahall (WV-3). Kilroy's web site, however, does not restrict emailing from within her district.

As for the others, we must not be deterred. We must find alternate fax and phone numbers (in district offices, for example). We must track these people down and get in their faces, and let them see the glint of Patriotic determination in our eyes. We must keep the pressure on until the bitter end. And it will be bitter. Why must we soldier on? Why is it up to me and you to do the work of the Washington political elite? TheNational Review's Richard Lowry said it quite well in a recent essay entitled, "Defend Her".

"...It is blindness to ignore that American exceptionalism has homegrown enemies -- people who misunderstand the sources of American greatness or think them outdated. If they succeed, we will be less free, less innovative, less rich, less self-governing, and less secure.