Urging my congressman to sustain the SCHIP veto

I just received an email from the Mark Udall campaign asking me to write a note to Congressman Udall (my representative) urging him to vote to override President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP expansion. The campaign web site was even kind enough to provide me with a form letter and some writing tips. Needless to say, I made a few changes to their suggested letter. Here’s what I sent Mark Udall…

Dear Congressman Udall,

On Thursday, I urge you to vote to sustain President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill. This veto helps protect the best, if not perfect, health care system in the world.

While SCHIP itself is already unconstitutional, the expansion proposed by Democrats is nothing more than a giant step toward implementing HillaryCare.

There is no excuse for giving hundreds of thousands of people incentive to drop private insurance in order to get “free” government coverage, meaning letting them pick the pockets of their fellow citizens to cover their health care costs. There is no excuse for letting adults into a program explicitly created for children. There is no excuse for letting middle-class earners into a program explicitly created for the poor or near-poor.

All evidence from foreign countries which have socialized medicine shows that it is a disaster with worse outcomes, long lines, and citizens who come to the US for the health care if the can afford it.

Even General Motors and the United Auto Workers just agreed on a new contract which eliminated what was essentially socialized medicine for retirees, realizing the existing plan would bankrupt GM and that the retirees would end up with nothing.

If even auto workers realize that socialism is doomed to failure, it’s hard to imagine why anyone else should still support it.

I urge you to stand up for liberty, for quality health care, for the right of people and their doctors to make medical decisions without the interference of Big Nanny government, and vote to sustain President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP expansion.

Thank you.