Dueling messages over pointless ‘repeal’ vote

Believe it or not, long after she gave up her bid for the presidency (shudder!), Michele Bachmann continues to write to me quite often, asking for money. Here’s today’s excuse:

Dear Fellow Conservative,

Today, the House of Representatives will take the first step towards Obamacare’s ultimate demise by voting to repeal it on the House floor.

Today’s vote is an important symbol for our party’s resolve against Obamacare — but with a Democrat-controlled Senate and President who is still in office, it remains just that: a symbol. To really start the work of dismantling President Obama’s disastrous expansion of big government, we must take back the Senate, keep the House, and defeat President Obama in November’s elections.

That’s why I’m asking you to help show the Democrats and the media that we’re ready to take back our government by making a contribution towards victory over Barack Obama’s agenda.

Will you donate $20.12 today to make a statement that 2012 will be the year we take our country back?

Winning in November will not be easy. As the leader in Congress against Obamacare since its introduction, Democrats have already targeted me and if the past is a predictor, they will spend millions to defeat me. They’ve nominated a self-funded, union-backed liberal to oppose me, and my multi-millionaire opponent has already poured in over $100,000 of his own money to defeat me.

Today’s repeal vote is sure to remind them of what they stand to lose when we win. As election day gets closer, the attacks will surely get stronger, but I won’t back down – as long as I can continue to count on you on my side!

You can bet I will be on the House floor fighting in full force for repeal of Obamacare – but I also want to give you an opportunity to fight back by making a special donation of $20.12 today.

Will you help me advance my record of leadership of fighting against Obamacare today by making a special contribution?

To repeal Obamacare we have a lot of work ahead of us. There are less than 120 days until election day, and I’ll spend each of them working from dawn until dusk to put us on the best possible footing to repeal Obamacare and implement our conservative agenda next January.

The future of our nation deserves no less than our full efforts. We don’t have much time, but together we can take our nation back. I hope to have your continued support.

Sincerely,


Michele Bachmann

Sorry, Michele. Promising me more of this same nonsense if I’ll support your team isn’t the way to get me interested.

I’m slightly more charmed by this appeal today from the Democrats:

Brad —

Today, House Republicans will vote to repeal President Obama’s health care reform—for the 31st time. To commemorate this landmark event we’re giving away free stickers, because c’mon. It’s Constitutional: Get Over It.

First, forward this message to five friends. Then, click here and we’ll send you a free sticker (pictured below).

If you can’t believe House Republicans went to the trouble of 31 meaningless votes, then click here to celebrate this historic waste of time.

Jason Rosenbaum
DSCC Director of Online Communications

P.S. Remember to forward this message to five people! Then click here to get this sticker!

Of course, that sort of misses the point, too. Just because something’s constitutional doesn’t mean the House can’t vote against it.

But I’m with you on the “Get over it” part. Basically, the House GOP is going through this farce only as a fund-raising gambit, like much of what Congress does in keeping with its habit of doing what’s best for political parties rather than the country. No one, but no one, expects this idiotic “repeal” nonsense ever to have the force of law. By the illogic of political parties, it’s perfect legislation: None of them who vote for repeal will ever have to pay any price for actually having repealed Obamacare, but by deliberately frustrating the more excitable parts of the party’s base this way, the party pulls in money.

What? You think “perfect legislation” would be something that actually benefited the country? Well, aren’t you just adorable in your Pollyanna notions of how Washington works…

7 thoughts on “Dueling messages over pointless ‘repeal’ vote

  1. Brad

    FYI… Of course, Joe Wilson is “proud” to make this meaningless gesture:

    Wilson Proud to Support the Repeal of Obamacare Act
    (Washington, DC) – Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statement the House passed H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act.
    “The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the President’s government healthcare takeover bill is disastrous for our Nation’s economy. The 2,700 page bill that was shoved down the throats of every American without their consent has already had over 13,000 pages of government regulations written to implement it. These overreaching government policies will continue to cause great economic uncertainty, slowing economic growth and limiting job creation opportunities for the approximately thirteen million unemployed Americans who are searching for a job. With a national unemployment rate that has remained at or above eight percent for the past forty-one months, it is clear that the President’s liberal policies are failing our economy and destroying jobs.
    “Our Nation cannot afford the $1.76 trillion price tag or the twenty-one tax hikes soon to be imposed on America’s small businesses as a result of full implementation of Obamacare. In order to put our economy back on the path towards prosperity and success, Congress must pass healthcare reform legislation aimed at preserving the doctor-patient relationship while promoting private sector job growth. As a proud cosponsor of this legislation, it is my hope that the liberal-controlled Senate will take immediate action and pass this bill, rather than leaving it stalled in the Senate graveyard.”

  2. Joanne

    Thanks. I’ll use this in my classes as an example of propaganda using loaded language.

  3. Karen McLeod

    1. I’m glad I don’t get idiotic emails like these (yea, spamblocker)!

    2. How does Joe Wilson think it got passed if the majority of congress, which was elected by the people, didn’t vote for it. Does that mean that every act of congress needs repealed because we didn’t consent to them?

  4. bud

    The 2,700 page bill that was shoved down the throats of every American without their consent ..
    -You Lie

    No Joe the bill was not “shoved down anyones throat without their consent. It was passed by large majorities in both houses of Congress and signed into law by the president. All done by ELECTED officials. Seriously “You Lie” go back to school and learn some civics. And while you’re at learn some manners.

  5. Norm Ivey

    The PP&ACA was less than 1000 pages. It’s a minor point, but these kinds of lazy claims make me question the details of his other claims.

  6. Burl Burlingame

    Congress has voted more than 30 times on bogus “repeals” of Obamacare. Even more on rollbacks of abortion rights. So far, however, not one bill concerning job creation.

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