He's sticking to the party line, and not interested in acknowledging or addressing the problems with the bill. His form letter amasses one-sided, factually challenged platitudes. But he thanks me for being in touch! I'm sure he's a nice man, and I know he's busy. But form letter responses to heartfelt communications from constitutents are a pain in the ass. Plus he's wrong.

So I responded, on the off chance that someone somewhere might actually read what I wrote:

Dear Senator Merkley,

Thank you for responding to my letter. I appreciate your wish to reform US health care -- I agree that the status quo is far from optimal, and that we do need to reform the system so that doctors can deliver care, patients can receive it, and middlemen aren't able to distort the entire process by jacking up costs on both ends and controlling what care is given and who can get it. But don't you see -- the government will be an *even worse* middleman than the insurance companies are!! We need private solutions, not government intervention.

Please look closely at the health care systems in Britain and Canada--don't let some lobbyist or special interest tell you what's true, or some staffer who is going to tell you what he or she thinks you want to hear. Do your own homework--and find out what it's really like for people in those countries. Years of waiting to see primary care docs. Dangerous conditions left untreated for months because of rationing. Politicized decisions about who gets care and who doesn't. Devaluation of the lives of the elderly and the disabled. Good doctors running as hard as they can to get out--leaving only mediocrity behind. Did you read Peter Singer's appalling and intellectually dishonest rationale for why government can and should be in the business of placing comparative values on human life, published this week in the New York Times? How can you sign on to that?

As for the myth that more than 40 million Americans can't get health care coverage, please take a moment to watch this.

I urge you to watch the short film linked above, as well as the others linked on that page. They tell the truth about Canadian health care, and pose a cautionary tale for us. Please open your eyes before it's too late.

Setting aside the specific issue of health care, you and your fellow senators and representatives need to stop accumulating terrifying, unnecessary debt. Apart from being a terrible bill that will not address the problems we have, the health care bill will cost far more than we can pay. DO NOT DO THIS TO US. I do not carry personal debt and never have. I live within my means, and sacrifice accordingly. I do not get everything I want -- but I don't expect anyone to bail me out, either. Our government should also operate by those principles. You compromise our freedom in unconscionable ways when you do not.

We elect you to protect and sustain our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Right now, Congress doesn't seem to care about any of these things. You are treating the American people like stupid sheep who can't think or act for themselves. With the stimulus bills, cap and trade, and the health care bill, you are ramming badly written legislation down our throats as fast as you can, as if you have forgotten your duty to serve and represent--and are instead racing to push through a massive rewriting of the very concept of America before anyone can act to stop you. Forgive my bluntness, but it's as if you and your fellow elected leaders think you can pick our pockets at will, whether we want what you are doing with our money or not.

PLEASE STOP. Take a step back. Consult reality--and not the rarified air of Washington. Be a real champion for the people of Oregon and the people of the United States--not just a passenger on a bandwagon bound for disaster.