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On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Albuquerque, more than 200 people gathered to “sound the alarm” to our nation’s Capitol, and tell President Barack Obama to stand firm to the Public Option Now integral part of any healthcare reform.
Nineteen days earlier, more than 50 Santa Fe residents gathered and formed the Grassroots for Public Option group and passed the word about Sunday’s rally where they decided Albuquerque was a more central area, (not to mention the fact the Santa Fe Fiesta was occurring the same day.)
State Senators Dede Feldman and Jerry Ortiz y Pino spoke to the crowd Sunday, which was bearing signs that nearly all demanded a public option in healthcare.
Organizer Gaye Pollitt said getting Obama elected was the easy part, and scores of volunteers are needed to ensure the GOP doesn’t spoil the necessary legislation.
“We’re a little behind in the power curve, but we are here now and we’re loud enough for Washington to hear us,” she said. “Don’t let corporate giants win. Put the public option in.”
Feldman chided the “racist rumor mill, using scare tactics” and told the crowd there is an urgency to act.
Supporters and University of New Mexico students Jana Morehouse, 24, and Megan Jackson, 21, said they can’t afford health insurance, let alone doctor’s bills.
“If I get sick, I stay home,” said Morehouse, who said an acquaintance of hers had been paying health insurance premiums through his job for more than 10 years. Once diagnosed with cancer, however, the man is being denied treatment that could save his life.
Sen. Pino told the crowd that while the eighth anniversary of 9/11 was being marked the year, and 3,000 people died in that tragedy, “yet 18,000 Americans die each year because they have no health insurance.
“That’s six times more – every year,” Pino said, who also said he was astounded there were Democrats who are not on board for the public option.
“We can’t have any meaningful reform with the public option,” he said.
Now is the time to call your representatives in Congress, the White House, and in state legislation to insure they are supporting, (and not wavering on) a public option. There are nearly 50 million Americans who cannot afford insurance.
As Sen. Feldman said, “When fortune turns on one of us, the rest of use are there to lend a hand.”
It is a simple as the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others as You Would Have them Do to You. How can a Congressman, in good conscience, considering the gold star coverage he gets, not want to take care of his fellow man? Let your voice be heard!
For more info: recovery.gov
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