Everbody needs one and mine is very blue and has had the message stuck where the sun does not shine. He is a very long term Dem who is only about 14 months from being my ex-Blue Dawg Dem.

I sent my Congressman a rather stern letter and, to my surprise, got a stock letter back.

A friend who one of the office managers at this Congressman's office claimed he got over 50,000 nastygrams over one weekend after he voted for the Cap 'n Trade tax increases.

The Fat Lady is already hummin' but he has a chance if he can be a blocker for the good guys.....

His response:

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Dear John,

Thank you for contacting me about national health care reform legislation. Like most hard-working Americans, I believe we need to make health care more affordable for everyone. But, on an issue this important, it is much better to take the time and get it right than to get it done quickly. That is why I helped ensure that no bill would be considered in the House this summer.

Currently, we spend one out of every six dollars in the United States on health care, and the cost of health care is rising twice as fast as inflation with no end in sight. Tennessee's small business owners and other hard working people are telling me they can't keep up with the cost of their health insurance premiums. Insurance costs for small businesses have risen 129% since 2000. If we do nothing, these costs will further strain families and businesses, and will threaten to bankrupt the country as well. It will be impossible to cut the national debt unless we deal with health care spending.

There are several principles that I believe must be addressed in any health care reform measure: the package must be deficit neutral; it must make health coverage more affordable for individuals and small businesses; it must ensure coverage is portable when you change or lose your job; it must end barriers to coverage for people who get sick or have a pre-existing medical condition; and it must ensure that insurance companies are not able to deny, limit, or specially price your insurance because of a pre-existing condition. I do not support a single-payer health care system. Health care reform must preserve the employer-based health care system so Americans can choose their own doctors and hospitals.No one, including the government or your insurance company, should be able to make life-and-death decisions for you.

There has been a great deal of misinformation out there. AARP and other organizations are working to clarify this information. To read aboutmyths and facts related to health care reform, you can visit AARP's health page at .http://www.aarp.org/health

There is no single bill before Congress right now, there are five different health care reform proposals in the House and Senate and several more steps in the legislative process before any legislation will be enacted.Passing no bill at all is better than passing something that makes things worse. I hope that we can improve the health care system for everyone, and will continue to work with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to accomplish this. Thank you again for contacting me.

G

Member of Congress