Of course, they’ve already gotten a workout, as you’ve no doubt been calling your House member and two senators, plus the White House, Speaker’s office and Harry Reid’s office too… But tonight’s call should be a bit more fun.
You might remember the story about my congressman. I’m supposedly represented by Allen West – the Iraqi police officer abuser, misogynistic teabagger who stood by approvingly as I was removed from an event billed as a “town hall meeting” and arrested for daring to challenge him with a QUESTION about his stance on privatizing medicare.
Well, Congressman West – stuck in DC due to the default crisis manufactured by his party – will tonight hold his second “Tele-TownHall”. The good news is that they can’t arrest you over the phone, and you actually get to ask your question! But be forewarned: as I learned during the first such event, say everything you want to say while you have the chance because, if you challenge him, they’ll mute your call as soon as you pause for his answer.
But you can get through. Just call early, and have an “acceptable” question ready to tell the screener.
I’m not the only one encouraging you to call this sorry excuse for a representative. Americans United for Change sent out this email last night:
Rep. Allen West has some explaining to do … about, for one thing, the vote to destroy Medicare and Medicaid while refusing to raise taxes on millionaires or have hedge fund managers’ taxes rates at least equal to the rates of those who clean their offices!
You can make him do it. Rep. West is holding a “Teletown Hall” over the phone on Wednesday, July 27th at 7:00 pm. You can participate by calling 877-229-8493 and dialing in the passcode 17808#.
Are you interested in helping us stand up to Allen West?
It’s so important that we all pitch in and participate. When they vote for policies that throw us under the bus, we need to stand up. We need to hold them accountable.
We have the information for the event now all we need is for you to call in.
Here’s a few questions you deserve to have answered:
Why did you vote to destroy Medicare and replace it with a voucher to buy private insurance that will raise the cost of health care for seniors by more than $6,000 in the first year alone?
Why did you vote to gut elementary schools, Head Start, Pell Grants and health care for seniors instead of saving billions by ending taxpayer-funded subsidies for oil and gas companies?
Will you support sneak attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security by supporting arbitrary, mandatory cuts in all federal spending instead of bringing the deficit down by a combination of both cuts where they make sense and revenue raisers like a tax on millionaires?
Will you support President Obama’s plan to rein in Medicare spending in part by lifting the Republican ban that bars the government from using its purchasing power to negotiate with drug companies on the prices of prescriptions?
WHAT: Hold Rep. Allen West accountable at his town hall meeting
WHEN: Wednesday, July 27 at 7:00 pm
HOW: Call in at 877-229-8493 and dial in the passcode 17808#
Of course, you can ask him why he carried out a mock execution on an Iraqi civilian police officer; why he’s afraid of strong women; why he associates with the South Florida Outlaws motorcycle gang; and even about his response to Kevin McCarthy’s screening of this scene from Ben Affleck’s film The Town:
The Washington Post reports on the incident:
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the party’s vote counter, began his talk by showing a clip from the movie, “The Town”, trying to forge a sense of unity among the independent-minded caucus.One character asks his friend: “I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later.”
“Whose car are we gonna take,” the character says.
After showing the clip, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), one of the most outspoken critics of leadership among the 87 freshmen, stood up to speak, according to GOP aides.
“I’m ready to drive the car,” West replied, surprising many Republicans by giving his full -throated support for the plan.
Well, that’s my Congressman! So call tonight, and ask the questions that need to be asked.
This morning on the show, I’ll speak with Franco Ripple of Florida Young Democrats and American’s United for Change about West. Plus, I’ll have him weigh in on the murder of 67 young political activists in Norway (a group whose closest equivalent here is the Young Democrats) by a right wing extremist, and Glenn Beck’s contention that it sounds like the “Hitler youth”…
In the second hour of today’s show, I’ll have a meeting of the minds with Dave Johnson. I’m not really sure what he does for a living, but he certainly collects a lot of fees and you can find his writings at the Campaign for America’s Future….