By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
The point of the letter is to oppose health care legislation. Instead, it shines a light on a different issue: The death of real debate in this country.
It’s one of hundreds of letters floating around, manufactured by lobbying groups somewhere, forwarded again and again. All are intended to be personalized by the person who finally sends a letter off to a member of Congress or media outlet.
This particular letter, however, was missing a few things: “One of the ‘yes’ votes for this harmful legislation was cast by our own Rep. XXXXXXX.”
The letter went on to add that the writer “couldn’t be more disappointed with his/her vote.”
And, finally, it said: “We should call Congresswo/man and tell him/her that s/he …”
This example was anti-health care. There are just as many from the pro-camp. We just didn’t have one that hadn’t been personalized.
All are easy to spot. Suddenly, there are a lot of writers who share not only the same general idea, but the exact same phrasing. Now, this would be a disappointing trend by itself. But the phenomenon of letting others dictate our deepest political thoughts is hardly limited to the general public.
During congressional debate on health care, consider the words that slipped from the mouths of Kansan Lynn Jenkins, Texan K. Michael Conaway and Nebraskan Lee Terry, all Republican U.S. representatives.
After noting they’d all criticized parts of the bill, echoing “rightfully so,” each added the same words: “I do believe the sections relating to the creation of a market for biosimilar products is one area of the bill that strikes the appropriate balance in providing lower cost options.”
Huh? Well, it is pretty common phrasing…
The New York Times noted that a single company wrote statements that were used, at least in part, by both Democrats and Republicans.
“Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points — 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats… Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, said: ‘I regret that the language was the same. I did not know it was.’ ”
Ah, well, there’s a great excuse. Haven’t we all tried that one in school essentially saying, “I know I was cheating, but I didn’t think the teacher was looking.”
Our representative democracy is one of the more wonderful inventions of the past several centuries. It’s a tragedy to leave it in the hands of a few wordsmiths, no matter how clever (or, more likely, milquetoast) their phrasing. Political discourse can last, and poetic, deeply felt discourse can have a life as long as the legislation.
So express that passion or outrage, and do it for or against the prevailing political winds. But do it in your own words.
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Where would the Star staff be without their Move On
The Star Board should remove their own house swine from the feeder trough of liberal nonsense, i.e. Move On, Politico, Huffington, CNN and MSNBC. This Star Board editorial is ludicrous considering their frequent sources of what they call "news". The absurd inanities of effete liberal boors fly out of the internet and into their columns faster than you can say download.
Haha
You guys are going to lecture us on debate, when you can't even see fit to have a balanced editorial board so there will be some debate? You have filled the board with all liberals except one. Buy a clue you pinheads. And watch as your subscriptions continue to plummet.
Matt must not have looked
"This example was anti-health care. There are just as many from the pro-camp. We just didn’t have one that hadn’t been personalized."
I was able to find two personalized letter from the pro-camp in the Topeka Capital-Journal during the last few days, including one that was submitted by a pastor:
http://cjonline.com/opinion/2009-11-17/letter_pass_reform_bill
But quoting someone else is OK, isn't it?
Especially when the columnist being quoted is a member of the left side of the political spectrum, but is incensed by the hypocrisy of the Democrat-led Congress.
Camille Paglia:
"....no healthcare bill is worth the paper it's printed on when the authors ostentatiously exempt themselves from its rules. The solipsistic members of Congress want us peons to be ground up in the communal machine, while they themselves gambol on the flowering meadow of their own lavish federal health plan. Hypocrites!"
Cleaver? Moore? That's you she's talking about.
Hypocrites.