Do You Remember?

Do you remember that time I spent ninety minutes researching and composing and sending an email to you, and you sent me back a sterilized, automated reply thanking me for the time I took to contact you, time I’ll never get back? Did you even notice the next email, and the next email, and the next email, to which you finally advised your secretary to write a somewhat personal email appreciating my opinions, but notifying me that you weren’t going to take my advice?

Do you remember standing on the House floor, declaring that you knew what was best for the American people? Do you remember turning a deaf ear to our thunderous denials? How could you not remember those infamous town hall meetings, where we warned you—“stay away from my kids!” and “thank you--it's not your right to decide if I keep my current [health] plan or not [1]!”

Do you remember my phone calls; did you ever get the messages your polished secretary promised to record and pass on? Do you know that I tried over and over for hours before I even got through to you on the phone?

Do you remember declaring so arrogantly, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it [2]”?

Do you remember the time I visited with you in person, and pleaded with you face to face? Do you remember how you sat there so diplomatically, with your fingers clasped, your tie perched just so on your neck, with wine bottles and glasses emblazoned on the silk, and your face unreadable?

Do you remember the representative who missed his son’s wedding because he could not risk missing the opportunity to cast his vote against the bill?

Do you remember our signs, our protests, our marches, our vigils, our prayer meetings, our debates on You Tube comment boards, and our passionate facebook, twitter, and blog messages?

Do you remember when you said, “Every single great idea that has marked the 21st century, the 20th century and the 19th century has required government vision and government incentive [3],” and we bellowed back that we wanted less government, not more?

You turned your back on us—you played the parent to us, the children. You chose for us, not with us or because of us. You forgot who your employer was, and you ignored the source of your paycheck. Some people would call this trailblazing—I call it unethical and irresponsible.

And now, you have learned. We are not the children here. We are the employers. We the people know what we want, and we will not allow a bill of goods to be shoved down our throats. If you will not listen, then you will be fired. You who have survived fourteen terms—gone. You who have proudly held the seat Mr. President vacated in 2008—gone. You who have run a campaign in all-blue smurfdom—it's suddenly red, and you're suddenly gone. You who have survived nine terms—gone. You who refused to listen—gone. You who held the most prominent seat in Congress—gone.

We will not sit down, shut up, or scatter. We recognize that good and evil are coalescing into two distinct entities in the United States—and those entities are not based on party lines. Keep the change—we don’t want any part of it. The American people have spoken.

Note: For our international readers (and any Americans who have been in a coma for the last week), the United States recently held its elections, which marked the largest power shift in Congress since 1948.

Picture by Ben Sutherland. Licensed under the Creative Commons.

[1] Hedrick, David. Town Hall Meeting with former US Congressman, Brian Baird, 2009.

[2] Pelosi, Nancy. 2010 Legislative Conference for National Association of Counties, March 3, 2010.

[3] Biden, Joe. Fundraising visit to Manhattan, October 26, 2010.