Mr. Wamp,
Your remarks sound eerily as if you may be hinting at seceding along with any other Southern governors. When you start mentioning state sovereignty giving Tennessee the right to say no to Washington and that you will fight with every ounce of your being to defend it, I have to ask: do you really want to go there even by implication?

The arguments have all been made along with the counter arguments, but I cannot resist reminding you of the largest unfunded mandate during the Conservative Republican reign, tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. The Medicare drug bill, not to mention the “hidden” cost of the war.

The bill is not a government takeover of health care, but you know that as well as I do.

ver 50% of Americans voted for President Obama knowing full well that his primary campaign promise was health care reform.

I realize you have been in constant communication with other Republican governors, but have you personally called on any of your constituency in Tennessee who lost their health care due to a job loss, or to a mother of a child with a preexisting condition? You can find some of these good folks in the emergency room of our local public hospital any day of the week. Or, I could give you a list of people to call on whose stories of insurance abuse and denial might cause you to change your mind.

But, actually, I don’t think it would because you and other Republicans are only determined to stop this President, at all cost. I have not heard one Republican leader speak out against the bill board signs displayed at the tea party rallies. You know the ones: We left our guns at home – this time - or the ones calling President Obama a Nazi. I have not heard one Republican leader denounce the hateful things that are being said about President Obama. Everyone knows that this anti Obama rhetoric has moved far into the dangerous zone, even the ones who are doing it. And shame on all of you.

I am getting sick of the fight for health care reform. I am sick of seeing some of my fellow Americans acting like hate mongers, I am sick of hearing Republicans in office spewing all sorts of inaccuracies and how they will fight President Obama on this bill. I am sick of knowing that the real reason for fighting health care/insurance reform is the amount of money being spent by the insurance companies to assure it never happens. I am also sick of knowing that we can do better in America, not by starting over with a health care bill, but by passing the one we have now. You know, Mr. Wamp, sort of like the one you are privileged to have as a member of Congress.

Cecilia Lewis

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Over 50% may have voted for him, but his approval ratings now are dismal. Most people do not want the government to give them health care, or anything else. They want to the government to get out of the way and allow them to be successful. I look forward to November, when those who vote for health care end up out of office and looking for a new job.

W.G. Stoner
East Ridge

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I think most people in the country are interested in bettering our health care system - just not with this plan. This one is too controversial with its back-door deals to secure votes and having to use legalese tactics like deeming to get it passed.

Can one feel comfortable about a bill enacting such massive changes when:

(1) It has no bi-partisan support, but has bi-partisan opposition.
(2) Its passage depends on using the obscure voting method of deeming - so maybe those voting for the bill can't be identified in an election year.
(3) Could pass by the thinnest of margins - 50.00 percent.
(4) Ultra liberal Massachusetts elects a republican senator to a seat for the 1st time in 47 years over concerns about the health care bill and federal power grab.
(5) It is reported that as many as 34 states are considering actions to prevent the federal government from requiring their citizens to buy health insurance.
(6) Nobody really knows what this bill will cost. No benefits will be paid for the first 3-4 years. When the benefits start then will we know the true cost.

And there is one more surprise for a lot of people in this bill. The federal government will become the only one who can issue student loans.

Tim Lawson

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Oh, yes. There is that harmless little bit in the proposed bill which would allow the dear old IRS to enforce the purchase of mandated insurance through its powers of levy and garnishment. Now, a vastly expanded IRS with concomitant extended powers is not something most folks find palatable, but the dear Old Dems just don’t want people to know what’s in the toxic mix. Nancy P.’s line: “Let’s pass it and see what’s in it.” Whoa. Is this the way things should function?

Hutch Smith
Walden