Thanks for Nothing

On Sunday afternoon, Organizing for America (OFA) sent an email to supporters asking them to write thank you letters to their representatives for voting for H.R. 3962, the health insurance reform bill. I am not sure why I got this email, because my representative did not vote for health insurance reform—but not because she does not support it. As a DC resident, I have no voting representation in Congress.

I might be sympathetic to this sloppy mail merge if I was convinced that President Barack Obama was remotely interested in DC voting rights. This past spring, while DC came closer than ever to attaining voting representation in the House, President Obama chose to stay silent on the matter. The push for voting rights failed due to a less-than-admirable handling by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), in which the Majority Leader chose the NRA over voting rights for taxpaying American citizens.

I hope that some day I will be able to be proud of my representative’s voting record on final passage of legislation. But as long as Democrats are committed to the status quo on DC voting rights (or lack thereof), I will be unable to “thank Rep. Holmes Norton for her vote” on pieces of legislation.

The Atlantic called OFA out on a similar email sent to DC residents on Friday.

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http://umichdems.com/blog/?p=8299

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